5 Steps Towards How to Conquer Writer's Block

The reason as to why I have started writing daily essays in the first place is partly to cure my writer's block. For as long as I can recall I have wanted to write stories to share and inspire, and for as long as I can recall I have been blocked from doing so, mentally. So, I have devised ways down below on how to conquer, once and for all, the block of writers:

1. Expose yourself to controversial things
That is indeed the best way to conquer writer's block. When you are exposed to controversial news reports, debates, pieces of writing, videos, or any other form of text, you begin to formulate your own internal opinions, and whether you agree with what is being said or not, you instantly begin to want to write down those ideas. That, in itself, gets you one step ahead of writer's block, because you are being active in the literary sense, which is what I try to do on a daily basis in order to invoke within myself something to write about. After one-hundred and fifty essays, it becomes more and more difficult to write about new topics - but the newspapers find something to talk about every single day. How is that for inspiration?

2. Talk to people you hate
Although it is difficult to talk to people you hate because of the reasons you hate them, I bet that one of the reasons is that they do not make sense or that they are stubborn within an argument. Good. Stubborn people feed the writer's very soul because they allow the writer to see things from varied viewpoints and perspectives. I remember getting into a heated argument with an Irish man, who said that teachers were "no good". He kept degrading education to my sister who was selling him his milk and then he turned to me - imagine a really angry face, then imagine that face on top of my shoulders - "why don't you smile?" he asked me, poking his face into my zone of proximity. I replied, sternly, "I'll smile when you leave." So he did. Although this happened over a month ago, I now am thinking of the benefits of that heated conversation, and hey, at least that argument has lead me to include it in this piece, thus upping the word-count.

3. Visit places strange to you
Being in the same place at the same time every single day of every single week within every single year makes it difficult for one to find a muse, or find a source of inspiration. For me, this occurs whenever I am in the city, strolling through busy crowds and looking up at Victorian architecture. It is in observing groups of people that I also acquire inspiration to write, and it also helps me to shape my imaginary characters by looking at real life characters whom I have never met and probably never will - this also helps when you come to write about them because strangers would deem an exact description of themselves by you as pure coincidence and nothing more in the event of you wanting to write about them, instead of you having to write about a direct relative who is "fat" and "repugnant" and "smelly" - imagine having to explain to them that your protagonist is not about them even if they look alike visually.

4. Engage in conversation with yourself
They say the first sign of mental illness is when you talk to yourself - I say the first sign of mental illness is when you do not. If there was a clone of yourself you would get along so well with it, why not clone your mind and pretend that it exists right in front of you and have a conversation with it? You may find interesting things to talk about. When I talk to myself I make up plays on the spot and they become so inspirational that I almost cry about the fact that I forget to record them - every single time. Talking to yourself also has its benefits in that instead of mentally developing your opinions you begin to voice them, forcing you to develop them faster and towards a more finesse outcome: what you voice in your mind may not always make sense, thus when you bring it into the atmosphere vocally it will develop from brain mashed potato into atmospheric potato balls, crispy and sure of themselves. 

5. Have long showers and take long poops
 This may be the weirdest step of them all but weird is good. Trust me, I have tried both these things and I should not speak about them in past tense because they are activities I partake in on a daily basis. Long showers with steam touching your eyeballs and the sound of water trickling down your sides and down the drain may not sound good to your water bills but they will definitely offer you what society does not most of the time: headspace. If you are not too keen on a high water bill, then perhaps just sit in the bathtub and pick up handfulls of water and let them fall through your fingers slowly, recreating that dripping headspace sound. If you hate bathtubs like me, then perhaps the toilet is for you. Enter the toilet, and lock the door. Turn on the noisy fan and pull your pants down, and make yourself comfortable. Make sure there is another toilet available if you live with your family otherwise you will not get much peace. Now, do your business for as long as you please and remain seated until your legs become numb. Make sure you find a focal point in this duration and stare at it senselessly. You will find yourself more capable of writing after this. Try it.

These may not work for you but they certainly work for me. They are interesting ways of defeating writer's block, if I must say. Oh, by the way, I defeated mine tonight by writing about the ways in which I defeat writer's block.