Ryn's Rambles

7 Best Secrets To Shatter Horrible Writing Slumps

People get into slumps of all kinds all the time. From sports to arts, slumps appear in various professional and non-professional activities.

There can be various reasons, from differences in your mood to a change in your life. Sometimes the reason is just that you’ve become bored without realising it.

I thought I’d share some of my best tips and tricks for getting myself out of rotten slumps when it comes to writing. Between my blog and University, I can do an obscene amount of writing, even if a lot of it never sees the light of day. So, naturally, writing slumps come often, and I don’t always have the luxury of waiting them out.

What are writing slumps?

Writing slumps are simply when a writer can’t find the words and might need or want to write.

Writing slumps can result from writer’s block, lack of motivation or inspiration, burn-out, loss of joy in the writing, or many other things.

When do I fall into a slump most?

For me, I slip into writing slumps during the academic year. Because I do so much writing, my brain becomes word soup. It can sometimes take a week after a semester to feel normal enough to return to writing.

Is it a slump or burn-out?

I’m prone to burn-outs. My worst was in the last five to six months of College. I was finishing up my third and final year when bam. I had felt like crap since starting 3rd year in August, but I was done by the end of that January. Thankfully, the head of the department (I do owe that department a lot) let me go home and take time off to rest. I came back, maybe not ready with a fire in my belly, but with the embers in my soul to push through and finish what I started.

But burn-out is different from slumps. While the situations are similar (loss of motivation, no interest in hobbies, and so on), there is a distinct difference. Burn-Out is through an imbalance of overworking to the point of mental fatigue and exhaustion.

SOLUTIONS

Take a break

This one is obvious, but I saw it happen often, even done it myself.

I used to believe that not doing something “productive” meant I was being lazy. However, taking breaks is productive. Think about it in terms of sleep. If you don’t get enough sleep, no matter how much caffeine-infused beverages and food you consume, the tiredness will wash over you at some point. Your eyelids will droop, and your head will start to fall. Eventually, you’ll succumb to the effects of tiredness. So, getting enough sleep is essential to stay alert and productive.

Breaks are the same. Fair enough, a break won’t overtake your mind and soul, pulling you into its abyss, but it will impact you in other ways. Sometimes falling into slumps.

This can mean stepping away from your writing for a few hours to a few days (if you can afford to). Your mind might just need a rest, so catch up on some easy, low-mind activities. Something that requires next to no big-brain activity. For me, this is TV, YouTube and Films. An activity that requires no expectations or time limits.

Just anything that takes your mind off of writing so that you can come back with a clearer mind and a bit refreshed.

Read something related to what you want to write.

Sometimes when I struggle to write, it’s because I want to write about something, but either the facts are sitting right in my head, or I don’t know enough, and it’s starting to show.

This can cause me to slip into a slump, so usually, I just type what I want to know into Google. For this post, I would do exactly what you’ve probably done to get here; “How to get out of a writing slump?” Or something similar. Is it stupidly simple? Yes, but it works.

If it’s a story you’re writing, read something in that genre or research something related to your writing. If you’re writing about the Nine-Tailed Fox from Asian Mythology, then Google that. Make a Pinterest board, try describing every little feature in as many images as possible, or just learn more about them.

Blogging is the same. Research your topic area, even if it is a list post like this. What have other bloggers in your niche done, how did they structure it, and what did they say? It might spark some life back into you.

Switch the posts around.

This is more for blogging than writing a story.

So, this happened with this post. I have a Google Sheets Document with post dates, what will be posted, categories and progress markers. I work in the order they are laid out. That way, I can keep things consistent and get months posts done in big batches.

This post was meant to be a discussion post, but the topic I chose wasn’t sparking a flame when I tried to write it. I lost a day because I couldn’t write anything with a bit of life. Instead of pushing on and producing something rubbish, I switched things about. I had this post scheduled a few months later, but I brought it here and put the other post in the reserve pile. If I find the will to write it, I will fit it somewhere.

Juggle things about and write what you feel motivated to write. It’s productive even if it’s not what you planned.

Write what you feel like writing.

This one is similar to the last but for creative writing.

If you’ve hit a wall on the current scene or moment you’re working on, don’t feel like you want to, or can write a certain scene, then choose something else. Write something involving random dialogue and expand on your characters.

Or add something in.

Example

Someone dropped the only key that unlocks the door to what they’ve been looking for. Or dragon-riding Cyberpunks appear and attack the group. If it’s absurd, it might be more fun to write. Once you’ve written it, you can edit the scene to fit better. Maybe your world has no keys or dragon-riding Cyberpunks.

Make the writing goal smaller.

Writing goals are very intimidating to me.

They always come up in essays, writing competitions and blog posts! Sometimes having a number in your head can create a block.

For most things, if I have a word count of 2,000, I break it down into manageable chunks.

So, the method I use is to create a “table” like this:

Intro – 150

Section 1 – Point 1 – 425

Section 2 – Point 2 – 425

Section 3 – Point 3 – 425

Section 4 – Point 4 – 425

Conclusion – 150

This significantly lowers the word count. It still adds up to 2,000 words but doesn’t look as scary. I then will spend a day doing each section, with the intro and conclusion being done either on a day to themselves or make two long days when I write them plus a section.

This is handy for academic essays, but I still use it with blog posts and creative writing. Posts I will use sections, while creative writing will be measured by day rather than sections.

Day 1 – 150

Day 2 – 425

Day 3 – 425

Day 4 – 425

Day 5 – 425

Day 6 – 150

Whatever you do, some days your mind will be focused on something else and lowering or breaking down the word count can help clear the fog and allow you to be productive while also listening to your body.

Make sure your five basic needs have been met.

Before I start, I’ll quickly explain what I class as the five basic needs. It is simple, but I’ve found that these five things can account for most things, from lack of motivation to grumpy moods. I have other conditions like anxiety and constant headaches, which may be unrelated to these, but I always like to rule them out.

1 – Water

Water is pretty obvious, but adults are meant to drink around 1.6L to 2L per day, according to BBC Good Foods. This does vary depending on gender, activity, weight and more.

2 – Food

Again, same as Water, humans need it to function. If you’re not thirsty, try eating something. I try to keep my meal times at the same time every day. That way, my body knows when it will next get fed, and it helps keep a routine.

3 – Sleep

A sleep routine is really important to me. I need about 8 to 8 and a half hours of sleep to function throughout the day fully. So, to help, I have a routine in place. I do fall out of it often for various reasons, so sometimes I need a nap, which helps me take the edge off so I can work before bed.

4 – Interaction/Socialisation

I’m an introvert (around 87%-93% introverted according to my MBTI tests), so I don’t socialise often. I’m happy that way, but my mind still needs human interaction, even just a wee bit.

5 – Movement

Since I write, I’m normally always sitting at my desk in my room, typing away. With the help of some music, time can fly away from me, and before I know it, hours have passed. So, getting up and pacing my room, taking Chewy (my dog) out or just going and getting more water can shake off the slump.

If my mood persists, it can mean my routine isn’t meeting these requirements, so I have to go and change it. This can be adjusting sleep patterns, the work order, or adding more time for hobbies and exercise.

If you can, you can replan your day(s) to try out new routines while still being productive. Try easier versions of the task at hand.

Figure out when you’re motivated to write.

I read this about years ago and never understood it, but I do now. So, it’s pretty simple, but figure out when you are most productive.

I know with a full-time job, this might be hard, but if you have a more flexible schedule, you can try different times and see when you are most productive. Once you find your productive times, you can plan around that. Leave that time for writing and writing alone. Block it out even if it is 30 minutes. Those 30 minutes are yours to write.

END OF SOLUTIONS

At the end of the day, everyone gets into slumps, it happens, and they can be awful. These are just a few examples of how to get out of writing slumps that have worked for me, but they might not work for you. This list isn’t exhaustive. Google will have millions of tips for you if this doesn’t help.

I hope you get out of your slump soon!