The Cure for Writer's Block
Writer's block is not a thing. It's really not. We've talked about this.
But fine. Just for argument's sake: Sometimes it's just not there.
Sometimes you can't find a way in, no matter how long you spend staring at that little effing cursor.
You sit there. Waiting. You write a few sentences. You delete them. You get another cup of coffee. And then you sit and wait some more.
This is what people do when they're stuck. They wait.
But waiting is the worst thing you can do. Waiting is the enemy of inspiration. It's like tying sandbags to your creativity and then throwing it into a pond.
It feels like you're accomplishing something because you're sitting at the screen. Your intention is to write. But you're not writing, you're waiting.
And come on: where else in your life do you sit on your ass waiting for inspiration to strike? You're a Type-A go-getter. You're a badass overachiever. You Tracy Flick the bejeezus out of everything you do.
You don't wait. You DO.
So get up. Go for a walk. Get on your bike. Lace up your running shoes. Get on the mat.
Do whatever it takes to clear your head. And then, like magic, you're unstuck.
The cure for writer's block is to get up from your chair and move your body.
(I mean, if writer's block is a thing. It's not a thing.)
I do my best thinking when my body's moving. And I'm not the only one. When I'm in the pool or on my bike or grinding it out on a run, stuff just appears. Whatever was sitting at the bottom of the pond gets stirred up.
But this only started happening when I got intentional about it. I didn't change anything I was already doing. I just started being deliberate, which meant exercising without music or podcasts or anything else to distract me. Sometimes if I'm working on a particularly intractable problem I'll plant a seed before I go, but most of the time I just let my empty brain do its thing.
And it works so well for me now that I rarely get stuck. Doing this prevents me from getting stuck. It's just not a thing.
Don't wait for inspiration to strike. Move your body, clear your mind, and it'll come.
