How do you get past writer's block

Philippines
May 11, 2007 11:00pm CST
I'm working on my thesis and I really seem to have hit a rut. I feel like there's something wrong with my outline but I really can't tell what it is exactly. It's like I finished 20 pages of it only to discover that I can't expand it anymore, and honestly, I'm starting to get a little discouraged. Any idea how I can get back into the zone?
1 person likes this
2 responses
• United States
12 May 07
First, I'd like to recommend a book that's helped me over and over again -- Outwitting Writer's Block and Other Problems of the Pen by Jenna Glatzer. I love that book. Another way I get through writer's block is by writing something completely different to get the juices flowing again: a journal entry or two, a short story, an article or anything else that keeps the pen moving.
• Philippines
13 May 07
Thanks! I think I'll try that. My brain is a bit tired from all this thinking within a box... maybe I just need to get out of it :)
1 person likes this
• United States
14 May 07
(If this pops up twice, I'm sorry - the original reply vanished into the internet void.) I'm glad I could help! I'm also reading Make Your Creative Dreams Real by SARK. There's a lot of creative prompts in there that have gotten me through some really bad slumps (like, for example, when I was writing a high level Enlish text book . . . I thought my brain was going to turn to soup about mid-way through).
@AnythngArt (3302)
• United States
13 May 07
Usually with a thesis, you have to have an outline. I would treat each chapter of your thesis like its own story. For example, let's say your thesis is on why cats eat so much. The first part focuses on eating. You can look at that as a complete subject: how much they eat compared with other animals, etc. Then your next part is on the psychology of why cats eat. You treat this as a completely new story. They eat more when they have new food, when they are in different circumstances. Finally I would say that if you truly feel like you don't have enough to say about your thesis topic, then maybe you need to do more research about your subject. Hope any of this helps. Good luck with your writing.
• Philippines
13 May 07
Thanks! I'm doing more research now, and it is helping. Also, the over-all outline fazes me a bit because the thesis is so long. So I think I'll just be outlining it per chapter
1 person likes this