5 Lines - How to Escape Writer’s Block

Niches are overrated. Especially when you're starting out as a writer. Trying my darndest to write within the productivity/habit niche made me utterly miserable at the beginning of 2020, but I clung to it because my audience seemed to enjoy reading that stuff. Eventually, I could cling no more.

I fell off the writing cliff and didn't write another article until September, 6 months down the line. But when I first sat down to write again, I felt like an out of shape bodybuilder. Could I still lift like I used to? Would I be able to write a full article? What would I even write about? Did I qualify to write about the things I was interested in?

Then a simple insight rescued me from that spiral of self-doubt and questioning: I didn't need to write within a niche. I didn't need to write about any particular topic to be a writer. And most importantly, I didn't need to write a long-form piece for my thoughts to matter.

That night at midnight, I picked one thing I was excited to write about (why I hated my birthday) and set out to write 5 lines about it. I ended up writing until 4AM. So If you've been away from writing for a while and are trying to get back, or you're stuck in a rut, try this.

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and ask yourself: what do I want to write 5 lines about?