3 Ways a professional writer overcomes 'writer's block'

Borrow them next time you feel stuck

Author

Diana Kelly Levey
January 19, 2025

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I hope you had a fantastic weekend.

As creatives, many of us feel stuck once in a while when it comes to working on our art, even if it’s for a freelance client.

Here, freelance writer and author Jennifer Della’Zanna shares tips for working through a bout of writer’s block.

She includes what works for here when she’s feeling stuck and how professional authors and writers power through this uncomfortable situation.

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Writer’s block happens to the best of us. But sitting in front of a blank screen doesn’t help—it’s time to take action. Here are three simple ways to break through and get back to writing:

1. Move it, move it.
Clean the kitchen, go for a walk, or do something physical. Movement gets your blood flowing, reduces stress, and clears your mind. Sometimes, the best ideas show up when you step away from your screen.

2. Switch it up.
Try writing by hand, sketching, or creating a mood board for your project. If you’re still stuck, work on something else for a while. Completing another task can build momentum for the project that’s giving you trouble.

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My two favorite tips to power through writer’s block?

→Set a timer and do the writing you don’t want to do. All notificatons off, you can’t check email, social, or do anything fun and rewarding. Just write.

→Get comfortable with writing a “terrible first draft,” or a terrible headline and bad intro and tell yourself it’s going to be great. I’ll put something on the Word doc like: "Amazing Headline Here" and "Riveting introduction about X, Y, and Z here that will set up the sources and story angle." Then I get into the meat of the article writing and go back to those areas later. It helps me feel like I’m making headway on the article organization and I don’t get ‘stuck’ on the intro and conclusion that often trip me up.

What do you do to work through writer’s block?

Thanks for reading!

Diana

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