What Happens When You’re in a Writing Rut

“Writing about writer’s block is better than not writing at all.” – Charles Bukowski

Last week, my writing hit the wall. I’m unsure if I’ve painted myself to the wall, but I knew that I was suffering from writer’s block, a mental state that most writers fear entering. 

So, let’s rewind to late April. I set a deadline in mid-May to finish a short story that I had been working on since last year (I was busy with full-time work, so it was on the back burner). In my first week of writing, I was emotionally charged as I explored a few opening scenes that best described my protagonist. Slowly, as the weeks went by, words could get stuck at the back of my mind or in the recesses of my mind, and I couldn’t find them. Words didn’t flow as quickly as I wanted. I couldn’t visualise my characters in that imagined world. I changed the opening scene several times before being satisfied with the current one.

A friend once told me, ‘You would be lucky if you could produce a good 70 words on a page’, citing that sometimes writing can be challenging. The more I wrote, the more unmotivated I became. Some days, writing became a chore. Yet I would push it through because part of me didn’t want to give up. Finally, one day, I acknowledged that I was in a writing rut.

I sought advice from a dear friend who is a poet. Understanding that I was in a writing rut, he advised that perhaps the best approach to overcome writer’s block is to relax and let my mind wander. Alternatively, walking in a park or reading a book can help me get unstuck from the rut.  

To get unstuck from the writing rut, I did the following: 

• I wrote in my dining area and, sometimes, on my bed for a change of scenery. My default writing area is my writing desk.
• To get some inspiration, I read works by established writers such as Alice Munro and Elif Shafak.
• I read newspaper reports.
• I watch the telly and listen to the actors speaking dialogues.
• I go out and breathe some fresh air.
• I socialise with my friends and discuss issues with them to get inspiration.
  

As much as facing a blank page is a daunting experience for many writers, I know I need to write something while waiting for the words to return, even if it’s not my short story. I just need to regain my motivation for writing, and I’m feeling it’s gradually coming back to me—slowly but surely.

What do you do when you’re in a writing rut?