Using the Zeigarnik Effect to Avoid Writer’s Block
Give your brain an open loop to close
I‘m not someone who suffers from typical writer’s block, but I do sometimes have what I can best describe as blank page syndrome. I know what I want to say but not exactly how to get started. So I use a simple trick that I’ve recently discovered has a name: the Zeigarnik Effect.
At its simplest the Zeigarnik Effect is the concept by which the brain abhors unfinished business. It suggests that people tend to remember unfinished or interrupted tasks better than completed ones, and are more likely to want to get back to them.
Our brain wants to ‘close the loop’ that we left open, and this can have a big influence on our motivation and inspiration. While I’ve never known this phenomenon had a name, I’ve used it for years. It’s why I tend to stop writing for the day in the middle of an article, paragraph, or idea. Some writers even stop in the middle of a sentence.
This is also why when struck by an idea I jot it down with as much detail as possible, and often with a quote, image or link to whatever inspired it. When I go back to the idea, it’s already half-formed, and there’s something there to remind me where I was going with this, even if it’s been a while. My brain immediately wants to start closing the loop.
Try it today. Stop in the middle of something. Give your brain some unfinished business to get started on tomorrow.
Some thoughts from others I’ve been enjoying this week
The Power of Telling the Truth in Your Writing from
50+ and Want to Write a Book? 80% Do. Only 1% Finish — Here’s How I Did It from
andBook marketing 101 from
What else I’ve been up to this week
Listening to: The Creative Penn podcast
Reading: Mansfield Park
Working on: Ideas for more Benable lists, mainly centered around all my favorite books
This week’s Medium post
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Thanks so much for the mention.
Like you, I use this method all the time but I never knew it had a name.