Goodreads asked Heather McConnell:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Heather McConnell I stop writing. I've found over the years that trying to push through any kind of block almost always results in inauthentic writing. And then I have to go back and re-write everything anyway.

For better or worse, my process seems to be terribly organic. I am often not sure what I need to write beyond the immediate next chapter, sometimes it's the next paragraph. And then I have to walk away for a while and let my unconscious figure out the next bit.

I don't start with an outline but I do fill one out as I go along. I try to review the outline up till the chapter I'm going to write or edit the next day and then let sleep do its magic. Usually I've got something to say in the morning.

But if I don't, I walk away and do other things some of which include writing - e-mails, blogging, notes, letters. I do try to write every day even if it's just putting thoughts down in an e-mail to a friend. And once my unconscious has had a chance to organize itself, sooner or later I'll come back to the next step in my novel.

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