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It’s finally happened. You have a deadline for a blog post, a press release needs to go out ASAP, you have an email newsletter that should have gone out yesterday, and you have nothing. A dreaded bout of writer’s block has struck.

Sometimes you’re out of ideas, have trouble with a topic, or you have some pieces written but have hit a creative dead end. It’s never easy getting through writer’s block and everyone will have writer’s block more than once.  For today’s post, we’re going to take a look at a few types of writer’s block and tips on how to power through them.

1. When you’re having trouble with a topic

There will always be a time when you won’t like the topic you chose to write about or were told to write about. That’s just life. The truth is that not everything you write about will be a passion of yours and sometimes it won’t even be remotely interesting to you. You’ll still have to write about it. This kind of writer’s block is particularly terrible because the cause of this block feels very outside of your control.

How to power through:

 Outline, outline, and then outline some more. Writing out the points that you want to hit in your writing will change your life when it comes to writer’s block. It breaks down the problem of your overall topic in to easy, writable chunks. A lot of times, for shorter writing pieces, I don’t write outlines. But when I’m having trouble writing for a topic, you can bet I’m busting out those bullet points and fragmented sentences until something clicks.

2. When you’ve hit a dead end

There is nothing worse than having 650 words written for a 1,000 word piece of writing and coming up dry. That 65 percent mark just taunts you. You’re beyond the initial getting rolling phase, but the finish line is still just out of sight.

How to power through:

This one takes a very blunt force approach. You just need to write something. Will it be your best work? Of course not. But when you run out at 65 percent, you need to get the ball rolling again. Once you get your writing going again, chances are you’ll be end up with enough writing later down the line that you will be able to edit down the bits that weren’t very good.

3. When you get hung up on one word and just can’t get it right

It is perfectly reasonable to get stuck on a word and ponder on it for a while. You know that you have a certain word that you want and just can’t find it.  But when you are getting stuck on a word for days and days, just one word has gotten in the way of your writing.

How to power through:

This is just like when you got stuck at a writing dead end. You just have to pick a word and move on. It won’t be perfect but it will get your writing moving again. Also, when you find the word you were looking for later down the road, and you’ll be able to switch it out.

4. When you’re out of ideas to write about

It happens to everyone. You sit down to write and no matter how hard you try, that blank page keeps staring back at you. You’re scraping the bottom of the creativity barrel and nothing is coming up. Or worse, you get started and after 50 words it feels like your brain fogs over and your fingers just won’t type. Personally, I’ve always found this one to be the most difficult type of writer’s block to get through. It’s all about finding inspiration and that is a notoriously difficult task.

How to power through:

 It’s always easier to write about what you enjoy. Use that to your advantage by browsing some of your favorite blogs and subjects. If you keep what you want to write about in the back of your mind, chances are you will find an angle of your favorite subject that you can apply to the topic you were going to write about. 

It’s always tough when writer’s block strikes because deadlines show up whether our creativity does or not. To power through, use a few of the tips above to keep your writing moving and keep making great content!