Goodreads asked Fergus Currie:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Fergus Currie There are several ways that I deal with the situation where suddenly nothing seems to 'come out', and these are related to the cause of the problem. The most common cause for me is not having clarified the dramatic elements in the story I'm writing. What I do is plan the section using a 'plot goals' list.
X meets Y, look like a simple paragraph to 'flesh out', but if you actually sit down and try to write 1500 words based on it from scratch you can soon see what WB feels like. So I itemize.
a) X is in his car.
b) He's late for work.
c) He's had no breakfast.
d) He takes a shortcut which he doesn't know too well.
e) Y is a single mother.
f) She's wheeling her kid's pram across a pedestrian crossing.
g) Some lunatic tries to run her down.
h) She smacks his windscreen with her handbag.
i) The car stops.
j) X can't believe his eyes.
k) He tries to make amends.
And so on.

No I can write confidently knowing that I have plot goals to achieve in each paragraph. The details tend to flow and the language is guided by the action much more easily than if I were to write 'from scratch'.

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