Writer’s block. Talk about the number one time waster when it comes to studying and completing college assignments. And let’s face it here, it’s not just the WRITER block, it’s really the PROJECT BUILDER block. Whether we’re writing an article, creating a PowerPoint presentation, a short video production, a website, or at any point in a major project in an English course, we eventually hit that brick wall of saying “what do I do?” now?”

Well, if you are participating in some kind of English class, be it literature, critical theory … etc. It is very likely that at some point your creative juices will run out. The problem is that sometimes it can take ALWAYS to get back to normal, when in reality you just want to do the project quick. So here are a series of quick steps you can take to get creative ideas flowing again.

Consider the big picture

Just ask yourself the following question about the topic (literary analysis) you chose to write about.

What are the main themes or big ideas that are represented in the texts that interest me?

Simple truth? If you’ve narrowed the focus of your article well enough, hopefully you won’t have more than three of these. And those three should honestly bridge the gap to an even bigger and more unique idea. Anyway, take those ideas or that idea and take the next simple step.

Symbol identification

English classes, and especially literature courses, largely represent philosophy and worldviews (culture) through metaphor. This means that you can be very creative in interpreting a text. And you really can’t be wrong, as long as you make a compelling case for it. But here’s the key to overcoming that writer’s block …

Symbols are a KEY metaphorical tool from the authors!

So, just choose some symbol, be it a character, a description, an item … etc. – which helps to explain the attitude of the text or texts towards that great idea. Now you can get into crafting a particular symbol and great idea within your writing. At this point, look for some quotes around that symbol to help support your position, and you’ve just written another 250+ words on your paper. Also, add your own elaborations after each quote to explain how the quotes prove your point.

Not only is this a great way to add more description and elements to your article, this same process can be used as a way to create your thesis statement:

– Just look for the great ideas,

-Find a symbol (or a few) that make a statement about that great idea,

-Then argue that the symbol represents the point of view of its author on the big idea.

-Or maybe the author is satirizing that point of view. Use your own discretion here.