Renee Darcy
I'm kind of fortunate in that I've been a professional writer for over a decade, and I've been writing 'books,' stories, and poems since I was in elementary school, so getting the words to flow isn't generally a problem for me. Not in the traditional sense, anyway, that I think a lot of writers mean when they're talking about writer's block.
I do, occasionally, have trouble with where a plot is going. If I find myself flailing and don't really know where something is going, I'll stop writing that particular scene and skip around to something else. Maybe it's a couple of the characters having a conversation. Maybe it's a particularly vivid image that I fancy. Or maybe I'll make something up - create a fake dinner party, or introduce a random element like a rogue animal - something, anything, to shake things up. I can always throw it away if it doesn't belong in the finished project, but these weird little things can help get the words flowing again.
I also often have more than one story in progress at a time. So if I get *really* stuck, and skipping to another scene in the novel isn't helping, I might go edit another project, or work on a different draft. Sometimes, a story idea just needs time to germinate. I've learned to trust the process - it's there in my subconscious working away, and something I see or hear will trigger a resolution. Or I'll dream something that will progress my story. This actually happens to me a lot. Most of my books started as dreams, or some of the plot advancement came from dreams. I think - when I'm unconscious must be the easiest time for my subconscious to get through.
Ultimately, every author has their own bag o' tricks to deal with this. I feel fortunate that I haven't had a serious problem with it. Time to write is always my biggest hurdle - with all the hats I have to wear as an author, a wife, a breadwinner, and a dog owner - there aren't as many hours as I'd like to devote to the actual writing itself.
I do, occasionally, have trouble with where a plot is going. If I find myself flailing and don't really know where something is going, I'll stop writing that particular scene and skip around to something else. Maybe it's a couple of the characters having a conversation. Maybe it's a particularly vivid image that I fancy. Or maybe I'll make something up - create a fake dinner party, or introduce a random element like a rogue animal - something, anything, to shake things up. I can always throw it away if it doesn't belong in the finished project, but these weird little things can help get the words flowing again.
I also often have more than one story in progress at a time. So if I get *really* stuck, and skipping to another scene in the novel isn't helping, I might go edit another project, or work on a different draft. Sometimes, a story idea just needs time to germinate. I've learned to trust the process - it's there in my subconscious working away, and something I see or hear will trigger a resolution. Or I'll dream something that will progress my story. This actually happens to me a lot. Most of my books started as dreams, or some of the plot advancement came from dreams. I think - when I'm unconscious must be the easiest time for my subconscious to get through.
Ultimately, every author has their own bag o' tricks to deal with this. I feel fortunate that I haven't had a serious problem with it. Time to write is always my biggest hurdle - with all the hats I have to wear as an author, a wife, a breadwinner, and a dog owner - there aren't as many hours as I'd like to devote to the actual writing itself.
More Answered Questions
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more