Goodreads asked Patrick Elliott:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Patrick Elliott By deal with I am assuming you mean survive. Nobody deals with writer's block, you just have to get through it. I read in a book for artists that those long idle times staring at the screen or canvas are part of the process that we all have to go through until the muse starts speaking again.

I have been lucky in that I seldom encounter writer's block. When I do I just stare at the page, or try another project but if I can do that I'm not really blocked, until I either get inspiration or get angry. If I get angry I go to bed as I'm one of those weirdos that writes at night not in the morning, or I do my magic to get inspiration which is in a question I will answer tomorrow. I muddle through it, and I hate it but I survive it until it is time to go back to work.

Now, as for the other things that we call writer's block? Those I do deal with. Bad moods, laziness, overextending myself and not having time. We all have a thousand excuses not to write and our own reasons behind them. Those, well... I ask myself one important question. Am I resisting writing because it will make me feel better and some part of me doesn't want to, or because it will make me feel worse? To answer this I have to force myself to write and see if it improves my mood or makes me angry. If it is making me feel worse I give in to the urges and give myself a little break. If my mood starts to improve I remind myself that there is no room in writing for cowards and carve out some time during the day to do what I should be.

So, having looked at this I realize I have spent more thinking of the answer to this than answering it. Guess it's time to get back to work.

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