A Remedy for Writer’s Block

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Krea chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

I have writer’s block.

I have an article due on Sunday at 11:59 pm. It is now Sunday at 12:00 pm. The prompt I’ve picked is not tickling any part of my brain, and there are absolutely no creative juices flowing. So, obviously, the next step is to Google, “how to get rid of writer’s block?” Surprisingly enough, one of the questions they asked me during my Her Campus writers interview was about this, and I feel like that answer would’ve helped me greatly if I could just remember what I said. 

This is what Google has provided me:

1) Try working on something that feels less demanding

The beginning of the trimester doesn’t demand much from me, so this was absolutely useless.

2) Take a hike! 

The closest I’d get to a hiking experience anywhere close to college was walking up and down the stairs.

Note: Tip not feasible in desolate areas.

3) Step outside, get some fresh air

That one seemed the most suited for me. I walked to Narsi’s, our campus cafe, with my friends, got a coffee, sat outside, and beat the same dead horse for the 100th time. I was excited, energized. Okay, I can go sit and write the article right, as long as I’m writing something that’s still good, right?

I got back to my room and took a nap instead.

4) Take a nap

The only thing this did was make me hungry and prompt a second trip to Narsi’s. 

The tips were not doing anything for me. Instead, I pivoted to reading articles about writer’s block, and one thing each article had in common was that they each had a cause. A reason as to why they couldn’t write. Burnout, exhaustion, fear of failure, fear of criticism, a need to be perfect, distractions, being overwhelmed, you name it, they’ve had it. Still, none of it really resided with me. I couldn’t pinpoint the root cause of why I couldn’t write; my mind was just blank.

I am currently sitting legs up on my chair, curled up into a ball as small as I can go, my roomates lemongrass candle lit, the fan on (A.C timings haven’t started yet), one of my friends on my bed reading her book she’s been putting off since before we came to college and another sitting at my roommate’s desk doing her WOC work.

The friend sitting on my bed told me about her elementary school teacher, and is now on a call with her brother. The friend at my roommate’s desk has just left my room to go do something for her roommate, and I just finished a quiz on Greek mythology. Procrastination is far subtler than I had thought. 
So the final verdict on how to beat writer’s block – write an article on it?

Surely not.