Wibke Ladwig, Social Web Ranger and Idea Catalyst
Wibke Ladwig on writer's blockThe screen lights up my face brightly. I blink nervously and quickly type a sentence onto the white sheet of digital paper. Nonsense! Quickly delete it. What was it about again? Music on. Oh, I still wanted to go shopping. What am I going to cook afterwards? Music off. Darn it, I also wanted to make an appointment with the dentist. But okay, concentrate! The text doesn't write itself. Music on.
This is how I help myself with writer’s block:
– Music, audio books or radio: Voices and music weave a cocoon around student data me in which I can concentrate better and shut myself off from the rest of the world. It is important that the background noise is chosen by myself. Street noise, for example, is not very helpful.
– Is your head simply too full? Sometimes “free blogging” about a completely different topic helps. It’s good to have one or more places on the Internet that you can use for excess thoughts and offbeat things. This can be your own or private blog, but it can also be Twitter or Facebook for texts or Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube or a podcast for other formats. I like to get myself and the sentences going with pranks or a few thoughts. It’s like a kind of corkscrew: with a “pop” the bottle is uncorked and the contents can breathe and flow.
– Writing on paper: Sometimes the path from thinking to typing is too far. Writing by hand is more immediate and writing itself is a creative process. If you don't like writing by hand, you should try using nice paper and, above all, try out different pens in an art supply store. I like to write with a black rollerball pen or fiber pen on brightly colored, slightly rough paper. The words flow better that way.
– Get out! Away from the desk. Whether it's a walk around the office or a long hike: exercise helps to get sentences and words going. When I walk, stroll or hike, my head keeps working. I notice again and again how, while I'm walking, the letters and thoughts sort themselves together in the back of my mind, almost without me doing anything. A little notebook and pen for notes or the notes app on your smartphone are useful for jotting down a sentence or two in an emergency.
– Keep your hands busy: chopping vegetables, cleaning windows, rummaging around in the garden, making horse fur shine, painting, doodling or good old handicrafts. The effect is similar to that of walking.
– If all that doesn’t help: an important obligation from the wonderful world of bureaucracy will make you forget any writer’s block in no time and there is nothing better than writing!