When it comes to your music, you’re firing on all cylinders. Your playing has never been better. Your confidence is soaring. Enough with the covers! It’s time to crank out an original masterpiece that reflects your thoughts and passions. Alright, let’s do it. Pencil – check. Paper – check. Your workstation in the corner – check. Aaaaand, begin.

Nothing. You have nothing.

Relax, there’s nothing wrong with you. Songwriting is hard enough when you have a head full of ideas. When you’re starting from scratch it can be downright brutal. Throw in a case of writer’s block, and it becomes impossible. When writer’s block brings your creativity to a screeching halt, there are ways to break through. Here are a few of our favorites…

Draw it.

Sometimes your brain simply gets hung up on the mechanics of writing. There are simply too many “have to’s” for the left side of your brain to juggle to allow the right side of your brain to do what it does best – create.

So try this. Start sketching whatever comes into your mind. They don’t have to be good, they don’t have to make sense. They simply need to be out of your mind and on paper. Actual objects, shapes, patterns, lines, dots, scribbles – get it all down.

After about 10 minutes stop and look at what you have. Do you notice any similarities between the objects? Do they convey a mood? Can you take three or four of them and tell a story? Jot these thoughts down – these are phrases you can use later to assemble a verse or two. Even just jotting is healthy, after all it’s writing, isn’t it?

Repeat the process until the ideas begin to flow. Once you’re writing, don’t throw your notes away. You might need them another time.

Think awful thoughts.

This one works on the premise that everything has an opposite. If you can’t think of good ideas, think of bad ideas instead. Simply ask yourself, “What is the worst possible thing I can do here?” Don’t focus on writing an entire piece. Write words and phrases that are ugly, silly, rude, or downright incoherent – you get the idea.

Once you have a good amount of trash generated, sift through it, writing the opposite of what you wrote previously. For example if you originally wrote, “Your huge nose disgusts me,” now you can write something like, “Your face is pretty,” which might lead to, “You’re alright, I’m all wrong.” 

Get out!

Many times, sitting at your “writing” spot is the last thing you want to do. Sure the room is cozy, or has a great view, but at the end of the day, it’s the same room and the same view. Grab a notepad and your pencil and get out. You can exercise – take a walk, do yoga, go to your favorite gym – you can even do yard work or clean the house. The idea is to get moving and get those endorphins flowing. The ideas won’t be far behind.

A simple change of location works well too, but it means abandoning your writing spot. Try to find a spot within walking distance with different lighting, sounds and smells. The new stimulus can jump-start your brain, shaking it free of the rut it was in.

Make a list, check it twice.

Your brain is a muscle. Like any muscle in your body, it needs exercise to loosen up and function at its full potential. This simple exercise is a windsprint for your mind. First pick a random topic. It can be space, the jungle, school, types of bugs, scary things, funny things – anything. Set a timer for 2 minutes and begin listing anything and everything you can think of related to that topic. You can build new lists off of items in your first list. For example, let’s say your beginning topic was “ocean.” Under that you listed “fish, sand, beach, waves, tide, vacation…” At any time you can switch lists. Under “fish” you might add, “gills, fins, bubbles…”

At the end of two minutes, stop and look at your list. Here is where it gets tough. Choose three of the words you like the best and three you absolutely hate. Write them at the top of a new page. Reset the timer for two minutes and begin again, putting whatever words come into your mind under your six new categories.

When time runs out, you can look through your words and phrases, combining them to build a phrase you can use. Even if you don’t generate anything useful, it’s fine. The primary goal of this exercise is to shake up your brain, “rinsing” it of stale ideas and breaking down ruts.

On the subject of ruts, let’s end this with a quick word about the role routine plays in writer’s block. Your brain is a muscle. Like any other muscle, it needs to be fed properly, and can easily become fatigued if it has to do the same thing over and over. Excessive routine can make your brain sore, tired, and flabby. Changes in lifestyle can actually help reduce incidents of writer’s block. They can be as simple as taking a different route to work, trying new foods, or reading a new book. (There is no way around it, good writing requires voracious reading.) See a movie you wouldn’t normally see, learn a new skill, explore a new hobby. Roadtrip and vacation regularly – to new sights as well as old favorites.

There’s really no way around it, if you’re going to write, you’re going to have to deal with writer’s block. Fortunately, with a little careful brain maintenance and these helpful tips, you’ll never be stuck for long. Good luck and good writing.