Overcoming Writer's Block: July 'Challenges' Week 1

This week, I'm addressing my strategies and techniques for overcoming writer's block. But first, what is writer's block? To me, writer's block is the state of being 'stuck' on any writing draft for more than a day or two. It means that when I have the opportunity or time to write, I'm opening up my laptop, staring at a blank screen, or half finished page, and walking away 30 minutes later with nothing more written. It's often a mental/emotional block, and quite frankly, it's something that most writers experience at some point, and which we have to learn to overcome by building our writer's toolbox with resiliency skills in mind.

Resiliency - or "the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness" - is a vital skill in our writer's toolbox specifically because it can keep us going through obstacles and challenges. That being said, resiliency is highly personal, and must be developed individually; it's not something you can simply impart unto another person, of have handed to you. Each person must find what helps them to recover when feeling 'stuck' or unmotivated. It's important for you to look at what helps you to fill your own personal well - and then to build your own process from there. That's still not a guarantee it works every time - but it's a start.

Here's my general process:

1. Take a (Brief) Break

2. Listen to Music

3. Talk to a Friend

4. Write Through it

5. Skip the Scene (For Now)

6. Write a Flash Piece

While I've made this a list, don't feel as if you've got to stick to a particular order in the process. I do feel like it's important to note the difference between 'writer's block,' and 'taking a break,' which is why I've listed it first. If I'm able to walk away, do something else, and come back - well, problem solved! Shortest case of writer's block ever. But if I walk away, and find myself stewing on my sticking point - or unable to write when I return from the break, then I can use 'taking a break' like a diagnostic check, and try to solve the problem from there.

If it's just that I feel unfocused, or that the 'vibes' aren't right (Tulio: The stars are not in position for this tribute. Miguel: Like he says stars, can't do it...not today), the first thing I might do is listen to music. Whether is something funky, to shake off the lack of energy, or something from a playlist crafted to set the 'vibes' for the piece, sometimes, that's all I need. Heck, sometimes I need one inspiring song and then I need peace and quiet while I work. But of course, sometimes it's not that simple.

If, during my break, or during my return to the page, I've found myself in a more complex dilemma - something more like, 'what if this whole scene is useless,' or 'should this happen a totally different way?' then the best thing to do is phone a friend - sometimes literally. If I'm struggling to make the decision, sometimes all I need to do is tell a friend. Just by explaining it, I might answer my own question - and if I'm really in a pickle, I might have that friend be a mini test-audience, and help me make the decision. This one often helps me through the points I'm the least confident in - so I don't wait around when I need input. I seek it fast.

Of course, if I've walked away and return with no burning questions - it's just a scene I'm unenthusiastic about - I have to give myself the hard answer: write it anyway. Honestly, this is a big resiliency skill - learning how to write through a block, or write when you aren't inspired. If you can do that, well, you're not going to be 'quitting' writing any time soon. Additionally, as harsh as this one my seem - 'just write through it' - I've actually used this one to great success. After all, we've probably all heard “You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page.” by Jodi Picoult. It's true. So in cases where I just need to write something, I write really fast for no longer than an hour. If I can, I do this really early in the morning, or really late at night. Then my brain has time to rewrite the scene subconsciously, or time to figure out what the heck was wrong in this draft. I vividly remember writing the climax of Meresthian book 1 in a furious word-sprint, because I'd been avoiding writing it for most of a month. I wrote it in the evening and I was generally happy it was written. But I woke up at about 5 AM the next morning thinking, 'wow, that was pretty much all wrong. Let's do it again,' and I did. The second draft was very different and a vast improvement - but I never would have arrived there if I hadn't had the courage to write it wrong first. So my advice - write it the wrong way anyway. Come back to it later.

Of course, there's another solution; skip the scene. It's the exact opposite of the advice I just gave, but what can I say, writing is a fickle creature. If you can get away with moving on and coming back later, go right ahead! Whether its writing, [insert a cool fight here] and moving on, or [come back and describe this better,] or [the inciting incident happens. Something about a dog,] doing this is sometimes life-saving. And if you're consistent with your formatting/use of brackets, you can easily return to all of these points later. Of course, the bigger hole you leave, the more it might affect other parts of the draft.

The last thing I enjoy doing is writing something else. (Cue gasps of horror.) I'm typically signed up for a few different flash fiction or short fiction competitions throughout the year, and it's such a relief to take a break from a longform piece and let my brain run wild with something else. Typically, those competitions last no longer than a few days, and riding the hype and energy of the experience back into the main project is a fantastic feeling. Truly. If you've never taken a break this way, I highly recommend it. Show yourself you can write a full story in 2,000 words. Show yourself you can come up with a cool character on the fly. You can't really aim for perfection with such a short time to write, but you get to feel your skills as a writer, and improve on those skills, too.

Overall, writer's block often points to a deeper issue, dilemma, or concern. So find out what that deeper issue is, and pick the write method for overcoming it. Once you have, get back in the saddle - and keep writing!