Do anything which totally takes your mind off things for 20-30 minutes. That may be taking a walk, watching TV or whatever you need to give your conscious mind a break. I have to get away from my computer so I normally go and annoy the hell out of my wife for 15 minutes.
I generally don't suffer from writer's block, but I think that's because my personal situation doesn't leave much room for it. I brainstorm and mentally organize my work for the evening while laying down with my toddler at bedtime. When everyone's finally asleep for the day (I've given up working during the daylight hours), I sit down and power through my portioned out activities for the evening/night/early morning. I find scheduling my work in Outlook really helps to keep me on track as I'm never overwhelmed by a long list to do. I know exactly how much I can do in my limited amount of time and keep my workload at that level each evening. I also schedule work far into the future to accommodate this. I have a lot of routine work that makes it easier to do. Plus, I have to agree with Zac. I write on a rather limited number of topics most of the time. As I know a great deal on those topics, I almost always have SOMETHING to say. I found I had more writer's block trying to do fiction writing back in the day (read: junior high) as plot points are harder to organize than heading and subheadings. Nonfiction articles, which are the bulk of what I write, are simply a matter of organizing thoughts based on prior knowledge or research and then filling in the gaps with supporting details. If I were trying to write the next Great American Novel, you'd better believe I'd be having a much harder time filling in blank pages. But then again, I actually teach writing so I know all kinds of organizational and brainstorming tricks to get back on track and (hopefully) stay there. If I'm getting brain dead - usually due to sleep deprivation and maternal exhaustion, not writer's block, I take a shower and try to remember if I've eaten dinner yet. I might grab (yet another) snack, Diet Dr. Pepper, or just go peek in at my sleeping babies to give the old body a chance to move and let the brain snap back to attention. Haven't tried porn, but then it would probably just make me laugh. I love nothing more than a well-scripted and over-performed orgasm to guarantee a good laugh. Must be the cynic in me. Rebecca
Touch wood (hand on table), I haven't suffered with writer's block as of yet. Maybe because i'm still starting out but by reading this thread I am ready for it when it does come
I generally write or read something else, watch television, or play with my dog and mull things over in my mind. I find things come to me rather quickly when I am not trying to force them.
I force myself throught it. I look at it like running a marathon your body is telling you know and your force yourself to get over the hump. Mental excercise like writing is no different.
True, except that with writing, you can't always run on your heels like in a marathon. Sometimes it's a sprint.