ANNIHILATING WRITER'S BLOCK!

For starters, Dilip Mukerjea doesn't believe in writer's block! But for those of you who do, he suggests the following remedies to resurrect your neurons:

Talk to strangers
(Yes, even strange people . . . like the person penning these lines). They provide perspectives that are off-kilter and can sides-wipe you into a serendipitous awakening from literary slumber!

Talk to people who are No Longer Alive
(Yes, they can serve as role models, stimulants, and agent provocateurs!). Read their stories, hear their tales, tune in to their spirits.

Talk to Stuffed Toys
(Yes, they do answer back!)

Talk to Plants and Animals
(Yes, they can converse better than many humans!).

Conquer the Conquerable!
Move ahead and keep moving, by taking on the easy challenges, winning quick victories, so as to build stamina for the long haul, and celebrate every success!

Freewrite
at random . . . anything,, anywhere, anyhow! 2 minutes non-stop! Suspend judgement. If you are at the keyboard, cover the monitor if you have to. Keep writing. Don't worry about gibberish, misspellings, and grammatical humdingers. Keep your hand moving and your brain will think it's writing. No sweat. To be mindful, you need to be mindless!

Freewrite in the Nude!
(Yes, it does free your brain, since your brain and body are connected! At least mine are!).

Take regular breaks!
After say, an intense freewriting stint, take a break. Do not think about writing whilst on your break. In fact, do not think . . . at all! Walk! Not grimly and calisthenically but for joy! Oxygenate your soul!

Impersonate a Persona
(No, not illegally, metaphorically!) Write as if you were a great writer, such as Virginia Woolf, Hemingway, Helen Keller, Dostoevsky. View your theme from someone else's perspective, style, approach, interest, torment!

Change the medium
If you have been writing at the computer, get away and start scribbling on rough paper instead. get the real feel of a pen scratching on paper.

Hallucinate Positively
Quite ass-whipping yourself! Visualise catastrophes if you must, but visualise them happening to other catastrophes. Stay cool and enjoy your creative mentations. If you can fantasise, you can write!

Drink LOTS of Water!
(Don't worry about irrigation; water hydrates, lubricates, and electrolytically stimulates your genius!)

[Excerpted from 'Taleblazers: Imagination to Imprint', by Dilip Mukerjea. All the images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]