What is writer’s block?

How many of us have sat down to write and couldn’t think of a thing to say? This happens to me all the time. Like today when I knew that I had three blog posts to catch up on.

My theory is that writer’s block is what happens in our brains as a result of chaos overload. What I mean by that I can explain with a small example. Whenever I really start to stress out – when I have too much homework, family problems, roommate disputes, etcetera – I start losing things. I misplace my car keys, I can’t find my wallet, and oh where is my favorite sweatshirt?!!!

I think writer’s block is a similar phenomenon. When our minds are cluttered with other thoughts, or running a list of unfinished tasks, our brains do not have enough RAM left to process anything else, like writing.

So what do we do? I find that the best way to conquer writer’s block is to clear off your workspace. Anything that is going on in your brain is taking away from your focus. I suggest making a list of things you need to get done, and give yourself a timeline too so you don’t feel overwhelmed by the list. I think you will find that by organizing your thoughts in this way, you are essentially optimizing your brain’s processing speed.

As a result, you will be able to focus more attention on the task at hand – writing. And, voila, no more writer’s block. Try it out and let me know if this works for you.