5 Tips for Writer’s Block
Have you ever found yourself just staring at your computer screen, not knowing how to start that blog post? Or, have you ever been in Meta Business Suite planning out your weekly social media and just aren’t feeling inspired? Maybe you’ve even had to draft a new policy or organizational guidelines and you just haven’t known where to start.
If you are a content creator, you likely know writer’s block or the slowdown of your personal creative juices. Ironically, we were working on brainstorming our blog and social media content for the month of March and weren’t feeling inspired and the right theme wasn’t presenting itself. We figured if we needed to kickoff the creative energy on our end, maybe you’re in the same place.
Here are five tips if you’re suffering from writer’s block:
Get up. Leave. Walk away: Sometimes our environments are conducive to creative writing pursuits, and other times they are the cause of distractions. Change your environment on a temporary basis - take a short walk, read a book or magazine, talk to a colleague. If you’re still feeling blocked, head to a favorite coffee shop or cozy library nook.
Be mindful: We really love the approach of five senses mindfulness. Either take a walk or stay in your environment and find 3-5 things you can hear, smell, see, touch, and even taste (if you had to or wanted to!).
Switch up your tools: Are you staring at your laptop? Holding a pen in hand with a blank sheet of paper? Change up your tools. If you’re a pen and paper person, try ChatGPT - ask it a question and see if the AI tool helps to inspire some fresh new vocabulary. Are you screen-focused? Get a nice set of Flair pens and some fresh paper and brainstorm the old school way.
Browse your collections: Just for our museum friends, maybe you can find some ideas in your archive or collections storage! Work with your collections team members for some dedicated time to talk a walk through storage or ask to see some old images. You might just find your next story in a chair, painting, or kitchen tool.
Give up perfect: This is a draft, this is only a draft! Sometimes the pressure for perfection can hinder the way our brains process information. Your first outline or first draft doesn’t need to be the finished product! Think of this part of the process as a way to just start writing something, anything…and the rest will follow!
These are just a few tips but we’d love to hear what works for you! Send along your best writer’s block solutions to julie@museumtastic.com.