Goodreads asked John Joseph Teressi:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

John Joseph Teressi A book is an expression of multiple energies, usually dominated by the characters and then by their environment and individual circumstances. When you have writer's block, your emotion or Energy in Motion is damned up and unable to be used constructively. If that happens, you need to look again at your characters and examine what is happening in the storyline. A particular person may no longer be contributing to the flow of the story, and they need to be developed more fully, substituted or perhaps add a new character.

If you have a compelling story, the story should write itself, and you are just the taking notes.

If you don’t feel like writing, it is best to wait. Go and do something that inspires you or challenges you. Read a book that excites you. Do something to get the juices flowing so that you once again want to express what you see, feel, and hear in your mind and heart.

One idea is to pretend that you are writing a news release about the events in the story. Put down all the facts. Then become a detective and ask, what is the meaning behind the story? Why did it happen? That exercise might get you interested in detailing the events more thoroughly, writing more description of the scene, and describing what the characters are seeing and feeling.

It is essential to write a general outline of what you want to say and describe the action in as much detail as possible. Create strong characters. If they are not sharp and memorable, make them so or throw them out. If they are boring you, they will bore others. Try to envision scenes from your outline. Describe the location and how the characters interact with their environment and other people.

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