how to get over writer's block Archives

I did despair, will be honest with you.

I got so terribly stuck in 2020 that it even leaped into 2021.

It’s not cool getting writer’s block with ideas, because ideas are how we make our living.

And getting ideas is only part of the battle!

Most of the time, before the pandemic hit, I would still be stuck even though I had a ton of good ideas.

Because being a freelancer means you also need to find publications that are right for your idea. And you’ve to brace yourself for rejection, following up on ideas, and finding new markets in the face of defeat. Rinse. Repeat.

But since COVID became full-blown where I live in March 2020, I started missing my full-of-ideas-but-stuck-on-where-to-pitch phase.

You see, I can get ideas from anything, and it helps to vary a routine even in tidy ways.

But who’s been doing anything? Julie Nolke’s portrayed this brilliantly in her sketch where two friends meet for the first time after several months, and the question they dread the most is “What’s new with you?”

I hardly had an active or social life since you know what. And even the activities we regarded to be ordinary became things of luxury, scarcity, and things we missed dearly.

Spending hours in a coffee shop without worrying about your health or others’ in the dead of winter? Gone. (Either the café is closed due to government mandate, or I wouldn’t be able to spend hours indoors in good conscience anyway.)

Spending a whole day at your favorite shopping mall for a day of movies, eating out, and shopping? Gone.

Dancing away at my local dance studio and socializing? Gone.

You see my point.

Of course, it is the right thing to do to stay inside your house or spend some time outdoors with precautions.

But doing the right thing doesn’t mean it won’t destroy your creativity and damage your mental health, especially if you are a dominantly extroverted person.

This is not to say I couldn’t/didn’t do anything. I managed to complete and publish my second novel, A Change Would Do You Good (aff. link). I’m committed to improving my marketing skills as an author, so I read up religiously on marketing for authors. (My thorough reviews on these books are coming soon to the blog, of course.)

But the more I worried about what I couldn’t do, I kept not being able to create anything, come up with ideas, or pitch.

So, I decided to forcefully pull myself out of it, because it wasn’t happening on its own:

– I remodeled my favorite activities according to the pandemic and found some new stuff. (Yes, I’ll still be running to the mall/dance studio/coffee shops and such once it is safe, but you’ve got to find stuff while you wait.) This included going for beach walks more often, staying in the coffee shop for very short amounts of time, and playing ball. Literally. I love throwing a ball around.

– I met more frequently with friends who live nearby and happen to be uber careful about their health.

– I dug into old notebooks, files, and e-books for old ideas that weren’t pitched or placed yet.

– I (re)read tips on finding ideas, including my own.

– I asked friends what they were doing to deal with their blocks or the pandemic.

– I pitched guest posts, free and paid. Yes, I love writing for money, but I do need to network with other bloggers as a writing professional and novelist with books out anyway. Being approved by another editor is a great confidence boost. You might need it after struggling for so long.

– I looked at past wins. I did it before. I could do it again.

– I read every single email I got from other writers detailing what 2020 did to their creativity and business.

– And I started to write, starting with my own website. The more you write, the more you can write. Writing life is funny/annoying that way.

I’m not saying I’m all cured, but I took the first steps.

In case you are wondering, here are some of my favorite posts about brainstorming, creativity, and finding ideas from this blog.

– The Best Free Resources for Writers to Find Markets to Pitch

– 6 Great Places to Find Paying Web Writing Markets

You might be wondering why I listed posts about markets when you don’t have ideas. Well, I got some of my best ideas by reading other publications.

– Finding Article Ideas & Writing About Them: 30 Inspiration Tips for Writers

One of my favorite tips on this article is “rant.” Of course, I don’t just mean rant vocally or in your head. Write it down.

What makes you mad? What annoys you? What do you disagree with? Why?

Often, there is a pitchable/sellable angle behind unpopular opinions.

This is how my CNN article Where I grew up, ‘Sex and the City’ offered a vision of liberation came to be.

People were writing left and right about How Sex and The City wasn’t diverse enough or politically correct enough. My angle? I wasn’t disputing these.

I was, instead, reminding everyone about when it came out (1998! You can’t expect late 2010s values from 1998,) and what meant for women everywhere then. What sealed the deal? That I come from Turkey.

Sex and The City may not mean as much to an American woman now. But to a Turkish woman in her 30s? Still one of my favorite shows.

Unpopular opinions can open doors for you when you successfully point out how rational it is. Which reminds me, I have very unpopular opinions about Nickelback, Emily in Paris and, the Fast and Furious movies to pitch.

Have you suffered from writer’s block lately? Please share your experience in the comments. And found this article helpful? Spread the word on social media.

Knowing that we are not alone in our struggles can help with anything, including writer’s block.

I love the idea that we – writers – are sitting on a porch somewhere with a lovely view, a delicious coffee-based beverage nearby and typing away to our heart’s desire.

Now, we can often be found typing away with a coffee in hand, but we are not always writing a story or an article. (And the view doesn’t always rock, but that’s beside the point.)

Pinar Tarhan, writer — For instance, this is me posing for a picture because we need that too. 🙂

And while we love writing, sometimes we are stuck. Sometimes we’d do anything but, no matter how much we love writing.

But just because you can’t write doesn’t mean your whole work has to go to hell:

16 Non-Writing Tasks to Do When You Have Writer’s Block (or Don’t Feel Like Writing

Pitch. Unfortunately, editors and clients don’t always come to you with assignments and story ideas. You have to create your jobs. So you pitch. You usually have a pitch template than can be tweaked, so this is more editing than actual writing.
Follow-up on previous pitches. You have pitched stories a while back, but you haven’t heard back. So you customize that follow-up template if you need to, and fire away.
Keep track. You make notes on where you pitched and what you followed up. You don’t want to send the same idea to an editor that already turned it down.
Clean your inbox and answer important emails. It’s not advised to check your email every 2 minutes, but you should probably check it at least twice every day – especially if you are expecting responses and you have clients from different time zones. You don’t want to miss an assignment because the message got buried among 100 unimportant other messages.
Read the articles in the publications you are pitching– aka also known as market research.
Read unrelated stuff for fun and inspiration.
Deal with blog administration. There is always a plugin to update, a post to edit.
Apply to jobs and/or pitch to clients.
Post on social media. You have a presence; you need to maintain it.
Talk to other writers. It’s one of my favorite methods for staying sane.
Update social media profiles. Maybe you did something interesting or acquired an impressive byline.
Update your website copy. You might want to review your services and how you present them.
Update your portfolio. Those new bylines won’t add themselves.
Hang around aimlessly – online and offline- looking for inspiration and story ideas. Some of the most obvious ideas arrive when you feel like giving up. And ideas can come from anywhere, including from your favorite comedians.
Clean. I don’t mean spring cleaning, but just a general, mindless tidying up that won’t take too much time. Also, how clean is your computer screen? I swear mine is playing in the dirt when I’m not looking.
Organize. Organize files, on the computer and in your office. Do you need all the paper? Did you notice a publication you loved but forgot about? Saw a book you need to refresh up on? Leave the cleaning and organization to the end, though. You don’t want to use them as procrastination tactics.

What do you work on when you are stuck? Please let me know in the comments.

How I Got Out of My Longest Writer’s Block (And Resources to Help You Beat Yours)

16 Non-Writing Tasks to Do When You Have Writer’s Block (or Don’t Feel Like Writing)