Goodreads asked SGM Ashcroft:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

SGM Ashcroft Planning is the key to effective written communication. For years I ran business writing training sessions, and the headline message was always: 'Fail to plan, plan to fail.'

Fiction is no different. I suspect that much of writers block results from writers getting tied in knots because their characters and plot are under-cooked.

I spent months plotting out my debut novel, and I also mentally drew the characters, until they became like real people to me. This meant that when it came to the writing I knew
where I was headed, with whom, and why -- every step of the way.

Sometimes the characters led me in unexpected directions but it was nearly always within the general framework I'd set out.

I've just started on my second novel, after 3 months of similar planning. I'm expecting the writing of it to take 3-4 months -- so almost a month of planning for every month of writing.

Planning is like kryptonite to writer's block, for me at least.

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