Writer’s Block: What It Is, Causes, and How to Overcome It

There has never been a time when writing was a singular event. It’s a process with many moving elements and it requires creativity, practice, diligence, and attention to details.

Sometimes writing takes more time than initially perceived, and it’s easy to hit a breaking point and get lost in the process. It’s that moment when you feel as if there are no more words to put down or ideas that flow well that you experience what we call a writer’s block.

Writer’s block isn’t particularly a bad thing. However, it can be a frustrating experience, particularly if you’re trying to write a last minute essay or a research paper due in less than 48 hours.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about writer’s block, from what it is and how to manage it so that you can get your assignment completed faster and submitted on time.

What is Writer’s Block?

Writer’s block is a common scenario where you stare at a blank page for a long time because you can’t find the right words to start an essay or a research paper.

The problem isn’t limited to best-selling authors and upcoming news writers alone.

Even students of different academic levels find themselves unable to complete their writing sometimes.

To be clear, being stuck in your writing doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a bad writer.

There are times when you’ll lack the right words to express an idea or an argument and that’s completely fine. That’s because writer’s block is a phenomenon you can easily control.

What Causes Writer’s Block?

While there are many reasons why you may develop a writer’s block, the following tend to be the most common ones:

1. You Have Ideas but You Can’t Easily Express Them

There’s nothing worse than having brilliant ideas for your essay or research paper but not know how to bring them to light.

You can easily feel disappointed if this ever happens.

Sometimes taking a short break from writing is all you need to give your mind the ability to reflect on and express those ideas.

Other times, talking to someone who has been in a similar situation can guide through expressing your thoughts and making your ideas clear.

2. You Don’t Have Enough Ideas

Have you ever found yourself just trying to figure out ideas you can use to defend claims in your argument but felt rather stuck?

Maybe you’re about to advance your learning but you can’t quite figure how to write a college essay for an admissions committee?

Or maybe you’re an IB student struggling with writing a TOK commentary because your mind doesn’t allow you to express the real-world context of your objects?

There is a high chance you don’t have enough ideas to explore, hence the cause for experiencing writer’s block.

It’s easy to feel shut and seemingly lost if you don’t have enough ideas to express. However, it’s important to keep in mind that writer’s block is only temporary and it’s not an indication that you’re a poor writer.

3. You Have Many Ideas

You can have too many ideas for your research paper or persuasive essay and not know where to start.

Not knowing where to start makes it hard to determine which idea to include in the essay – and exactly what to leave out.

Having too many ideas create confusion, mostly because it’s hard to bring forth the best ideas that you already have.

It often results in FOMO (fear of missing out) as there’s an uncertainty that you might fail to bring out the ideas that can take your writing to the next level.

4. You’re Not Utilizing Your Freedom of Expression

Sometimes you experience writer’s block because you’re afraid of what people will say or think about your writing.

In academic writing in particular, you worry too much about what your professor will say about the construction of your arguments, the expression of your ideas, or the style of your writing.

Fear of the unknown causes a resistance to writing, which may make it difficult for you to write the things you know you should write.

Each time you develop emotional resistance, you create an opportunity for creative resistance, which can easily cripple your ability to write excellent assignments.

5. You Have Too Many Personal Commitments

You so much want to write that position paper, dissertation, term paper, or whatever assignment it is and submit it on time.

However, you have additional responsibilities that easily distract you and you just can’t focus on getting your assignments done.

Sometimes you feel as if you have limited resources, and let’s not even get started on the idea that you have finite time within which you want to complete quite too many things besides the writing.

If anything, your personal commitment can play a big role in promoting writer’s block.

How to Overcome Writer’s Block

Here’s how you can overcome writer’s block and get that school assignment completed within the respective deadline:

Take a Break

It’s easy to lose focus and objectivity if you write the same piece of assignment nonstop for hours.

Take a break in between your writing sessions.

Doing so not only keeps writer’s block in full control but also lets you generate new ideas that you can include in your writing.

Use an Outline

Always create an outline before you start writing.

As simple as an outline may look, it’s a powerful writing tool that allows you organize your ideas and thoughts in an order that makes them easy to explore further in your paper.

With the help of an outline, you end up writing only what really matters and completing the assignment in time.