Step 1: Write every day
If you are serious about improving your writing, than you have to seriously adopt the habit of doing something writing related every day, even when you don't feel like it. Writer's block can only happen if you let it. I've found that when I do get stuck, it's because I'm thinking too hard about the finished product. If I shift my focus on this sentence, this paragraph, or this thought, the fear of failure goes away. That's all writer's block is: the fear that what you write won't be good enough.But here's a trick. Like most distasteful things in life (writing can be very distasteful and frustrating at times), the emotional blocks that stop you can be circumvented by establishing a routine. Set aside a time of day where you sit down and do nothing but write. Keep this time period short. Starting off, you might want to treat writing as a morning stretch for the mind. Wake up five minutes earlier, and write for five minutes. You might end up writing for longer than that but the time limit is to allay your subconscious anxiety about being stuck with a task you can't finish. Other than the time limit, the only requirement is that you stay consistent. Write every day, at the same time of day if possible, so that the routine becomes a regular part of your life. Time doesn't carry over. Four hours of writing one day does not excuse you from writing for even one day because that one day could be the one that kills your routine. Obviously this becomes less important as the writing habit sets in, but initially, you must do it every day.
One of the most annoying traits I see in others, but mostly in myself, is the tendency to read a lot of how-to's and books about self-improvement when really the more difficult and effective thing to do would be practicing the skill in question. So before you read any more, take a five minute writing break to write about anything you want. It can be freewriting or gibberish. As long as you write.
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