You know sometimes you sit to write your blog post, or your book, or the article you’ve been promising yourself you’ll write…and nothing. No words. No ideas. No clue. Or a disjointed mess of half-formed ideas that get deleted as fast as they come onto the page. You could (and sometimes I do) give up and come back another day…but why don’t you try getting into the writing flow first?
This happened to me last week. I had a clear idea, a clear plan of what to write about, and I was expecting to write away happily – as I usually do when I have a clear idea. But it was one of the worst and most frustrating writing sessions I’ve had in months. I tried all my go-to “getting into the writing flow” ideas…and zero. Grrrr. As always though, that disheartening experience led to an aha…I could write about what I do to get into the writing flow!
My 6 best tips for getting into the writing flow.
1. Just write
Put your fingers on the keyboard or your pen on the paper and just write what’s there – even if it’s gobbledegook. The act of writing often induces the flow…like turning on the tap brings water. Unfortunately it’s not as reliable as turning on a tap in your house…so if the flow doesn’t seem to be flowing instantly, relax, keep going, keep writing, give the creative juice a chance to flow through the pipe. If you switch off too soon, you might cut off the supply.
2. Don’t judge what you’re writing as you write it
Who can write with a voice in the background shouting “this is shit” as they write? Nothing is more effective at stifling the flow than a bit of heckling from the sidelines. So don’t do it. If the thought ‘this is shit’ comes up, pause and remind yourself this is a first draft, a rough outline, or just the ideas phase…no need to judge. You get to judge when you’re editing. Until then, tell Judgy You to pipe down and get back to writing.
3. Have a dance break
Dancing takes you out of your mind and into your body and often this is enough to restart the flow. If not, you got some exercise and dancing time is always a good thing (well, it’s WAY better than time spent *not* writing anyway). I usually find when I get up and dance, ideas flow…sometimes I’m dancing while scribbling notes or making a voice note. Crazy? Perhaps…but who cares if it works?!
4. Tidy up.
I am massively untidy – my idea of a tidy desk has just 100 things on it instead of 200. But I know that if I just take 10 minutes to tidy up, it does help my creative flow. Getting into the writing flow can be hindered by the surrounding chaos – you know the phrase “tidy house, tidy mind”? Well, it can be true. You don’t need show-home neat-freakness, but if the mess has got out of hand and you’re stuck, give it a try. Just for 10 minutes though – your trying to get into the writing flow, not the tidying up flow!
5. Check something else isn’t calling to be written.
Sometimes the energy in what we’re trying to work on just isn’t there, but something else is (like the time I wrote about writing resistance instead of just resisting writing). This article was born from that idea. On this occasion, it didn’t work to get into the flow – I ended up with 4 very rough drafts of ideas. Yes, 4 – I had lots of ideas that day. On the day, it annoyed me that none of them got the flow flowing, but now I’m happy I have some rough drafts to work on when I have no ideas!
6. Let nature inspire you.
Get outside and watch the clouds or go for a walk or play with the dog/kids/husband. Breathe the fresh air. Let the calm energy of the natural world relax you and take away the tension of a blocked creative pipe. Getting into the writing flow when it’s not flowing easily can be incredibly irritating, so let the outdoors unclog that icky energy that might be blocking you.
You might even take your notepad/laptop to the park or garden and see if the change of scene gets you moving. I do this a lot in spring, summer and autumn…and I have been known to sit outside writing in winter too – hat, fingerless gloves and 5 layers on!
And if none of the above work…
Leave it for the day. I would love to say that if the flow isn’t flowing within 20 minutes, I leave it for the day. But I’m more stubborn than that. First I try everything on the list above…and after none of that has worked, then I leave it for the day and 90% of the time that works – the next day I sit to write and out it flows…
…but sometimes I have to go through the whole blasted list again, so if you have any tips for getting the writing flow flowing I’d love to hear them!
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