Writer's block is more than a weight; it's a feeling of unworthiness occurring when a passion is squelched by continuous sub-par work. Of course, for a writer, sub-par work may be described as "despicable," "horrendous," or any amount of expletives. The feeling borders on painful, and though there are no secret ways to make someone a powerful writer, there are several ways to bring a writer back to the level of energy and connectedness they felt when they were writing at their best.
Return To the Original Source of Inspiration
Especially if a writer has been working on a longer piece and lost the vision for it, the writer needs to think of the time he/she first wanted to write that piece. Was it during a song? During a movie? After a mentor said something important?
That moment is what started the big picture for the piece, and writers can often get lost in the details of plot. Perhaps a writer has written too much without inspiration and has concocted a storyline that he/she is not interested in. Perhaps rewriting needs to be done. Whatever the change needs to be, always be sure to write what you intend to be the message and the aesthetics to be, or else the story will have no energy and focus behind it.
Write in a Different Genre For a Bit
If a writer is facing general writer's block, where everything he/she writes does not seem to meet the standard, the writer should step into a different genre for three reasons. One, this genre-switch will cause the writer to write something as opposed to procrastinating or constantly hitting against a brick wall. The second purpose is to make the writer realize that he/she is a good writer. When all a writer does is judge the poorness of his/her piece, the sense of self-efficacy dwindles, but when a writer is excited and surprised by himself/herself, self-efficacy goes up and the excitement and desire to write gets ignited.
Thirdly, the new genre will let the reader allow himself/herself the freedom to make mistakes. A story writer who wracks his/her brain for the perfect subplot will find contentment in a simple vignette, where there doesn't have to be a subplot. A poet who struggles intensely to find a penetrating metaphor will enjoy writing a short story, where a metaphor is a hundredth of the piece instead of a tenth or a fifth. Making mistakes in a genre the writer is not specialized in will encourage the writer to just enjoy the discovery of writing something else instead of hating oneself for thinking he/she should never make mistakes, or thinking he/she can avoid mistakes if only good writing happens.
When writer's block occurs, try to remember the inspiration behind the original idea and return to it for the renewed flame, or write in a different genre to remind yourself that you're a good writer, and a good writer can still make mistakes.
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