7 Ways To Beat Writer’s Block

1. Read a novel in your genre.
In the grossest metaphor ever, writing is like poop. (Yes, I have small male children. How could you tell?) What comes out reflects what goes in. If nothing is coming in, consider your diet. Your writing diet is fed by reading. Some writers stop reading fiction when they begin to write. This is understandable, maybe inevitable in small doses. But take it too far and you will starve your muse.

Read inside your genre. That will help inspire you again with the kind of story you are working on.

2. Read a novel outside your genre.
If you try reading inside your genre and everything feels hopelessly stale, read outside your genre. Read in a genre you’ve never read before, even one you swore you’ve always hated. Westerns, romance, literary. Try it. You might be amazed that stories feel fresh and unpredictable again. You might find yourself inspired to bring that strangeness into your work, bringing it back to life. Or you might even try writing in a different genre. It doesn’t mean you have to switch permanently. Just let your brain play with variety.

3. Read nonfiction.
Did you know most published books are nonfiction? If you don’t normally read nonfiction, try it. There are two variations. Research and Fishing Expeditions. When you read nonfiction for research purposes, you know what you need to learn more about to make your story work, so you find a book and read up on the subject. But if you have writer’s block, that might not be strong enough medicine. You might benefit from a Fishing Expedition. That’s when you read random crap off the internet, or strange books on bizarre topics, things that have no conceivable relationship to your writing or anything else in your life. You just find the topic fascinating. And eventually (trust me on this) you will see connections that you never imagined.

4. Watch TV.
Oh, no, girlfriend, you did not go there! Uh-huh, bitch, I did. Deal with it. Television is just another medium of entertainment. Watch different genres and take notes. (You knew there had to be a catch. Damn.) Analyze the stories as you would novels. If you can get ahold of the screenplays, read the show you watched. Think about how you would write up the novelization of the episode, if you were tasked with the job.

5. Exercise. 
I used to swim. Lots. I wrote stories while I swam and always had to have a notebook by the pool so I could dash down my ideas, often while my bathing suit still dripped all over the cement. Then circumstances changed and I couldn’t swim anymore. My writing suffered. I realized how important it is to the mind to take care of the body. Exercise also helps combat depression, which contributes to writer’s block. (And living block.) So get on a bike, in a pool, on your toes. Jump up and down next to your desk if you have to. Punch the air. Get yourself moving. Let your mind wander.

6. Doodle.
Many writers are also artists. I think the part of the brain responsible for the visual arts is slightly different than for verbal arts. Switching media is another way to keep your brain from getting bored with itself. Even if you can’t paint or draw, doodle. It can be about your book. It can be just for fun. Just don’t do it half-assed. Do the best you can; treat your work as art, no matter what your level of skill.

7. Break it down.
If you’re working on a novel, the sheer length can overwhelm you. Break it down. Don’t worry about the whole thing at once. Just focus on one chapter or one scene. This is probably what you’re doing anyway, but actually pretend for a while that this chapter is the whole story… as if you were writing a short story, not a novel at all. Craft the beginning, middle and end as you would a short story. If it’s a short story you’re writing, focus on just one page or one paragraph, as if it were a bit of flash fiction. As if it were just a character study, a set piece, a beautiful bit. A bonsai tree sized story. Rest. Then, tomorrow, do another beautiful bit. Another bonsai tree. Until you surprise yourself with a forest.