How To Get Back Into Writing

7 Writing Exercises That Help Me Get Back to the Writing Groove

"A fountain pen on an open journal" by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

I've heard others declare that writer's block doesn't exist, that it's nothing but a feeble excuse some people have for not writing.

I beg to differ.

It might not exactly come in that unappealing name, but whatever you call it, or whatever it really is, that void, for me, is palpably real.

I only have to scavenge my brain for the dreadfu l moments when the words just wouldn't ooze out of my fingertips no matter what I did. I'd find myself staring into my blank word processing document for hours and hours, willing the words to come, but to no avail.

And then there were times when they would come, but in hideous clumps and in strings of gibberish that were better off dumped into the trash bin.

So yes, for me, it exists, although I've dabbled with enough writing to know that this writer's block clings to much more tenaciously in a particular form of writing than others — that is, literary writing.

I worked for a few months as a Content Writer for a digital marketing company, steadily producing 4 articles — more than 3,000 words — every single day.

Sure, there were instances when I'd feel like my brain was being butchered by information overload and exhaustion, but other than that, I was damn fine. I could seamlessly write blog posts in a wide array of topics (from real estate to solar panels to interior design to parenting — you name it) one after another.

But like I said, literary writing is another story altogether.

So if you're like me who's visited by our surly friend named Writer's Block every so often, then you might want to try out these exercises I do to get back to the writing groove.

Who knows, they might help wring out your creative juices in no time, too.

Revisit your old works.

If you've been writing fiction (or whatever genre you tinker with) for quite a while already, then this is perfect for you.

All you have to do is sift through your files and take out the pieces that you're proud to have written.

Go over them, revel in the cadence of your words, in how you manage to deftly weave them together to form a breathtaking whole.

Sometimes, this exercise also helps me be more in-tune with my writing voice, especially when I'm feeling a bit lost.

Bottom-line is, remember that you wrote them, and tell yourself that you can and will write something like them again.

The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.

―James Baldwin

Record your dreams.

I'm sure you've heard about this already, and if you haven't tried it yet, then you're missing out a lot.

If you're one of the lucky few who can vividly recall your dreams a few minutes after waking up, then make sure to put that skill to good use!

Immediately grab a pen and paper and jot down the essential parts of your dream. Later, when your mind is more lucid, you can render everything in a more cohesive narrative.

You can also go one step further — that is, you can craft stories out of your seemingly absurd dreams. All you have to do is make sense of them (attempt to, at least) and employ your imaginative prowess.

Create sketches of people you know.

This is my one of many variations of the 100 Word Challenge (something that I first stumbled upon when I was in elementary school).

But you don't have to limit yourself to a hundred words — let your creativity run amok!

This exercise is simple. Just describe someone — a person you know or a stranger you caught a glimpse of in the street — in stunning, lyrical detail.

It doesn't even have to be solely about their physical features. Were you enthralled with the musician you saw downtown? Or with the graceful movements of your mom's hands as she prepared your lunch? Capture these moments the way you saw them.

Try your hand in flash fiction.

Feel like sketches are a bit too drab for your liking? Then why not try your hand in flash fiction?

These stories are fairly short, a thousand words or less, and you can finish a single story in one sitting — which makes it an ideal choice for those who don't have a lot of time to spare for writing.

Despite its brevity, exemplary flash fiction should still be marked by character and plot development, among others. But then again, these are things you probably won't have to worry about early on.

Just let your fingers glide across your keyboard. You can deal with the editing later.

Fashion your past into creative nonfiction pieces.

I've kept a journal for as long as I can remember. If you're in the same boat, then you might want to whip them out and spend the next few hours on a field trip to your childhood. If not, then it's high time to ponder back on those bygone years.

All you have to do is list down interesting snippets of anecdotes of your past. Nothing is too dull and ordinary if you have a brilliant imagination and a flair for words!

(If you want to take baby steps first, then you can challenge yourself to do this exercise under 100 words as well.)

Everything was intertwined, with the complexity of a three-dimensional puzzle, a puzzle in which truth was not necessarily fact and fact not necessarily truth.

― Haruki Murakami, "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle "

Transform your history into fascinating tales.

I've got to thank Haruki Murakami for this ingenious drill (he didn't really describe it the way I will, but the gist is pretty much the same with how he portrayed it in the novel).

Like the earlier examples I cited, this one also necessitates a moment or two of silence and rumination.

Think back on your childhood, back in the time when your grandparents — or any other adults, for that matter—would feed you with narratives about their lives. List down the more interesting details — was it about the war, a peculiar visitor, a family gossip?

Since you were still a kid then, chances are, you never truly heard the end of the story; the majority of it would most likely be cloaked in mystery. Not to mention that you might have forgotten all about it until now.

Well, it's time to channel your inner detective.

Make sense of these puzzles through fiction. Transform your past into fascinating tales.

The adults plunged you deep into the heart of the action, now it's your job to formulate its beginning and its conclusion, as well as to pepper it with complications here and there.

"Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything really good."

— William Faulkner

Don't underestimate the power of writing prompts.

Lastly, there's the good ole writing prompts.

These exercises never become stale. Plus, they're virtually everywhere on the internet. You'll never run out of ideas that could serve as a starting point.

And once you do come across the right idea, you'll witness firsthand how laudable its efficacy is.

And hey — you never know. That seemingly generic prompt could be the making of your magnum opus.

Key Takeaway

Literary writing — whether you're already a published author or merely writing for leisure—can be extremely fulfilling and fun.

However, it can also be incredibly frustrating, especially when writer's block decides to pop in for a visit.

I know how it feels like; I've been grappling with it for more than a decade, which led me to experiment with all sorts of methods to overcome it — and this post highlights those that did wonders for me.

So if you're raring to let out your inner muse but don't know where to start, then you might want to try some of the exercises I mentioned above.

Who knows? One of them could be the key to unleashing a torrent of your creative juices.