How to Beat a Writing Block (Without Writing)

So the other day, while working on revisions, I tweeted this:

Sometimes when I get stuck #writing, I stop & visualize how it could go until I'm happy w/ a solution. Like watching a movie in my mind.

— Ava Jae (@Ava_Jae) June 7, 2015

And to my pleasant surprise, I received a whole load of responses back of people saying they did basically the same thing, or something similar. Which got me thinking about ways to get around a writing block without actually writing.

When the alternate-universe mind-movie daydreaming doesn’t work, sometimes I find getting away from the computer and doing something else helps. Taking a walk, taking a shower, doing chores I was putting off, etc. often leads to new connections in my mind, and even if those connections don’t solve the block entirely, they frequently get me thinking in the direction that does lead to overcoming the block.

Photo credit: Aztlek on Flickr

Basically, your subconscious sometimes does the work for you, which is pretty darn nice. I’ve had more than a couple epiphany moments both on WIP stuff and blog post stuff away from the computer.

Some other suggestions I got from writers on Twitter included talking a scene out (presumably in private) and listening to music. I’ve also found, occasionally, that working on something else entirely sometimes leads to breakthroughs, like my brain wanted me to focus on something else while working its magic (hey, whatever works).

In the end, of course, if none of these passive solutions work, then it might be time to pull out a pad of paper or a new document and work things out step by step. But you never know when not-writing can actually help you write, after all.

What non-writing solutions do you have for beating the block?

Twitter-sized bite:

How can you beat a writing block without writing? Writer @Ava_Jae shares some ideas. (Click to tweet)