Goodreads asked Joy Fowler:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Joy Fowler I rarely get blocked because I store up a treasure chest of resources, ideas, research, etc., before I begin, so all I have to do is choose one for direction. This includes making a story map, beginning to end, with high points and sharp turns marked along the way. Also once the story gets going, my characters take on lives of their own so all I need to do is shut my eyes, get in the scene with them and record what they say and do. Then when I come back to revise, I'll see if it makes sense or not, is true to the characters as I have drawn them and moves the plot forward. Failing all that, I say get up and away. Go outside. Take a nap. Eat something. Play with the dog. Take a bath. Probably not watch TV or read anything else (Rereading what you've written can be good.) because then you'll have another story in your head but even that can be useful if you watch or read with an author's mind.

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