Getting Around the Block

This is the year you’re going to write that novel that’s been calling to you for years. Your great idea has become a workable plot and you’re happy with the characters you’ve created. The words are flowing as your story unfolds… until suddenly… they aren’t. It seems you have lost your ability to write.
This breakdown in creativity, often called writer’s block, is so scary because every day that passes increased the fear that it won’t end. We fear that the writing sponge is dry and that this mental paralysis is permanent. I assure you that if you’re really a writer the block won’t last long. Still, when it strikes what do you do about it?
Maybe you’re staring at a blank screen because you just don’t know what you want to write about next.  This only looks and feels like a problem, because there are ideas everywhere. And if you did a good job creating your outline (described in previous blogs) you’ll always know what happens in the next chapter.
But what if that doesn’t feel right, or you just can’t figure out how to get into the scene? I suggest pulling back from the work in progress and do some writing exercises. Try imagining what it would be like if an important moment in your own life had happened differently. Or, try writing some fan fiction. Using existing characters lets you get right into the action. Write a scene in which someone dies, or someone falls in love, or write a totally made-up story about someone who really makes you angry. One of these will certainly get the words flowing again and you can get back to real story.
Sometimes writer’s block can come when you have lots of great ideas but can’t seem to commit to any of them. Maybe that novel idea looks like a short story in execution. Or you just lose interest in your idea a few paragraphs in.  In my experience, that’s the signal to put those ideas aside. If I can’t make something work I figure it means the idea is not letting me tell the story I really want to tell.   I may only know that subconsciously, but it surely means that my brain is picking through some phantom list searching for the right idea, and I’m getting close. I’ll bet it’s the same for you.
There are other issues that can drain your motivation or trap you with writer’s block. But keep writing and we’ll talk about some of these other issues next week.