Just about every writer, at some point in their career, deals with the dreaded condition commonly known as “Writer’s Block.”

Since I published my first book a few days before my thirtieth birthday in 2016, I have certainly gone through periods of creative abundance and drought. In my periods of extreme productivity, it seemed like I couldn’t hit the keyboard fast enough to get all the words out. There were also days where it was like wringing a dry washcloth to get a single drop of water out.

What is the difference between those productive periods and not-so-productive periods?

In other words, what is the cure for writer’s block? Is there even a ‘cure’ for writer’s block?

I’m going to get to that. But first, I think it’s important to dig a little deeper into what writer’s block is and where it comes from.

Here’s a quote from one of my favorite authors on writer’s block:

Most of the time, when we are blocked in an area of our life, it is because we feel safer that way.

-Julia, Cameron, The Artist’s Way

To me, this makes perfect sense. Most often, my inability to get words down on the page is due to some root fear or unaddressed feeling about myself and my own writing. It’s not that I’m blocked from writing, or that I lack ideas. Instead, it’s usually because of my own negative beliefs. Here’s a smattering of some of my own negative beliefs that have a tendency to crowd into my head:

-These thoughts I’m putting down are downright dirty, and I’m definitely going to hell, if there is a hell

-You’re weird, Mickey, and everyone will think that about you after you finish writing this book. Why do you enjoy writing romance? It’s a female genre.

-I’ll write bad work, not know it, and look like a fool

-My ideas aren’t good

-If I haven’t become a widely successful author yet, I’m not going to be one any time soon

Even as I read this list back to myself, I can tell many of the points are fairly irrational. Going to hell? Really? I don’t believe in hell. But, I was raised Catholic, so the idea of a fire and brimstone punishment still has the ability to creep into my writing and give me writer’s block. It’s actually a little creepy, isn’t it? But it’s true. Maybe you’ve had similar irrational thoughts.

Maybe some of what I’ve written down could be true, like the fact that romance is a mostly female genre. But if I’ve decided that I enjoy writing romance, that too is an irrational belief since I’m worried about how people are judging me.

I write this personal list of negative beliefs down to demonstrate that whatever is blocking you from writing doesn’t have to be rational. In fact, your writer’s block is likely made up of irrational negative beliefs that are deeply embedded within you. To steal a phrase from David Foster Wallace, these beliefs are like a fish in water. They’re all around you even if you don’t notice them.

Julia Cameron agrees. Here is a little more of her analysis of blocked creatives:

Negative Beliefs are exactly that: beliefs, not facts. Artists need not be drunk, crazy, broke, alone–or any of a number of our culture’s negative beliefs about them.

So how does one find these negative beliefs? You must explore and excavate them like a fish who explores the water. And the best tool for doing this is The Morning Pages.

The morning pages are such a simple tool, they are almost deceiving in their simplicity. But don’t be fooled. They are not to be underestimated.

How to do the Morning Pages and Beat Writer’s Block

1. Set your alarm clock a half hour earlier. If a half hour is too intimidating, do fifteen minutes. And if that doesn’t work. Ten. I started out with five minutes. You must pick an amount of time that you can repeat daily.
2. Write three pages in a notebook, longhand, about anything that comes to mind. If you can’t write three, write two. If not two, then one. The key is to start with something.
3. The content you write DOES NOT MATTER. You want to focus on writing whatever comes to mind. From experience I can tell you that you might often right down stuff that seems ‘frivolous’ to you. Lean into this feeling. It’s normal. You’re not showing this writing to anyone. It is for you and you alone.
4. Do this consistently, at least 5+ days per week. This is key. Essentially what this activity does is build your writing ‘muscle’ while creating a link between your subconscious and what you are writing.

This is a basic rundown. The morning pages are the closest thing to “magic” that exists when it comes to beating writer’s block. I still start almost every single day with writing morning pages and coffee. It’s a soothing form of mediation, and I’ve come to crave it. It settles me. Sometimes the morning pages seem whiny and trite. Other times, I’ll be writing about something insignificant when all of the sudden some big realization will set in. In any case, it clears away the noise of my mind to go and write whatever I need to write for the day.

If you would like to learn more about the morning pages and how to conquer writer’s block, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Creativity.

I am not exaggerating when I say I would not be a full time writer if I hadn’t read this book and followed through with the exercises, the most important of which are the morning pages. I consider my own mother a blocked creative, and I’ve actually bought The Artist’s Way book + journal combo for her as a summer gift. Of course, you don’t really need the ‘official’ journal. You can write in any old notebook you have laying around and start the morning pages right now. But I am a huge fan of the quotes that come in the official journal, like:

Because art is born in expansion, in a belief in sufficient supply, it is critical that we pamper ourselves for the sense of abundance it brings us.

It is quite possible, to be both an artist and romantically fulfilled. It is quite possible to be an artist and financially successful.

Think of the mind as a room. In that room we keep all of our usual ideas about life. The room has a door. That door is ever so slightly ajar, and outside we can see a great deal of dazzling light.

– All quotes from Julia Cameron’s Writing Journal.

I will admit that after I filled up the first official writing journal in a little over twelve weeks, I become obsessed with extra large Moleskin notebooks which are the only journal I use now. I highly recommend them. There is just something special about moleskins. I use the unlined version (you know, because creatives can’t stay between the lines and all that). They are a tad on the pricey side for a simple notebook, and I’m sure there are less expensive options out there as well. What can I say, I have an addictive writing habit.

I’m also going to give away a copy of both books this week to one lucky person in my Facebook Group, Mickey’s Writing Mill. All you have to do is comment on the post about what you think is your biggest negative self-belief and where you think it comes from, and share this blog post somewhere.

Please also let me know what you think about this behind-the-scenes post. I’ve never written one quite like this, but judging from the questions I’ve been getting in the Facebook group I felt it would be useful.

If you’ve ever thought about writing seriously, I’ll leave you with this quote from a living writing legend. He didn’t sell his first screenplay until he was in his thirties, and he wrote it while still working full time as a lawyer.

Of the people 100 people I’ve given [the book] to, maybe ten of them have actually opened the book and done the exercises. Of those ten, seven have had books, movies, TV shows, and made out successful.

-Brian Koppelman, writer of such screenplays as Rounders and Billions

Writing is a form of magic. You are creating something (your own story with unique characters) where there once was nothing.

I wish you the best of luck on your writing journey and your morning pages.