I find that writer’s block is really resistance.

It may take different forms like procrastination or work (on something else) but it boils down to avoiding the task of writing.

Over the years, I’ve utilized a couple of different strategies to help. I’ve also had writer friends tell me their own tips. The benefit of accumulating all of these tricks, friends, is I get to share them with you.

First, do some free writing.

Truly free write. Grab a notebook or your laptop and go to town. Suspend judgement. Ask yourself questions. Often when I’m stuck on a particular scene or chapter, it’s because I haven’t worked out the plot or character motivations.

My solution? I pull out my notebook, which is actually a sketchbook because I hate lines and I’m messy, and free write. In the midst of it, I talk to myself. For real. I say things like YAS QUEEN if I figure something out or if I come up with a particularly twisted plot. No shame, friends, I am my own cheerleader. Most of the time. I ask things like where does that leave character X? Not just physically but emotionally.

Taking the time to free write allows me to work out the points that lack clarity. My writing then flows because I know what needs to happen to advance the plot.

Motivate yourself with word count goals.

When I was rewriting my first novel, I created a word count list in 1500 increments. My goal? Write 1500 words a day. Then I got to check off that amount. For some reason, this was oddly motivating, a simple way to see my progress. It’s a strategy I still use for longer works.

Give your work gold stars.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, designating gold stars for days in which I’ve written pushes me forward. I no longer use them for word count tracking (see above), but I do implement them to see a visual representation of the days I’m writing.

Any day I write or edit, I track it with a gold star on my calendar. The practice gives me immense joy and is cost efficient. The stickers will run you about $5.

Pro tip: I use other colors to track other life goals: exercise, reading, my coaching business. A four star day is a perfect one. And I can’t get four stars if I don’t engage in my writing. See what I did there?

I’ve found myself yelling to my husband after a run, now I get a green star! Yes, I’m basically a Kindergartener.

Try cyclical writing blocks.

Full disclosure, I envision this method as an inverted pyramid.

A writer friend of mine told me about it. Set your timer for two minutes and say, okay, I’m only going to write for two and then I’ll take a break. Do it. Then, set your timer for five minutes. Write. Take a break. Then set your timer for ten minutes. Write. Take a break. Then twenty. After that you’ll have written for forty minutes.

My friend learned about it on the Creative Penn podcast, where the host Joanna Penn interviews Christopher Downing. She now swears by it, saying the method helped her finish a nonfiction book proposal.

Whatever method you choose, know that every writer struggles with resistance. It doesn’t mean your creative well has dried up, a concept I think is ridiculous by the way. It doesn’t mean you won’t finish or your ideas aren’t worth writing down. It simply means you need to implement a different strategy.

Try one or two or all four of these methods. I can’t wait to hear what you think.