Writer’s block?

By Mike Jastrzebski

I’m not a big believer in writer’s block. It’s been my experience that if I want to write, I sit down at the computer and start typing. It’s always been that simple for me.

True, what I wrote might not have been very good, but bad writing can always be fixed. That’s what we call re-writing, and believe me I do lots and lots of rewriting. In fact if I don’t rewrite my novels five or six times, then you’re not going to find it available out there.

So why am I having so much trouble starting my next book. I had planned on coming back to the States, spending five or six months getting a first draft completed, then going back to the Bahamas and maybe further down into the Caribbean. Now it seems that all I can think about is what has to be done on the boat before we can leave again.

I’ve already fixed the windlass, fortunately, all I had to do was replace the circuit breaker. I’ve pulled the alternator and plan to take that in tomorrow to be rebuilt, and in the process found a broken wire that I replaced.

I’ve made a list of things I want to get finished, checked it twice, and even set up a schedule that allows me time to work on the next novel. So why haven’t I started writing?

I’m not quite sure how to answer that question. Maybe a month in paradise sapped my mental abilities. Maybe I’m watching too much television now that we’re back where I can watch it. Maybe I’m just worn out from spending month after month getting the boat ready to cruise.

And now that I’ve written my little diatribe here, I think I know exactly what I have to do. Tomorrow morning I’m going to get up, eat breakfast, brew a pot of coffee, turn on the computer, and start writing.

So this question is for all of our readers out there who are also writers–what do you do when the words just don’t want to flow?

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