: Re: Help! I've got Writer's Block I really want to write, but as soon as I sit down and set pen to paper, my mind goes blank. I can't think of anything to write. Sometimes I stare at my screen

@Phylliss352

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The key point with writing is that writing should be a habit.

I would go so far as to say that what you write (initially) is probably not as important as the fact that you write.

Many authors have confessed to sometimes sitting down and just writing "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" and other inane phrases over and over again.

Why? Because this is what helps to release your subconscious, which is where you want to be.

It is exceptionally rare that you'll ever sit down and be able to write something "read-worthy" immediately. Most writers develop and incubate ideas over long periods of time.

I would therefore say that the right place to start is to:

Get a small journal you can take with you everywhere. Doesn't have to be fancy or expensive, just something good, portable, and sturdy.
Get into the habit of jotting down observations: things you see, read, hear - everything.
Get into the habit of cutting out clippings from newspapers that you like, or photographs that trigger ideas, and then writing down what you liked about them, or how you may use them.
Get into the habit of using your journal like a diary as well. Write down things that you did that day, the things that struck you as interesting.
Get into the habit of writing about writing, and about what you've read.
Get into the habit of writing about your own memories and thoughts: things you remember happening to you, to friends and family.
Start looking at and listening to people, and think of them in terms of possible characters: their flaws and contradictions; their habits; their appearances. Make small character sketches.
Try writing early in the morning just when you wake up and before you've done anything. Just get up and write. It doesn't matter what it is, just follow your stream of consciousness.
Also look at using word association. If you come up with an idea like "I want to write a story about a ghost", then write down the word ghost. Start writing words that pop in your head with relation to that, and create a word tree with branches. If something you write down triggers an idea, write a branch from that word. (Believe me, this does work!)

You'll notice the key element through all this is: write.

Soon, you'll start to come up with ideas of what to do with what you've written, and you'll write some more ... and that's where the magic is.

Write.

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