Writers Block

8am ~ I open my current manuscript to where I left off and stare at the screen.

8:02 ~ Oops, I forgot to check my email

8:05 ~ Followed link to a friends blog post

8:15 ~ Click open my manuscript again

8:17 ~ Refill my coffee cup and sit back down at my computer

8:22 ~ Got to go to the bathroom…

I find it simply incredible how many ways I can avoid writing, especially when I’m working on a longer project like a novel. This morning I took a few minutes to meditate on this phenomenon. (Yes I should have been writing). What I’m beginning to realize is that I might be afraid. Sure, I’ve written and published three novels before, all with good sales and reviews. But that was over two years ago, a long time for me. I wonder, will the characters still speak to me? Will the story fuel my imagination with vivid scenes and quirky dialogue? Can I really do it again?

I’m not alone in this disease. Just look up writers block on google, like I did(instead of writing). Why it even has a wikipedea page. And it seems everyone and her mother has the solution. Page after page of helpful hints and ideas.

I suppose the only way for me to truly find out if I still have this wonderful gift is to ~

Stop procrastinating and start writing.

500 words today, 800 tomorrow, maybe 1200 the next day. Who know, maybe by next spring you’ll be reading our latest Salty Tails release ~ Lobster Tales.

Filed under: Maine Author Tagged: Novel writing, procrastination, Richard Stephens, Salty Tails