Overcoming Writer's Block: Get a Technique!

Very few authors know exactly what they want to write when they start a new story or poem. That makes starting difficult.

Here are a few techniques to try when you've lost your muse:

• 1. Freewriting: Focus on a topic or theme and write everything you can think of or remember about your subject. Don't worry about grammar or punctuation. Just write what you can recall or remember. When stuck, go back and fill in details. Write "I don't remember" until you do. Keep your pen or fingers moving. Also called automatic writing.
• 2. Brainstorming: similar to freewriting, but less structured. Brainstorming is like throwing up on a page and seeing what you've been eating. While gross, this pretty much explains brainstorming. 
• How to do it: Write as much as you can, ignoring all rules of grammar, literary style, and so on. You don't even need a topic or theme. Just write. See where it leads you.Write anything that comes to your mind: don't discard anything! This technique is a good one to bypass your inner critic, allowing you permission to make mistakes or illogical connections.
• 3. Trance Writing: similar to automatic writing & brainstorming, trance writing (popularized by Jack Keroac and other authors interested in "stream of consciousness") write about a chosen subject, but pay attention to grammar and plot as you write. Do not edit at this time or criticize your writing. Just write. Write with some idea where you might want to go, but allow yourself to listen to your instincts. Most of us do this while we are writing anyway. Sometimes this type of writing is called "brainstorming" or "freewriting" as well. Most students use this technique during a first draft.
• 4. Listing: Choose a subject and list or bullet each detail you can think of that goes along with that idea. Afterward, use the list to create a story.
• 5. Clustering: put a subject or word on your page and draw connections to related and unrelated ideas. This is also called "mind mapping".
• 6. Cave drawing: Draw a short doodle about your ideas or subject. Use the graphics to spark an idea for a story.
• 7. Allusion or borrowing: Use a word or phrase or line or sentence from another story and write until you cannot continue. Select another line or phrase or word and continue until you get stuck again. Then repeat the process. Be careful not to plagiarize!
• 8. Cut and paste: write a page of text or as long as you can go without stopping, then stop and literally cut up paragraphs, words, sentences, etc. and rearrange them in a new order. 
• 9. Mix and match. Use any of these techniques to write a story. Mix and match the techniques that work for you.

Use any of these techniques from now on to help you when you get stuck for an idea.