6 tips on tackling writer’s block with your inner clown

 

By Carolyn McMurray, SOCIATE’s Junior Copywriter & Blogstar

 

You know the feeling. Staring at a blank page with not a single shred of inspiration. Ideas and words seem to elude you. Writer’s block! It’s a common but painful occurrence. The solution? Let your inner clown out.

 

The journey to crafting an innovative blog post (or any lightbulb moment) never goes in a straight line.
Creativity is killed when you stifle your chaotic side. 

 

You’ve got to let your inner clown out and create with no inhibitions. 

 

Once you’ve got that dazzling idea written down, you can let the inner editor out and start polishing.
But it’s that point between brainstorming and your lightbulb moment that chaos and clowning work best. 

 

We know that letting it all go and colouring outside the lines isn’t always easy.
So we’ve compiled a few tips to help you embrace your chaotic side.

 

Free write

Imagine writing without stopping; zero distractions and non-stop flow. That’s exactly what freewriting is all about. Putting pen to paper and writing whatever comes to mind. You can make mistakes and spell incorrectly – the only rule is to write without giving your ideas a once-over. Think of it as the gloop of your mind; all the stuff that’s swirling around with nowhere to go. Try dedicating at least 10 minutes every day to freewriting. Take a break and come back to what you’ve written later and see if you find any gems that spark a new idea.

  

Kick writer’s block to the curb with your inner clown

Embrace the strange and random, and welcome new ideas that you would usually toss aside. This is especially important with writing when the editor in you is dying to polish, polish, polish without remorse. Take a note from your freewriting exercise and try to make friends with your inner clown. Embrace ideas and thoughts that are a little weird and write them down. Comedy writers are experts at flitting between clown and editor (they have to be to come up with amazing jokes). Come back to them later with your inner editor. You might just find a diamond in the rough.

 

Write outside the lines

I say write, but really I mean paint/colour/DO outside the lines. Whatever thing you’re trying to conjure up, be it a new business proposal or an article, try to do things a little differently. If you’re writing a blog for a SaaS product, for example, try to sprinkle in a bit of humour and pop-culture references. SaaS writing is usually very dry, so making yours STAND OUT with a human touch really makes a difference. 

 

Take an exercise in creativity

The next time you’re confronted with a creative block, take an exercise in creativity. Grab a notebook and pick two things that you see and write them down. Do this quickly and without thinking. Once you’ve got your two things written down, think about all the ways you can bring them together and make them relatable. It’s all about bringing two totally unrelated concepts/items together and making sense of them. Training your brain like this will help you come up with more creative ideas on the fly.

 

Take the uncharted path 

If you’re ever up against a creative block, grab a notebook and head outside. Venture into the path you’ve never taken and let inspiration come to you. Again, welcome the weird and wonderful and don’t filter anything out. Being around nature is proven to help spark creativity, as it invites us to be curious about our surroundings and ask questions. 

 

Embrace randomness in your routine

A really easy way to embrace a bit of randomness is by making it part of your routine. Instead of sitting at your designated work desk 24/7, shift things around and sit in different areas. This could be a different room or a completely different setting – just make sure it breaks you out of your normal routine. Your brain might feel a bit fuzzy at first, but the new surroundings might make for a new idea you hadn’t thought of before.

 

And if your inner clown has retired, explore our range of copywriting services.