Have you ever wondered how many words are lost because of not being said or written just the way they are?

Why loosing such an incredible and irrefutable chance? Say whatever you need to say, make yourself heard worldwide and write down everything you’ve been keeping bottled up inside by now! Make the best out of it! Who knows? Maybe you’re going to become the author of the year for over sale or because of some innovative personal approach. Dare to dream and don’t ever get scared because of the so-called “writing block” people are gossiping all around. That is not a good enough reason to simply let it go and abandon your native talent. On the contrary, you should grow in development with that native talent of yours and put any prejudice to rest.

You should feel proud with this fabulous gift you inherited from your parents and start writing, no matter what! Writer’s block is not an issue you may consider!

Spread your wings and let the unsaid words flow in endless lines down on the paper. If, somehow, you don’t find whatever you’re writing appealing enough, start it all over again but never give up! Hold on to your hopes, dreams and stumble wishes, write without using period, without breathing, without looking back! Read it out loud, change wherever you’ve got the annoying feeling there’s something to be added, removed or reinterpreted, do what you have to do in order to get it right! Forget about any block!

This only occurs when you’re under stress or carry too much pressure on your shoulders. Avoid nerve-racking situations, stay cool and chill whenever you feel like walking on eggshells. There is no shaky ground under your feet unless you make it look like it is! I know…that’s pretty hard to reflect upon but you’ve got no other choice but this: trust your instincts, believe in yourself and go with the flow until you reach the end of your chapters! Before putting down the final note and start thinking of some impressive title, take a full tour of all of your papers and reconsider, if needed, possible misjudgments, misinterpretations or missing points.

Speak from your own heart and there will be no spare room left for failure. Positive thinking always helps. That’s what professional writers, prestigious poets and word-artists do! Those people don’t know what writer’s block is all about! They just stay away from tension, scandals, bad news and irritating thoughts so they can concentrate to work. After all, readers can easily feel that, at one point, the author got stuck and stumbled over a chapter or two. They really do! If the whole book is fluently written, they’ll notice that there is some natural impulse involved, whether you believe it or not! Your readers are the best critics; they know exactly what you’ve been through while writing each and every line of it. It’s that simple!

So you better take a sip of water, make yourself comfortable in your chair and refrain from taking the pencil off the paper till you’re done and finish the first thought that goes through your mind. Don’t play around the message! Just put it down from the first moment it flashed through your head. You know what they say: the first is the best. Simply think that writer’s block is not an option for you! And there is this lifetime guarantee that such a disaster is not going to happen as long as you stay focused on what you’re doing and trust your senses.

“Why can’t I write anymore?” Sounds pretty familiar, doesn’t it?

Well…this is that certain sort of question that arises in our creative minds once in a while. You all may wonder: “why does this happen when you least expect it?” They say that so-called “blank page” periods most likely occur under stressful conditions and lack of inspiration. But those are not the only concerns when it comes about writing. A professional and highly experienced writer can encounter such block while reaching for the highest pick of his carrier or…why not, attempting to launch brand new published papers on the market. Writer’s block is not necessarily supposed to happen only in time of crisis but under prosperous circumstances too. It strikes anyone, anytime, anywhere without warning!

There are several signals which are to be considered before putting the pencil on paper and dropping the very first lines of a potential successful novel! Every professional writer has to make sure that no distraction or any other jeopardizing factor and harmful environment can ever shatter the silence around. A peaceful state of mind and, of course, a balanced and disciplined life style – those are nothing but essential for a pen-performer, right before committing to writing. No worries, no negative thoughts, no debts, no divorce papers, no screaming and shouting all around the house and…like someone said once…”no flashing toilet”! That’s the number one rule! No dreadful noise around the author’s desk! Don’t even think to start writing before turning off any alarm, shutting the windows and setting silence mode for your cell-phone. However, some of these adjuvant rules are to be obeyed and some are not! It depends on the writer’s particular reaction to all of these external factors. For instance, there are many published authors that cannot possibly concentrate on writing without listening to music at the same time.

Writer’s block can be fooled in so many ways. Certified experts believe that a long walk down the beach or simply going outside for some fresh air, even walking your dog for a couple of hours, can work miracles! Whenever you feel stuck in a limited idea and can’t go on with focusing on some of your chapters, all you need to do is…STOP! Stop working, quit writing and try to do something else for a change, just for a couple of minutes! Make yourself a mid-day snack, take a hot shower, turn your living floor in a dance floor, move, walk, shake your arms and legs all around the house, ride a bike or a bus or just go a drive carrying no destination ahead. You can do all these things everytime you feel trapped in front of the keyboard. Once you’ve taken this moment for granted while enjoying a cup of tea, even just for a while, you can return to your writing with this invigorated mind and recharged batteries. Don’t make a big fuss out of it! Just live the moment as it is, don’t panic and try to recover your lost inspiration. Believe that this is just temporary and be positive about your own creative skills! Don’t ever let yourself fooled by tricky moments like these! On the other hand, there are writers who think they should ask for professional help in order to get over this as quickly as possible. You can also get counseling if you want. Talk to a shrink, ask for accredited advice, follow specific instructions but keep yourself busy all the time! This is crucial! As long as you’ve got something to do around the house, you’ll notice that your writing ideas are coming back, one at a time. You’ll even wake yourself up in the middle of the night for laying spontaneous thoughts down on the paper!

This is absolutely normal! And it’s surely a full-size notice of improvement. It means you’re heading the right track so that one day, the dream of your lifetime finally comes true: associate your name with a best-seller on the top shelves of the National Library!

Years ago at a presentation at the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program, I promised an audience to teach them to conquer this beast once and for all. Later, another instructor approached me and said “why did you say that to those people? It’s not possible.”

Poor woman. All she was saying is that SHE cannot break writer’s block, which told me all I need to know about her career. In all likelihood a promising beginning, perhaps an award-winning poem or book…and then pain.

It is not only possible to end writer’s block forever, but you can actually use it to your advantage!

First, let us define it in some useful way: Writer’s block is the inability to:

1. Produce new text.
2. Edit and polish existing text
3. Finish projects on a reasonable schedule
4. Send those projects out for editorial judgment.
5. Continue sending them out until they are sold.

Accepting the above, I’m going to give you a definition of the root cause of Writer’s Block that will actually help you in every arena of your life.

“Writer’s Block is nothing more than a confusion of two different states of mind: the Flow state, where you produce new text, and the Editing state, where you evaluate and polish what you have written.”

The reason WB is such a killer is that most of us have done far more reading than we have writing, and spend far more time in critical analysis of finished, polished work of the masters than in experiencing our own early drafts. So when we try to create text, we measure our first draft efforts against the polished work of the world’s great writers. Immediately, that “this is garbage!” voice goes off in your head, and you have a block.

It is said that novice writers must work through a million words of garbage before reaching their true voice. How in the world will you ever get through it if you constantly judge every word? If you will learn to turn that voice off, you will learn a massive and important lesson about the structure of the human psyche.

But what exactly is “Flow”? It is the psychological state where time seems to vanish, where you “fall into the page”, where the rest of the world floats away as you concentrate. This is similar to the “hypnogogic” state experienced just prior to sleep, and the first thing in the morning. It is experienced in distance running, dancing (remember the lyrics to “Flashdance”? “She’s moved into the danger zone, where the dancer becomes the dance”) and, to be perfectly frank, it is experienced during sexual relations in the moments just prior to orgasm. It is the dissolution of the subject-object relationship sought by numerous schools of meditation.

1) Alternate days (or work sessions) between flow and editing. If necessary, wear different hats, or sit in different chairs for each. NEVER DO BOTH IN THE SAME SESSION

2) Set yourself a daily output that will get you to your goal of one million words in less than 5 years. 1000 words a day will do it in three years. That’s roughly comparable to earning an AA degree. Not too shabby!

3) Explore and specifically study “Flow State” as a discipline. Do your internet searches and find a physical or mental activity (running, dancing, meditation, Tai chi, yoga, etc.) that opens a doorway to this inner world.

4) Listen to largo rhythm, sixty-beat per minute string music. Vivaldi is perfect for this, and induces “Alpha” (flow) state rapidly and effectively. Stay away from music with lyrics, but soft jazz is also terrific.

5) Practice making pictures in your mind, and then writing down what you see WITHOUT judging the quality of your descriptions. You want to enhance the connection between your deep consciousness and your typing or writing.

6) If you can’t find a good meditation technique, just sit and “listen” to your own heartbeat for 15-30 minutes a day.

There are many other ideas, but these will get you started. The most valuable thing you will learn is to “turn off” or ignore the negative voices in your head. And an artist who learns to do this on demand is on the way to integration of the deep levels of the unconscious…and greater joy in the act of creation.