Goodreads asked L.E. Modesitt Jr.:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

L.E. Modesitt Jr. There are two general causes for "writer's block" -- either personal psychological factors or writing-related problems. I'm not about to go into dealing with the first cause because I'm not a therapist. As for writing-related causes, my own belief is that most of the problem lies in either a conflict between what is already written and what the writer wants to have happen or in the fact that the writer doesn't really know enough about the world/culture/characters to extrapolate what comes next.

Personally, I don't believe in writer's block, per se. If you're a professional writer, you get paid to write. I don't think many of us would even think of hiring a doctor who got doctor's block, or an attorney who got attorney's block, etc., but I'll admit that there are times when my writing has threatened to grind to a halt. Once I put aside a half-written book for almost a year and wrote two others before coming back to it. Now, for me, this is possible because I've never signed a contract until at least the first draft of a book was completed. That removes a certain degree of pressure.

The way that I've found most useful for coping with writing slowdowns or stoppages is to skip ahead and write what comes after the part giving me difficulty. That may necessitate some later extra re-writing, but it's still faster than doing nothing.

And sometimes, just taking a break and then taking a walk is useful for me. That's also recommended by others because increased physical activity increases blood flow.

flag