by Suzanne Lieurance
Writer’s block is one of those things every writer dreads — and almost every writer misunderstands.
You sit down to write. The document is open. The time is yours. And nothing comes. Or worse — something comes, but it feels wrong, and you delete it, and an hour disappears.
You call it writer’s block. And the moment you name it, it gets heavier.
But here’s what I want you to consider: writer’s block isn’t a writing problem. It isn’t even really a creativity problem. In almost every case I’ve seen — and after 25 years of coaching writers, I’ve seen a lot of them — it’s a mindset problem. An energy problem. An identity problem.
And that changes everything. Because mindset, energy, and identity are things you can actually shift.
WHAT WRITER’S BLOCK REALLY IS
The term “writer’s block” has been around since 1947, when a psychiatrist named Edmund Bergler coined it. And ever since, writers have been using it to describe a wide range of experiences: the blank page, the stalled draft, the sudden inability to put words together that felt so natural yesterday.
What almost nobody talks about is what’s underneath.
In my experience, writer’s block nearly always comes from one of three things:
FEAR. Fear that what you write won’t be good enough. Fear that you’ll finish and nobody will care. Fear that this project — the one you’ve been carrying around for years — will finally be on the page and it still won’t be what you hoped.
RESISTANCE. Resistance is what happens when the stakes feel high. The more a project matters to you, the more resistance you’ll feel around it. It shows up as procrastination, distraction, suddenly needing to reorganize your bookshelves. It isn’t a sign that something is wrong. It’s a sign that something matters.
IDENTITY MISMATCH. This is the one most writers never see coming. If somewhere deep down you don’t fully believe you’re a writer — a real one, the kind who finishes things and puts work into the world — your subconscious will find ways to keep you from proving it. Not finishing protects you from finding out.
Writer’s block isn’t the universe telling you to stop. It’s usually the universe asking you to look at what’s in the way.
WHY THE LAW OF ATTRACTION MATTERS HERE
The Law of Attraction is based on a simple principle: like attracts like. What you focus on expands. The energy you bring to something shapes what that something becomes.
When you sit down to write and your dominant thought is I can’t do this, or this isn’t working, or I don’t know what I’m doing — you’re not in a neutral state. You’re actively creating resistance. You’re broadcasting a signal, and the Universe is matching it.
That’s not meant to make you feel bad. It’s meant to show you that you have more influence over this than you think.
When you approach your writing from a place of curiosity instead of fear, openness instead of force, trust instead of doubt — the words come differently. They come more easily. Writers who’ve learned to align their energy before they sit down to write will tell you: it makes a measurable difference.
So before we talk about practical techniques — and we will — let’s start with the real foundation.
SHIFT YOUR IDENTITY FIRST
If you see yourself as someone who struggles to write, who always gets stuck, who can’t seem to finish things — you will keep proving that story true. Not because you’re broken, but because your brain is incredibly good at finding evidence for whatever you already believe.
The most important shift you can make when you’re facing writer’s block isn’t a technique. It’s a decision.
Decide that you are a writer who moves through resistance. A writer who shows up even when it’s uncomfortable. A writer who trusts the process enough to keep going.
That identity shift — small as it sounds — starts to change the way you relate to the blank page. It turns writer’s block from a wall into a doorway.
If you want to go deeper on this, “How Your Writer Identity Shapes What You Create” is a great next read.
PRACTICAL WAYS TO MOVE THROUGH WRITER’S BLOCK
Once you’ve done the mindset work — even just a little of it — these practical techniques become much more effective. Think of them as tools that work best in the hands of a writer who’s already decided to move forward.
1. SET YOUR ENERGY BEFORE YOU SET YOUR WORDS.
Before you open your manuscript, take sixty seconds to get intentional. Ask yourself: what energy do I want to bring to this session? Not a word count. An energy. Curiosity. Ease. Trust. Just naming it quietly before you begin shifts the quality of what follows.
2. LOWER THE BAR — WAY DOWN.
One of the fastest ways to break through resistance is to make the task almost embarrassingly small. Not “write for an hour.” Not “finish this chapter.” Just write one sentence. One true sentence about where you are in the story or article. Then another. The momentum builds on its own once you’re moving.
3. FREE WRITE YOUR WAY IN.
Set a timer for ten minutes and write without stopping, without editing, without worrying about whether it’s good. This isn’t writing you’re going to use — it’s writing you’re using to warm up the engine. It gets the internal critic out of the driver’s seat long enough for the real work to begin.
4. WRITE A DIFFERENT SECTION.
You don’t have to write linearly. If you’re stuck on Chapter 6, go write a scene from Chapter 12 that you’ve been looking forward to. Give yourself permission to work on the part that’s calling to you. The stuck section will often loosen up once you’ve reminded yourself that you can write.
5. ASK WHAT YOU’RE REALLY AFRAID OF.
This is the LOA move that changes the most for writers once they try it. When you’re stuck, instead of pushing harder, get quiet and ask: What am I actually afraid of here? The answer is usually honest and a little uncomfortable. But naming it shrinks it. And then you can write anyway.
6. USE YOUR JOURNAL TO SCRIPT PAST THE BLOCK.
Scripting — writing about your writing life as if it’s already going well — is one of the most powerful LOA tools available to writers. Spend five minutes writing in your journal as your future writer self: the one who finished this project, who moved through the hard middle, who trusted the process. Then go write. You’ll be surprised what shifts. Try these Law of Attraction journaling techniques to get started.
7. CHANGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT.
Sometimes the block is partly physical. Your brain has associated your usual writing spot with the stuck feeling. Moving to a different room, a coffee shop, or even outside can interrupt that pattern enough to get the words flowing again.
8. TALK IT OUT.
Explain out loud — to yourself, to a trusted friend, even to your cat — where you are in the piece and where you’re trying to go. Something about the act of speaking rather than writing can bypass the inner critic and help you find your way to the next thing.
9. READ SOMETHING THAT INSPIRES YOU.
Not to copy it. To remember what it feels like when writing really works. Let someone else’s great prose remind you what you’re aiming for, and let that feeling carry you back to your own page.
10. CONNECT WITH OTHER WRITERS.
Isolation makes resistance worse. When you’re stuck, being around other writers who are also doing the work — even virtually — can shift your energy more quickly than almost anything else. That’s one of the reasons Monday Morning Manifestors exists. Community isn’t a luxury for writers. It’s a tool.
The writer who moves through resistance the fastest isn’t the most talented or the most disciplined. It’s the one who refuses to make the block mean something permanent.
A WORD ABOUT PATIENCE
Some sessions are hard. Some drafts are a slog. This doesn’t mean you’re blocked — it means you’re writing something that matters enough to feel difficult.
The Law of Attraction doesn’t promise that everything will be easy. It promises that the energy you bring shapes the experience you have. And over time, as you shift your identity, your self-talk, and your approach to resistance, the hard sessions become fewer. The flow becomes more reliable. The trust builds.
Be patient with yourself as that happens. Every writer who has ever finished something has sat exactly where you’re sitting right now. The ones who finished kept going anyway.
KEEP EXPLORING
If you’re ready to go deeper, here are some posts that build on what we covered here:
→ The Law of Attraction for Writers — the foundation everything else builds on
→ 10 Questions Writers Can Ask to Break Free from Limiting Beliefs — great when fear is the real culprit
10 Questions Writers Can Ask to Break Free from Limiting Beliefs
→ How to Become a Writer Who Finishes — for when the block is really about identity
→ Manifest Writing Success with These Law of Attraction Journaling Techniques — put the scripting technique into practice
Now, before you go, if you haven’t subscribed to The Morning Nudge, be sure to do that now, so you get our Law of Attraction Checklist for Writers and free access to our Private Resource Library for Writers, as well as a short email every weekday morning to help you manifest your writing dreams!
Suzanne Lieurance is the author of over 40 published books and a transformational Law of Attraction coach for writers who are ready to stop waiting to feel like the real thing. At Write by the Sea, she guides writers through the identity shift that changes everything — not just the writing, but the whole life built around it. She is the publisher of Manifesting Monthly magazine and the host of Monday Morning Manifestors.
