The Reality of Writer's Block

Writer's block is one of those inevitable pieces of being a writer. It is pretty much guaranteed that at some point you will be hit with it. However, you can face it and you can overcome it. Here's our advice on dealing with the reality of writer's block.

Andrew

The worst case of writer's block I've had lasted three months. It nearly drove me crazy. I was in the middle of a chapter and my wilful characters had gone and got themselves into a situation I couldn't get them out of. I didn't want to rewrite the chapter as I was really pleased with what I'd done so I was stuck. I lost sleep over it, couldn't settle, in fact it pretty much took over my life. In the end I decided to put it away and stop thinking about it.

The following day I was doing the washing up staring out of the window at the rain beating against the window pane when it came to me! It's as if I light bulb had suddenly come on and I could see the rest of the chapter in my mind. Two hours and three thousand words later the chapter was written and I was thrilled with it.

So my advice with writer's block is this; it's going to happen, it's inevitable. Don't stress it. Don't try too hard to break it. Go and do something else, anything else that will allow your mind to wander. It won't be long before your subconscious mind will work on the problem and present you with the solution.

Above all, writing should be fun, so enjoy it!

Mandy

Writer's Block: Those words strike fear into the heart of any writer. It is almost inevitable that you will be faced with it at some point in your writing career; those that don't are just plain lucky. I personally have had writer's block last for months. It can be scary, and it can be frustrating as hell when that happens.

But, you don’t have to fear writer’s block. You can overcome it, and you can even embrace it. I know that sounds completely insane. But, hear me out. Writer’s block can be a way of your mind working out a piece of your story. It can be that on a conscious level you are blocked, but subconsciously your mind is working out that plot hole, or character development, or whatever it might be. Embrace the block. Step away from your computer. Focus on something else in your life. Eventually, that block will lift and the words will flow out of you even better than before.