Writers Block?

                                           (Photo: Morgue File)

Have you ever been given a homework assignment asking you to write an essay over a particular topic and you realize that you have absolutely nothing to say on the subject? That type of thing tends to happen to me all of the time. To be honest, the first thing to cross my mind when I was asked to start up this blog for class was, "what could I possibly blog about that will allow me to make a difference but also get me an 'A'?" 

Writers block is not a very fun state to be in because you are experiencing one of two things:

1.  You have too many thoughts running through your mind and you are not sure where to begin
2. You are drawing a blank and need ideas fast!

Don't get too anxious or stressed, fellow writers! I am here to try to put an end to your writers block for good, no matter which category you fit into. The following are strategies that I have found that work very well for myself as well as the students that I have tutored, so I hope you can find at least one tip to help break through whatever may be blocking your thoughts.

Strategies for those of you with too many thoughts in your head:

• Option 1: Grab a piece of paper and start jotting down anything and everything that comes to mind when thinking about the prompt that you are given. Once you have all of your thoughts on paper, go through and cross off the ideas that you are not very fond of and circle those that you think you could work with. After the list has been narrowed down, re-read the prompt and try to pick the topic that best fits the assignment. If that doesn't work, pick out the ideas that seem to logically fit together. The more ideas you can connect together, the better because you will end up with more to write about once you decide on the specific point of your essay.
• Option 2: Hopefully you are not in a time crunch, because my next suggestion is to literally get up from your desk and just walk away from the assignment for about an hour. Now, this doesn't mean go out and do something crazy with your friends and completely forget about the assignment at hand, but go and do something that clears your mind for awhile. Activities that tend to help me include: baking or cooking, cleaning my room, drawing, anything that will allow for your mind to go blank. When you go back to your prompt, read over it carefully and see if you have a better handle on how to go about writing your paper. If you are still having difficulty, see the step above.
• If you did procrastinate, however, try connecting all of your ideas like suggested in option 1. Hopefully the ideas will start to flow and next time you will realize that waiting until the last minute is a bad idea.

Strategies for those of you with no idea how to start:

• Option 1: In this case, Google and Wikipedia are going to be your best friends! While you never want to cite any sources like Wikipedia, it doesn't hurt to search around and get a feel for what the assignment is asking. I Google everything. Google is a great resource for generating ideas. Once you have an idea that you can run with, go to an academic database to find scholarly articles to help you write your essay. Google and Wikipedia are good starting points.
• Option 2: If you don't feel comfortable using Google or you are not finding anything, try asking your classmates about the main topics of their papers. Now, don't go taking their ideas or anything because that could lead to trouble; such as both of you failing the assignment. You could benefit from hearing the ideas of your classmates because they have the potential of sparking an idea in your mind or at least helping you come up with something to Google and search.
• Option 3: If all else fails, don't be afraid to approach your teacher to see if he/she can point you in the right direction. If you are asking the day before the assignment is due, however, your teacher may be a little hostile, so don't procrastinate!

I hope these strategies help any of you, who may be struggling with your writing. I have had a lot of success using these tips with my students but feel free to alter them to fit your writing style and let me know how they work for you!