Picture this: It’s 2am and everyone is asleep. You are sitting at your desk, laptop and notebook in front of you and an essay to write. You had intended to start writing thirty minutes ago.
In reality, you have spent it staring at the cursor, mind blank. No words have been written and you cannot seem to find a way to overcome the block…
If I have just described your worst nightmare, then you are not alone. Most students have had the issue of ‘the blank page’ or what is often known as ‘writer’s block’ at some point in their academic career, so do not stress!
With that being said, it is the middle of the coursework deadline season for many of you, so here is a non-exhaustive list of strategies that you can try, to overcome the dreaded blank page, from a former student:
Use other forms of communication initially
Often, it is easy to overthink the phrasing or language of a piece of work, especially if you are working under pressure or you struggle to communicate information in written form.
If this is you then, good news! There are other strategies that you can use to navigate this barrier. Speech-to-text or processing externally with a friend, can both be useful ways of getting your thoughts onto the page, without having to physically write anything.
Talking out loud to a trusted person, can help you fill out your ideas and find phrases making the start of your writing process easier. Alternatively, try talking out loud to yourself and have a device record your thoughts for you to edit later. Both are ways you can help yourself overcome having to find the ‘perfect phrase’ and beat this type of writer’s block.
For further ideas, have a look at this blog from LSE (see points 8 and 9 specifically but the article contains several tips that are relevant to this blog), if you want to read more: How to Overcome Academic Writer’s Block – Students@LSE
Argue against it
Sometimes, you are given a question or topic, that you might not be enthusiastic to write about. Counterintuitively, however, you can use this to your advantage (within reason), by ‘reverse engineering’ your essay. This type of method can often work well for argumentative or comparative essays, as discussed in this blog from Oxford University (Tips from my first year – essay writing | Faculty of History).
The first part of this method is to brainstorm what you feel is ‘wrong’ about the question. Starting here allows you to think ‘big picture’ and look at the themes surrounding a question. From these broad outlines, find the links between your critiques and the ideas set out in the question, this is part two. The final part is formulating an outline for your writing, by interweaving your ideas within the bounds of the essay, to create a strong plan.
As a word of warning, be sure that you are linking back to the original question, not just writing what you want. Trying the latter will likely damage the relevance and focus of your writing. With this being said however, as long as you can ensure the relevancy of your work, then this approach could be one tool in your locker of writing tactics.
Write a questionable first draft
Nervous that you cannot write an essay that is ‘good enough’? Write it imperfectly! You can only do so much planning and thinking before writing becomes the best option, and contrary to what you may think, ‘great writers’, do not write perfect drafts automatically.
A messy draft may look like writing: “I don’t know what to put here” or “I will continue this thought later”, putting comments in the margins with thoughts or ideas that you can research in more detail, or even highlighting the sections that you feel unsure about. Write in pieces, start with the body of your text first or try bullet points to make an overview of what you will eventually write. Basically anything goes! This approach is great as it helps you to build momentum and motivation, by allowing yourself to write imperfectly.
Once you have finished your first draft, pause, and then try reading it through to identify what you need to add. In reviewing your work, you are giving yourself a structured list of points to correct, so that you can edit with confidence and finish on time.
Give it a go and see what progress you can make when you write questionably.
Reframe your thoughts
This final method is not explicitly a writing tip but useful nonetheless.
Taking inspiration from Carol Dweck’s ideas on ‘ growth mindset’, this tips centres around the question of ‘what do you know?’.
Many students have fallen into the trap of believing that they “know nothing” and therefore cannot start. By reminding your brain about what you already know, you can grow your confidence to start writing.
For this, you start by asking yourself the question ‘what do I know about x topic?’ – it can be as small as a key word or a description of a process, even if you cannot define it or develop it further. There is no judgment.
Usually what you will realise is that it is a part of your work that is tricky, not all of it, helping you to re-evaluate where you are putting your effort.
Try this when you are having a tough revision session or essay writing day, by re-framing the black and white assumption that you are either all-knowing or completely clueless. You do know things and may just need to put some more targeted learning into specific areas, and that is okay!
And if you are still unsure, have a look at the power of shifting your mindset from these articles on ‘growth mindset’ –
Growth Mindset and Enhanced Learning | Teaching Commons
Carol Dweck Revisits the ‘Growth Mindset’ (Opinion)
View of Positive reframing/rethinking: the simple, effective strategy for tutorials
What can I take from this?
Firstly, hitting writers block does not mean you cannot do the work, you just might need a different approach. Whether that is trying a new way of communicating your ideas, writing messily or reframing your beliefs, you are not stuck.
As a final note, do still ensure you are maintaining your usual good habits on sleep, nutrition and taking breaks. They will help your brain’s creativity as much as any tip can. With this being said, hopefully one of these methods will be useful and good luck in your next battle with the blank page!
Imogen
