The Cure for Writer’s Block: The Mason Jar Method

Several months ago, I re-discovered the absolute worst thing a writer can do when feeling stuck. I stopped writing.

I wasn’t feeling well — my grandparents, who this year will have been married for 69 years, who have not been separated since 1958 when he was stationed in Germany, were viciously pulled apart by COVID-19. Papa was hospitalized. Grandmother was not. But they were both sick. He called her as many times a day as he could, but the longing between them was palpable even from 425 miles away where I steeled myself in wait for the worst. It is my opinion that no greater love story has ever existed (a story I’ll tell another time). Just know that they are so in love that one cannot exist without the other.

I was angry. How could God allow either of them to die alone? I was helpless. So, I waited, and my joints began to ache, and I stopped writing. I made the mistake of thinking, I’ll just give myself a break and take care of myself. All I need is a little break…

When my 80-something grandparents both recovered — a miracle I’ll thank God for all the days of my life — I slowly returned to my book. I sat down at my desk, with a strange feeling of reluctance, and waited for my muse to show up. But while I had been wallowing, she had gone on vacation, that bitch. I started to actively avoid writing because I was too afraid that the words wouldn’t come — now that’s a self-fulfilling prophecy if I’ve ever heard one. It took weeks before I was a willing participant in my own writing, before my muse decided to grace me with her presence again. I had made the mistake of forgetting that writing consistently is one of the most important ways I take care of myself.

So here it is, my two-step system for curing your writer’s block and taking care of you and your muse.

Step #1 — Do not stop writing. Louder, for the people in the back. DO. NOT. STOP. WRITING.

But, Hannah, life gets in the way! I can’t write every day! I just need like a week to think up a fix for this plot hole in my WIP. Leave me with my thoughts and wine, wench!

Here’s the thing; is it okay to take a day off? Absolutely. Should you beat yourself up if you only write three days this week? Definitely not. What if you’re stuck on your WIP? Write something else.

If you show up consistently, so will the words. Just write as many days each week as you can, even if it’s just a few crappy sentences you’re going to cut later or something else entirely (see step #2)

Step #2 — Try this. I devised a fun way to get back into the daily habit of writing: The Mason Jar Method (yep, I named it, and it’s a thing now).

Grab four wide-mouth Mason Jars — I found mine at my local grocery store — four sheets of paper, and a journal.

You can totally leave your Mason Jars as is, or paint them like I did — yes, they are color coded. I’m that girl. The paint adds a layer of mystery to what’s inside (and is also cute).

On each sheet of paper, jot down quick ideas for characters, setting, plot, and wrenches (I’ll explain this one more in a moment). For even more fun, you can have friends and family jot down ideas for you, too. Cut or tear the ideas into strips, fold them, and fill up your jars. When you need a writing warm up, a short story prompt, or even a quick idea for a current WIP, the jars will be there for you to pull from.

Here’s how it works:

Close your eyes (or not, but remember this is supposed to be fun!) Pull out one idea from each jar to start. You can pull more ideas as needed to fill out your story. Sometimes, I like to follow the rule that if I pull it, I must use it. Other times I prefer to pull until inspiration strikes. Organize your ideas in your journal and then start writing!

Jar 1 — Character

This jar will be filled with ideas for characters — anyone from a grumpy troll to a spunky superhero, to a rebellious underling, anyone you can think up. With each jar you can include options with as much or as little detail as you like. For example, with your characters you could jot down something vague like…

Female

Or, be specific…

21-year-old Elven female

Or, super specific…

21-year-old Elven female named Princess Suri

No matter which you choose, you set yourself up for a challenge — either to have the whole world as your oyster, or to be confined to specific parameters. I’d suggest making the idea you pull from this jar your main character, but they may work better as the plucky sidekick. If you want to give yourself more guidelines, you can pull additional characters to fill out your rag-tag band of adventurers. But, be careful. It might be too much of a leap to find a way to have Suri pair up with an alien from a distant galaxy.

Jar 2 — Setting

This is where it starts to get interesting. Your framework will start to take shape and those writing gears will start turning. Let’s say you pull something like…

Fantasy realm, Elven kingdom

That works well for Princess Suri. It’s a simple sensical set-up for a fantasy flash fiction piece filled with classic elements like dragons, brave knights, and terrible curses.

But if you happen to pull something like…

Chicago, 1920s

The challenge is certainly greater, but with the potential to be even more unique and interesting. Again, you can be vague or specific here as well, choosing to include a time period (or zip code if you’re really looking to zoom in and torture yourself). An example of a more detailed setting might be, Chicago, 1927, wrong side of town, Capone is King.

Jar 3 — Plot

Next, you’ll grab an idea for your plot. This jar can include ideas for entire arcs, major plot points, or even just a jumping off point. You might pull something like…

MC finds a portal to another realm

Or

MC falls in love with their father’s enemy

You can go with something broad here, like Hero’s Journey, or give yourself a place to start with something like MC finds a mysterious artifact in their grandfather’s attic. The temptation is to get too specific — MC finds a mysterious artifact in their grandfather’s attic which leads them down a rabbit hole of adventure to discover the family’s secret past. Along the way, the MC meets 5 people, each holding a key to the mystery…and so on. This will not only result in running out of room on your slip of paper, but also leaves less room for the fourth jar.

Jar 4 — The Wrench

This jar is my favorite. It’s there to do just what it sounds like, throw a wrench in your plans. This can include plot twists, tragic character flaws, additional unexpected characters, specific lines of dialogue, random objects, anything that might add a challenge for your MC and you.

For example, you might have 21-year-old Elf Princess Suri, who has gone through a portal to another realm and finds herself trapped in Chicago during the roaring 20’s. But then suddenly, you pull another slip of paper and…

MC must adopt tragic flaw — pick from 7 deadly sins

Or

MC falls in love with the villain

Or

Robots attack!

You can add as many of these as you like to your story.

So, here’s what we’ve got:

Princess Suri, a 21-year-old Elf, discovers a mysterious portal to another realm. She sees a handsome man through the misty doorway and, lusting after him, falls through, only to be stranded in 1920’s Chicago. Here, she finds the handsome man, but discovers that he is the city’s most treacherous mobster, Antoni Caputo. After he accidently rescues her from a robber after her royal jewels, Suri falls in love with Caputo. Can Suri change his heart and stop him from obliterating his rival gang all while searching for a way home and fending off robot attacks?

Will this story be the next Harry Potter? Probably, definitely not. But it will be fun to write, offering challenges like a new genre for me (and probably anyone I ever let read this. It’s Fantasy-Crime-Romance, or Fantacrimance, for all the true fans out there).

Depending on the ideas that end up in your jars, some of these stories probably will be pretty silly — example: my cousin gave me one about a discarded apple core named Chuck that I’m pretty excited about. For each jar, I suggest including ideas that are different from what you normally write or are things you’ve been wanting to try. For example, I want to try writing a dystopian story, so I have several related slips in each of the different jars. I also tend to write more fantasy and science fiction pieces. So, while I’ve definitely got plenty of those ideas in my jars, I was also sure to include some other genre elements as well to help me bust out of my norm.

Worried about a clashing mash-up? When I was in college, on the first day of workshops my professor said he hoped to read a Zombie Western that semester. Despite never having written a Zombie story or a Western, I took on the challenge and it resulted in a pretty good story — good enough to include in my capstone portfolio at the time. Here’s the thing. If you remember that this is all for fun, I promise the pieces will click into place. And if they don’t, just pull a different slip (no one will ever know) and keep writing. That’s the point. Just. Keep. Writing.

And who knows, maybe the next Harry Potter is hiding in your Mason Jars?

I’ll be posting some of my Mason Jar pieces and sharing my story prompts on social media so you can play along with me! Follow me — @hannahgodfreywrites on Instagram and Facebook and @hgodfreywrites on Twitter.