How I defeat "Writer's Block" + Thoughts on the Matter -by Sam

Hello all! This is my first post on this blog. :)

As seen by the title, I will be addressing the subject of the formidable, if not depressing, famous writer's block.

Writer's Block -as we so call it- seems to be more acknowledged than writing itself. Alright, so writing is super hard, but is writer's block really the worst thing that could possibly happen to a writer? Is it really the 'end of the line' for some well thought out stories?

writer's block: 

1. the condition of being unable to think of what to write, or how to proceed with writing.

A deadly condition as most would assume. 

Fortunately, I have come up with a few things to help myself (And hopefully others) from getting writer's block. An antidote if you will. 

(Note that this might not work with everyone. I have heard that character sheets and other such things help everyone who have come across them, but these sheets do not work with me, so I made up my own. :D)

#1:The "Lost Sock" Theory 

So, am I the only one, but does anyone else have in their house a box of 'lost' socks that don't have a match, and just sit there, gathering dust?

Well, even if you don't, this is the idea: You get an concept/ thought/idea. You write that idea down on whatever you can find, (napkins, slips of paper,  post it note) and you place it in a jar that is in easy reach, on your desk perhaps. The jar doesn't have to be big, just big enough to fit a bunch of cool idea's into it. :) You keep writing down ideas as they come to you, and easily, it should get full.

If you get writer's block, go to the jar, empty it out and look at all the slips of paper with all your awesome ideas on them. This works 70% of the time, at least for me. (And it is very helpful for my ever forgetful self, which forgets every good idea unless I write it down.)

#2: Find Inspiration in EVERYTHING

(Weird stick figure horse, but whatever)

This works immensely well on me.

"Oh awesome! That girl has a backwards green hat and green eyes! I'm totally making her into a character!"

"That man has a dirty red pickup truck that looks like it's about to fall apart! Totally writing that into my story." 

"The horse over there has a really short tail and a blue eye! That is so going to be my assassin's horse."

"Hey cool! It's raining!"

"Look, it's a random piece of paper on the floor. This needs to be in my book!"

So, you get the picture. Find inspiration in EVERYTHING. Even if you scrap the idea or character, at least you were using your imagination, and getting those juices pumped up helps with writer's block. 

#3: Keep the Tab open

If you use a computer to type up your work, it really helps to keep the tab with the writing on it open. That way, even if you are not writing, it will always be in the back of your mind as you scroll through Facebook or Pinterest. 

This also discourages procrastination. At least for me. With that story tab always open, I'm looking for new things from the internet (Even subconsciously) that could help with my story. And when I do find something, I don't have to open another tab, open up the story, wait for it to pop up, (Especially with slow internet) and then scroll all the way to the bottom where I last ended, just to forget the idea completely and sit there staring at my screen, wondering what Idea I had in the first place. 

Also, research.  It gives way to so many ideas if you just look up one thing. I have overcome the Writer's Block many ways with this method. 

Even if you don't need to do research for your story, do it anyway. Especially if you are stuck on that one sentence. Research gives you lots of inspiration. :)

So those are my ideas on how to destroy writer's block; that horrible mind-freezing stuff that makes you go brain dead in the strangest places in your story. :) 

I hope this helped in some way, and that you all weren't bored out of your heads. Thanks for taking the time to read! -Sam

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Comments? Suggestions? I would love to hear all of your ideas on how you defeat writer's block!