Dealing with writer's block - how I do it

Anyone who has tried writing for any length of time has dealt with writer's block. I am no different, be it fiction or academic writing. Below, I will list a few methods I use to deal with the problem. They may or may not be applicable to you, but I hope it helps.

Key: A - applies to Academic writing, F - Applies to fiction, A/F - applies to both.

1) Do something else.  (A/F)

This is particularly useful if you've being staring at the same damned document for a ridiculous length of time and you've already written about 5000 words during that time (The number is just a guideline, and is probably ridiculous). Do yourself a favour and stare at something else for ten minutes. Alternatively, you can take a nap / leave it for tomorrow, as you please, as long as you're not too close to the deadline (i.e., if the deadline is ten minutes away, keep staring at it and get it done. You can relax afterwards).

On a longer time scale, this can also be useful if you've absolutely run out of ideas. In that case, I usually switch tracks (academic to fiction and vice versa, or I switch the subject / genre for a while). This helps refresh things, so to speak.

2) Research.  (A/F)

The thing tripping you up could be lack of knowledge or the knowledge not being fresh enough. The best thing to do in that situation would be to research the topic thoroughly. In my experience, you need to read in order to write. This should be obvious to you if you're writing a literature review, but it's absolutely necessary, even when writing a novel. Read up on the topic, read up on topics peripherally related to it, and then get back to writing.

3) Skip ahead to another section / chapter.   (A/F)

Say you're stuck under one subheading or you have no idea how to finish the chapter. Skip ahead to the next one. In a novel, this makes things easier because you now have an idea of how the situation ends, if the two chapters are linked. If it isn't a novel and/or the two chapters aren't exactly linked, it'll still give give your mind a much needed change of pace.

4) Related to 3), write what you want to write.   (A/F)

If you'd rather write the next chapter / section first, by all means do so. Writing one thing with another in mind is insanely difficult, at least for me.

5) Make a rough sketch, diagram, chart, etc. (A/F)

This helps organise your thoughts. It will probably help clear the relationships between ideas in your head, which will likely clear the block because now you will know what you have to work on.

6) Kill someone.   (F)

IMPORTANT: This does not apply to academic writing.

ALSO IMPORTANT: Don't really kill someone. I mean a character.

You might have seen this floating around on the internet. While I can confirm that this is effective, please refer to my previous article on killing characters for more of my thoughts on that one. Usually my victims tend to be side characters. There was a time when my main characters fell victim as well, but that, used in excess, tends to make it very difficult to continue the story (you know, with quite a few characters being dead). So, be very careful with this.

7) What is the worst that can happen? Do that.    (F)

What is the worst that could happen to your character right now? I don't mean things like suddenly being run over by a bus (see 5 for that), I mean thing like, falling sick just before something important, a friend moving away, a dragon breaking loose at the worst possible time - it depends on your story. One important thing - in most cases, you should have an idea how to handle the catastrophe, or you'll just write yourself into a corner once again.

Most importantly, show no mercy.

8) Add a diagram / table.  (A)

If you know what to write, but your problem is articulation, try expressing it in a diagram or a table. After that, you can explain the diagram further in the text if you want to. At any rate, a diagram regardless of whether you put it in your paper / assignment or not, is a very good tool for organising your thoughts and organising the information that you want to present.

9) Build the background (F)

Worldbuild. Extend and detail the environment that your story is set in. When you add detail to the environment, it will increase the constraints under which your characters must function, but it will also give shape to your ideas.

10) Re-read, start editing (A/F)

For academic writing, this is a very good thing to do, because it reminds you of what you have done so far. This reminds you of things you forgot to include or things that may have slipped your mind in the process of writing. It's also a good opportunity to look for any inconsistencies/mistakes in your writing.

For fiction, this is a double-edged sword. While it can remind you of the Chekov's gun you put in the second chapter and forgot about, it can also lead to rewriting (as in, the entire novel). It can also lead to you giving up on your current novel in disgust. Use with caution.

Those are the main tricks I use to get past writer's block when it hits me. I hope you find it useful for those dark times when all of us will inevitably have to deal with writers block. 

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Until next time!