How to Overcome Writer’s Block When All Else Fails

I recently got an email from Emma who asked for advice on how to overcome writer’s block.

She said: “I get writers block a bit, and I can never work on just one book at a time… I have to have many so that when I do get a slump on one, I can work on another. But I’d like to change that… Yet, everything I’ve tried doesn’t really work that well.”

Let me just say this upfront, Emma, you are NOT alone! Many writers experience this debilitating, demoralizing, and daunting disease. (Alliteration, anyone?)

We’ve all been blocked at one time or another. We reach a point where the words don’t flow, the story isn’t jiving, or our characters seem dead.

No matter how hard we try, we can’t muster enthusiasm for continuing. Or even if we work on the story, each word we type feels like we’ve hit a brick wall and can’t get past it.  

How do we overcome such a slump? How do we climb over the wall?

The beating-writer’s-block-advice out there in writing-land is bountiful and wonderful. TONS of ideas are available that can help get our creative juices flowing, pinpoint plot hold-ups, and breathe life back into our characters. We can and should utilize such exercises.

But what if the advice doesn’t help? Like Emma said, even after attempting everything, too often we feel like we’re still failing to make progress. What should we do then?

I can only tell you what I do. And let me tell you, it’s worked for me  EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. for the 40+ books I’ve written.

Here’s my method, the one that allows me to write multiple books a year without fail: When I begin the first draft of a novel, I set a daily word count, and I force myself to meet that goal NO MATTER WHAT.

Yep, it’s that easy. And that hard.

My daily word counts have varied depending on my life stage. When I first started writing, I gave myself the goal of 500 words a day (for 5 or 6 days a week). That was manageable when I had five kids under the age of eight.

Now that my youngest is almost sixteen and very independent, I can give myself a much bigger daily goal.

The point, however, is that I force myself to meet my goal. Even if I have to write crap to get the words down. Even if I have to sit in my chair for hours beyond when I thought I’d be done because the story is flowing SO slowly. Even if I have a million interruptions. Even if I’m a zombie. Even if life is crashing down around me.

I’ve learned I can’t wait for perfect conditions to write. I just have to sit down and start putting words on the paper no matter how good or bad they are.

I cherish the days the words flow really well because it doesn’t happen often. Most days, I scale the brick wall numerous times. But after jumping the hurdles for so long, my muscles are stronger, the climb gets easier, and the delays don’t last quite as long.

My advice in a nutshell: Stick to it. Write those words. And don’t stop until you meet your goal.

What other advice do you have for anyone struggling with writer’s block?