There is no secret that essay writing is one of the integral elements of the educational program. Whether you are still in high school or have already transitioned to college, chances are that you will have to do plenty of writing. And your final grades will depend on it a lot!
In case you are wondering how to handle such assignments, the answer is rather obvious – it takes:
- time;
- dedication;
- a number of skills;
- lots of inspiration.
The sad truth is that inspiration doesn’t always come easy. Or, to be more precise, it very rarely comes easy. So, in most cases, we need an extra push to get ideas rolling. Thus, if you have suddenly found yourself staring at an empty page, not having the slightest idea of what to write about in your essay, one thing to remember is that it is absolutely normal.
Okay, but how to overcome this? One solution to this block is taking some good rest. To do this, you can entrust your assignments to a reliable academic helper like EssayHub – just say “please, write my essay” and get plenty of time for rest along with an A-level paper. Or, you can overcome this challenge using the simple tricks and exercises collected in this article!
Use a Prompt
This is one of the professional authors’ all-time favorite writing tricks for sparking original thinking. And, in fact, many other creatives also use it because it can increase one’s creativity levels for pretty much any purpose.
The exercise is very simple. You need to come up with a simple prompt, let’s say, your favorite season or place on earth, and create a detailed story based on this prompt. Practice doing this regularly and you will feel full of inspiration.
Pro tip: In case you can’t come up with a prompt yourself, there are plenty of them on the Internet.
Say It in Only Six Words
A worldwide famous author Ernest Hemingway once wrote what is now considered one of the best examples of flash fiction. “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” – it is a story that consists of only six words and yet delivers a pretty clear (though rather dark) message. In the world of literature, writing such six-word stories is considered a sign of true mastery, and a great exercise to train one’s skills.
If you feel a lack of inspiration for your next essay, be sure to try this trick. Try to create something meaningful in only six words and we bet that it will spark your creativity.
Write by Hand
In the digital world, it really seems like many people are starting to forget what it feels like to put their thoughts on paper by hand. We got used to typing, but, the truth is that creating something by hand always sparks inspiration.
Thus, one more effective exercise many authors use is practicing regular writing by hand. Try it yourself to see how well it can work!
Avoid First-Person Pronouns
Another interesting exercise was suggested by an American writer and editor Dorothea Brand. The trick is simple – one should try to write a letter eliminating singular first-person pronouns (i.e. I, me, my, and mine) from the text. If you want to level up, you can start talking for 15 minutes a day without using these pronouns.
According to Dorothea, this simple exercise can really help one to keep their mind sharp and boost creativity.
Take a Different Perspective
Often, when you don’t know how to approach the topic and start your essay, it helps to take a break and look at things from a different angle.
Let’s say you are assigned to create an argumentative essay and you have already defined your stance on the topic but can’t start. To bolster your inspiration, try considering the topic from the opposite perspective. Debate on it from the other stance. This should give you some ideas for elaborating your own point of view.
There is also another way. Go to NoCramming and read some essay writing services reviews. It doesn’t matter whether they are good. Just look for some points people mention but you’ve never thought of, like ‘natural flow’, ‘concise sentences’, ‘intriguing beginning’, and so on.
Create a Mind Map
Mindmapping is not a new concept, but it is another effective exercise for organizing your ideas and coming up with new ones.
To get started take a piece of paper and put the main question or topic of your essay at the center. Next, draw lots of lines from the topic and put a relevant idea or argument at the end of each of them. This way, you will outline your paper visually, which should help to get started on it.
Pro tip: Though it is recommended to do everything by hand, you can also use special software if you don’t feel like drawing diagrams.
Start Meditating
Regular meditation is always associated with clarity, stress relief, and inspiration. Experts say that even 10-15 minutes of meditation every morning can help improve one’s creative thinking, motivation, and inspiration.
Thus, if you are typically struggling with writing essays, be sure to try this method. And, if you are not yet a pro in meditating, be sure to try online video lessons or special apps to get on the right track and start feeling the positive changes sooner.
Add Regular Physical Activity to Your Schedule
Finally, one more tip we can give you for boosting creativity and inspiration, and retaining them, is to make physical activity a part of your everyday life. Numerous studies confirm that physical exercise has a very positive influence on one’s brain.
To be more specific, scientists assure that regular physical activity results in better convergent and divergent thinking, which are the two major components of creativity. So, don’t hesitate – choose a sport that you like and make it a part of your life to boost your academic success!
The Bottom Line
When you are forced to work on dozens of academic papers every semester, it can feel rather hard to retain motivation and inspiration. However, the tricks and exercises mentioned earlier are time-tested and proven to help get those ideas rolling. Try them yourself and you will easily overcome your blocks and create great essays with ease!
