Do you ever find yourself stuck while trying to write an essay or research paper for class?
Maybe you are trying to write a poem or a story and find yourself stumped? You could be
experiencing what is known as “writer’s block”. This term is usually associated with authors of fiction or non-fiction books, but it can happen to anyone.

Whether dumbfounded at the beginning, middle, or end of your paper, writer’s block is not a fun ordeal. You experience frustration and anxiety while trying to get through your assignment. Writer’s block happens to all of us at one time or another. As a writer and student, I have experienced writer’s block many times over the years of writing my stories and academic papers, and I have some tips on how I have overcome it.

To start with, keep writing. Even if it is a bunch of nonsense words, keep writing. You
can start by writing a list of the things you already know about the topic you will be writing
about.

Continue by asking yourself the 5 Ws and How questions. Your answers do not have to
be complete sentences, just write what comes to mind while asking yourself the questions. For example, you are writing a paper about Mark Twain, ask who is Mark Twain, what did he do, when did he begin writing? Where did he work? Why do we still read his works? Continue asking yourself as many questions as needed to get the information you need for your paper.

Once you have made your list, take what you wrote and make short sentences. When you
have written everything from your list, read it out loud. Does it make sense to you in the
direction you want to go? Keep in mind that you are not looking for correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, or complete sentences. You just want enough information you can apply to completed sentences and paragraphs.

When satisfied you have enough information about your topic, walk away. Yes,
walking away from your paper for thirty minutes to an hour will help your brain acquire more ideas to apply to your paper. This works for me and Owl Purdue Writing Lab suggests doing the same thing on their website.

Now that you have rested your brain, go back to your paper and reread what you wrote.
This is the time to make complete sentences and apply those sentences to paragraphs. After you have typed or written one page, stop. Reread what you have written. Add or delete any sentences that you need to that pertain to your topic.

By now you should have lots of ideas for your paper. Continue writing, rereading, and
adding sentences to your paper. Remember grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting comes last. You just want to get all your ideas on paper right now.

The last step is to put all your completed paragraphs in the correct format. Start with the
most important idea of your topic first then finish with the least important idea. Now you are ready to edit your paper for grammar, spelling, and punctuations. Before you know it, your paper is complete.