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“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.” -Vladimir Nabokov

There is a great scene in the 2002 movie Adaptation that captures the essence of writer's block. Charlie Kaufman played by Nicholas Cage sits in front of a typewriter. He stares at the blank page and waits for inspiration to strike. His mind wanders as he tries to maintain focus. “To begin... To begin... How to start? I'm hungry. I should get coffee. Coffee would help me think. Maybe I should write something first, then reward myself with coffee. Coffee and a muffin. So I need to establish the themes. Maybe a banana nut. That's a good muffin.”

In my professional and personal life I have approached writing from many different angles. My interest in the written word sparked at a very early age when my father handed down his old typewriter. Saturdays would drift by me as I clack-clacked the keys at the dining room table and then created illustrations for my stories. The finished pieces were bound with yarn and now sit in a dusty box in the family basement.

From there I moved on to writing workshop classes in high school and college and later gained my introduction to editing working for The Missouri Review. After college I expanded my editing experiences working for an accounting firm and editing the financial materials that came across my desk. At long last I landed in educational publishing, a field that combines my love of the written word and design. I have always valued and seen the importance of high-quality, informative, and interesting educational materials. To now be a part of the creation of those products, I feel incredibly fulfilled and find the work extremely rewarding, especially when I consider the positive impact our work has in the classroom.

In all of my experiences, whether working on creative, personal pieces, writing a proposal in the financial world, or working on an ancillary book, one thing has remained true: the continual fight against writer's block. Every writer finds his or her own way to fend off the frustrating and often paralyzing state of writer's block. I believe the writing process and working through creative challenges is a very personal process, one specific to each person. We all approach our work differently. For some it is a slow and steady process. For myself and others like Charlie Kaufman in Adaptation, inspiration and paragraphs come in great bursts. I am sitting still, staring blankly at the page and then suddenly I am scurrying to keep up with my thoughts, desperate to get the words out before they are lost again.

It has been important for me to capture that burst of inspiration and to find a way to tap into it throughout the day. For me, the best way to keep writer's block away starts before the workday even begins. In order for me to maintain focus and to tune into that creative energy, I like to approach my desk a half hour before work begins. I take the time to clear my desk, read emails, and breathe before the day starts. I follow the same routine at the end of the day, reading through emails, cleaning off my desk, and filing the pile of papers that has accumulated over the course of the day. 

In addition to keeping a tidy workspace, the biggest deterrent for writer's block I've found comes from Ernest Hemingway. In his book, A Moveable Feast, Hemingway observes life as an expat in Paris in the 1920s. We see Hemingway as a young, struggling writer with his wife Hadley and a great circle of writer and artist friends. After writing for a large part of the day, Hemingway does not stop until he is confident he has a starting point for the next day. Before he pauses for the evening, he is sure of where the story will pick up when he returns to the desk. This has been a very important piece of advice and I apply it to all areas of my life. Do not put something away until you know exactly where you will pick it up when you return again. This simple idea has helped me fight writer's block and become more productive in my work.

I am continually fascinated by the way people approach their work and the routines they follow each day. If you’re as curious as I am, I recommend checking out Daily Routines, a collection that describes how writers, artists, and other interesting people organize their days. Perhaps you'll uncover an approach that makes you more productive both inside and outside the office.

What is your daily routine? What has helped you become more productive and creative in your work?