Journaling: The Cure for Writer’s Block

by Suzanne Lieurance

If you’re a writer, nothing is worse than a case of writer’s block – that dreaded condition when you’re suddenly unable to think of what to write about or you can’t seem to continue with the work in progress. You sit and stare at the blank page and nothing happens. 

Writer’s block isn’t a rare condition. In fact, it happens to most writers at one time or another. When it does happen, it’s best not to get too upset about it. Fortunately, it isn’t a fatal or chronic ailment. In fact, I’ve found an easy and painless way to cure writer’s block – I journal. 

Writer’s block usually hits me when I know what needs to happen in a specific scene or chapter of the story I’m working on, but I can’t figure out what or why the characters can do what I need them to do. I make a few feeble attempts at having the characters take action. But none of these actions feels right, so I delete them from the story. After a while, nothing seems to work, and I end up with a full-fledged case of writer’s block. It’s at this point that I turn to journaling. 

I have a spiral notebook set aside for this type of journaling. There’s something about backing away from the manuscript itself and writing in this notebook or journal that seems to free my mind and take away any pressure I might feel to write something “good.” I turn to a fresh page in the notebook and start writing about the problem I’m having moving the story forward. Usually this means simply unloading all my frustrations onto the page. For example, I might write: 

This chapter just isn’t working. None of my characters will cooperate and nothing they do seems to make any sense. What’s the matter with me and with everyone in this story? 

Then I attempt to answer the question – What’s the matter with me and with everyone in this story? – in my journal. I might start out with something like this: 

Well, the problem is you’re trying to get Logan to win a tennis match and he doesn’t seem to like tennis. How do you know he’d really be able to play tennis very well? Did he play tennis when he was a kid? 

Then I’ll turn to Logan (okay, so I know this sounds a little strange, like I really believe my characters are real, but it’s just part of my process) and ask him. Then I’ll let Logan write down his answer in the journal. Usually he’ll write something like this:  

No, I didn’t play tennis much when I was a kid. My brother was the tennis player in our family and no one could beat him, so why try? My game was baseball. 

I might ask this character (Logan) a few more questions and let him answer them in the journal, or I might turn to another character from the scene I’m trying to write and ask this character a few questions. Invariably, though, at some point, one of the characters will write something in the journal that gives me some fresh insights as to what he would be most likely to do in the situation I’ve placed him in, so I suddenly know what to have him do in the scene that’s been giving me trouble. I’ll go back to the computer and find that I’m able to write that scene easily now and move my story forward. My writer’s block has been cured. 

The next time you develop a case of writer’s block, try journaling. It just might be the perfect cure for you, too. 

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Suzanne Lieurance is an author, freelance writer, and a certified professional life coach and writing coach, speaker and workshop presenter. She lives and writes by the sea in Jensen Beach, Florida. 

If you want to learn how journaling can help you tackle challenges such as writer's block, please download the free eBook, The Journaling Guide to Manage The Stress and Strains of Life.  

Writer's block can strike for many reasons, and often without warning. Learn how you can use journaling to understand and defeat writer's block with our self-paced journaling course, Kick Writer's Block in 7 Days.