Creative Writing 101 – How to Obliterate Writer’s Block (A Hopefully Helpful Guide)

Have you ever wanted to write a story and create a cosmos that only you hold the key to? Have you ever had your inner Shakespeare make an unexpected appearance during your bouts of boredom? Has this newfound literary persona of yours stuck around long enough for you to hunch over your work table with your tools to construct your revolutionary storyline? And have you screeched to a jarring halt not even halfway through, maybe even at the very beginning, completely befuddled and drawing a blank from every crevice of your previously-in-overdrive brain?

If yes to all of the above, then you and I will get along great! And for those that haven’t yet gotten far enough to answer the last question, fear not! It is frustrating, yes, but it is also temporary, and will not hold you from completing your venture into the world of fiction (or non-fiction if that is your cup of tea). Regardless of which category you fall into, this blog post is for you as I, a third-year BA Creative Writing and Journalism student, take you on a tour of the pleasures and plights of writing as a full-time student and a part-time creative writing enthusiast, with special focus on the way around writer’s block!

Let your childlike imagination run free

My liaison with creative writing began on September 2, 2011, when I was in the 3rd Grade. My ever-so-lovely English teacher had us write a journal entry about our summer vacation and all the fun things we did – things that I had conveniently replaced with watching TV, eating chips, and sleeping and thus had nothing except a plain and unhealthy summer to recount. My 8-year-old wisdom told me not to write about a summer that would surely evoke frowns from my teacher. So, while wiping the sweat at my brow, I tweaked my entry to include fun things like going to all the waterparks in India, petting tigers in the Amazon jungles, and climbing Mount Everest – all in a month, no less! As I proudly read out my spine-tingling adventures from an unforgettable summer, my teacher clapped enthusiastically and sprinkled plenty of oohs and aahs in the intervals of my narration, a knowing smile dancing on her lips. Something tells me she knew what I really did that summer.

That journal entry was the premiere step that started my journey into fiction writing and I have not stopped since that fated day. Writing has proved to be my greatest companion, in good times and bad. I quickly found myself channeling all my opinions, emotions, and thoughts into creating little masterpieces of fiction, my stories becoming my safe place. In these worlds that I fashioned, I could be whomever I wanted, go wherever I wanted, and do whatever I wanted. I thrived on the exhilaration that this power and control brought me. It didn’t take me long to decide that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

When writer's block rears it's ugly head

That is until the concept of writer’s block became a constant looming threat to my work. As I grew from a tot to a young lass, the ideas that ran in torrents through my head became more refined and developed, accommodating the current trends and cultures. This meant that executing these ideas onto paper (or screen, if you prefer, because the 21st Century stresses the use of technologies) demanded more thought, time, and precision which, in consequence, resulted in tons of procrastination and obstinate self-criticism. Due to this self-induced micro-management, I found myself getting stuck in certain parts of a story. My brain had decided to gatekeep my own ideas from me! My routine of creating became interrupted more often as time went by and at one point, my page was left blank for days on end, even though the plot I had thought of was one of the best I had ever come up with.

There’s a quote by Gene Fowler, an American author, screenwriter, and journalist, that has embedded itself in my subconscious and occasionally pokes its head out from between my clutter of thoughts when I write – “Writing is easy. All you have to do is sit down at a typewriter and wait for drops of blood to form on your forehead.” I had embraced this quote to become a large part of my composing personality – writer’s block had fused into me and we were one entity, which meant completing one short prose took me a week to a month at most.

Winning the battle against creative struggles at university

Enter Middlesex University Dubai’s BA Honours Creative Writing and Journalism programme. Although consistent and unforgiving imaginative barricades drove me to the brink of insanity, I loved creating a little too much to give it up and I had thus enrolled in the course. Just as I had accepted my fate to have entirely befallen in the maddening clutches of creative block, I attended my first-ever First Year Creative Writing lecture on Character, Conflict, and Dialogue. As if the universe had heard my cries for help, the lecture revolved around resolving the issue of creative blockage. I was taught not one, not two, but multiple tricks to dissolve this problem. Finally offered a holistic solution to this block that had threatened to take away the bliss of writing from me, I was all too excited to try out these tricks.

Out of all the suggestions, one trick that worked best for me was redirecting my creative intent. For those curious, let me explain how it works – in layman’s vocabulary, it means to step away from the piece of work that’s slammed the brakes on your flow and write about or compose something else. In my case, it meant working on another project until the abandoned one beckoned me again, promising not to give me a hard time anymore. Sometimes, when I don’t have any other pending projects, I do crosswords to unblock my brain. Crosswords work wonders on writer’s block as it pulls in all of your focus, discouraging you from worrying about the incomplete work for that moment, and it also adds more seasoning to your pre-existent knowledge by giving you access to more advanced vocabulary that you are free to use as you please once you resume work.

I would like to offer another trick to the roster– ask your professors. At times, when I felt too drained to redirect my thinking or had very little time left for my submissions, I turned to my professors for help. I was always welcomed with compassion and I always left with renewed vigor paired with a refreshed brain. Professors are, in my opinion, the most foolproof solution to any literary issue and you will always be inspired and have freshly polished gears in your head to produce high-quality work. I have even found myself rewriting the pre-written work because my perspective had been wiped clean and I had been offered a more experienced one to go with it.

Finally, keep writing!

As I come to an end, I offer one last piece of advice to those who are struggling to start, continue, or even end your creative masterpiece– give it time. Take breaks, talk to your peers, go on a stroll, and don’t allow the unfinished opus to hold you by the neck. Wipe those drops of blood from your forehead away and set off into your universe without apprehension! Keep writing!