How to Break Out Of Writer's Block
It's Easy and Fun
Stuck Creatively? Try This Simple Cut-Up Method to Break Through Block
If you're staring at a blank screen waiting for inspiration to strike, you're not alone. Creative block—or what some call “Resistance,” as defined by Steven Pressfield in The War of Art—can make you feel like your creative process has stalled out completely.
But here's the truth: writing or making anything doesn’t always look productive at first.
Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your creativity is... nothing.
At least for a little while.
Step Away from the Pressure
That moment when you sit down to create doesn’t have to feel like a final showdown with a Pokemon villain. Instead of trying to force out the “right” idea, start by immersing yourself in your favorite media.
Movies. TV. Music. Novels. Comics. Video games. Screenplays.
Let your mind connect with the things you already love.
Use the Cut-Up Technique (Remix to Reignite)
Here's a fast and effective method to break through creative block:
Copy a line from a novel or screenplay you love.
Paste it next to a quote from a movie that moves you.
Repeat this process several times.
Shuffle the order—don’t worry about logic or structure.
Fill the gaps with your own words where the pieces don’t connect.
The goal isn’t to create something perfect.
The goal is to write.
You're no longer blocked—you’re remixing, riffing, rewriting.
You’re creating.
Let Go of Perfection
Don’t worry about originality right now. Don’t worry about how “pure” or “authentic” the sentence feels. Just be glad you’re putting something down. You can polish later. Rejoice in the immersion of the creative act.
“The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter because some new idea has hit me.”
Ray Bradbury
Even two or three pages of this method can loosen the grip of creative resistance.
Then—Step Away Again
After you’ve written, take a break. Walk. Stretch. Hang out with a friend. Watch something comforting. Celebrate.
You didn’t beat writer’s block.
You proved it wasn’t real.
I love this! I'm not writing fiction, but I'd love to, and this might be something fun to do; I definitely find that when I'm just enjoying a good read or a good show or just had an amazing session, the stuff just flows. Happy to follow a fellow Sci Fi er and Bradbury fan!
Such a good trick to try! Sometimes all we need is a mindset shift. To realize that we can get out of the rut we constructed in our minds then put ourselves in. To create for the meaning of it, not for the pressure of perfection or productivity. To work with the natural, unpredictable, “inefficient” human flow of creativity, instead of against it.