Goodreads asked Wm. Stage:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Wm. Stage Fortunately, I'm not cursed with that. I was a journalist for over 30 years and you simply discipline yourself to produce. Quality work, not just any old dreck. For me, though, what is important is to not try to do too much at once. Whether I'm writing a column or a short story, I like to sit down with it 2 -3 hours every morning, write as much as I'm content with, and then leave it 'til the next day. In that time between sit downs I am thinking, actively or subconsciously, where I want to take the narrative next, how I can better say something already said, etc. For my newspaper column I had a week lead time, so the process was sped up, but with a novel it's a real luxury to have ample time to fabricate plot. As a journalist, I like deadlines so even with a creative work such as my recent novel, I gave myself a deadline of one year. I made that deadline, and then spent another 4 months editing and fine-tuning, but no major plot changes.

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