Writer's Block and How to Deal With it!

       If you are a writer then I don't have to tell you how difficult it can be when you suffer from writer's block.  In fact, I saw something funny in regards to this and it made me laugh.  It said:  "Writer's Block happens when your characters stop talking to you".  I guess in a way this is true, at least for me it is.

     So what should a writer do when this happens?  I have had some writer's tell me that they have abandoned their writing project altogether, which actually surprised me.  For me, when I hit a writer's block I do several things.  First, since I am a writer that writes every day I am here to admit that I generally work on several books throughout my day. When writer's block occurs in one book, I jump to another book that I am working on and this I have found has helped me.  Another thing I do is take a break and try to clear my head.  I have found that usually when writer's block hits me it is because I am either tired or my mind is locked on something else in the story that is further up ahead and it is stopping me from working on the current scene.  There are times I'll just work on the scene ahead in my notes which I find unlocks my brain from the current scene that I am trying to write. (Here is a video below that offers some cures for conquering writer's block).

     In all honesty, I think the biggest reason for writer's block for me and I'm sure for some others writer's is that your brain is just plain tired.  So does this mean you should stop writing?  NO!  Like I said, trying to clear the mind by doing something else and then coming back to write might just help you.  And the only other suggestion I can give you is since writer's block usually happens in your first draft just give yourself permission to write some garbage while telling yourself that you will fix it in the second draft.  When I have done this I have found when I finally got around to working on the second draft of my story I can generally fix this garbage.  The other thing I have done in the past is I just type parenthesis and make a note of what I think should be written in this scene and close the parenthesis.  Then I move on with my story.  This has worked because like I said by the time I usually get to the second draft I'm ready to write this scene, or I have an entirely different idea by then.

     Whatever you do to try to cure your writer's block, the best advice I can give you is to not ever stop writing and to never give up.  The story that you are writing came from somewhere, so believe me wherever it came from the rest of it is locked somewhere in your subconscious and if you just give it the time it needs it will get onto your paper.  Good Luck.

    In my next blog article, I am going to discuss when you are writing and you get that feeling that you just want to give up and quit writing altogether. And, what you can do to persevere through this.

    So stay tuned!