Align Your Mind With Your Heart and Overcome Writer’s Block

Overcoming writer’s block is no easy feat. The words are stuck. The characters are in limbo. The story is slow. The light has gone out of your life.

There’s a path you can take that will bring you out of the slump and soon you will soar to heights of writing ecstasy. Yup! Ecstasy.

Humans aren’t always the smartest. Common sense isn’t, as I’m sure you’re aware, common. Our brains are supposed to be rational and full of logic that allows us to make good decisions. But there’s something that gets in the way: Emotions.

Yes, emotions. And when we think with our heart, things don’t always go well.

Her heart is telling her to use the last bit of energy to climb to the top of the mountain. Exhausted, she gets to the summit. Now, time to head back down. She forgot about that.

Perhaps he likes a woman, but their goals and values don’t align. Yet, she’s so cute. So, when she asks him out, he says yes, and the regrets are immediate. He should have gone with his intellect, rather than his heart.

Humans are cursed with an estrangement between the mind and the heart. The head says no, and yet, the emotions want french fries, so much!

She’s a writer, and she sits down to write because her head tells her it’s what she’s supposed to do. But her heart isn’t in it. This estrangement is called a cold passion.

When she wants so badly to write because she knows the plot, the characters, and how to make the scene tense, her mind says it’s important to sit down and get it done. Everything is aligned and focused. She’s in a hot passion.

Hot passion is our goal, and without context, the term raises eyebrows. And yet, we need the desire when we’re suffering from writer’s block. Here are a few tips to realign our intellect with our emotions and get that magic back.

• Spend time getting to know your characters. You may not know them deeply enough. Take them out to dinner with you. Go on a walk with them. Ask them why their story is important. They may offer insight you didn’t know, and you’ll engage your emotions for them again.
• Throw in a surprise and see how your characters react. A crazy ex or a car accident or a meteor hitting the earth, you’re limited by your imagination. You’ll never get bored with your story, and your readers definitely won’t.
• Use your intellect by writing a poetic scene. Something truly beautiful that stands the test of time. Make the words flow so your heart melts.
• Self care is vital. When the emotions and mind are fighting, generally we’re tired, bored, burned out, or we’re ill. Take care of yourself.

Take time to connect the emotions with your intellect and you will break through your writer’s block, and be on your way to success!