Only, it doesn’t. I declare, in opposition to many, that writer’s block is a lie. It is an excuse people give when they are unable to rise up against the obstacles they face in their writing and don’t have the motivation to carry on when things no longer come easily to them.
There is a common notion that when you really get into a story, it is as though it is writing itself or the characters are just showing you what to do. That is all fine and dandy and that feeling is real. However, it doesn’t last. You need to take the wheel and work yourself in the direction you need to go.
If you come down from your easy cloud, you can still keep going. Regardless of how you are feeling with your writing, if it is not living up to your expectations – or you’re not as in love with it as you were before – there are always things you can do to change that.
1. Ask, ‘What If?’
What if my character decided to join a spontaneous expedition to a new world? That could mean a new country, a new planet or an alternate dimension.
What if there was a sudden shortage of supplies? No more food, no more weapons, no more sunscreen when the UV rays are getting even worse.
What if Earth had no gravity? Think about how the dynamics of everything throughout history would be altered and how people would function today.
2. Hoard Treasures
In times of desperation, you should have a book filled with things you love: character quirks, mythological creatures, ideas for plot twists, shades of purple, trinkets, Latin phrases.
Think of this book as an array of spices. You put all your gems inside it and when you are looking for something to give your story an extra zing, you can bet that you will find it within that book. Just add the new ingredient and see where it takes you.
3. Work Past the Sludge
We all reach points in our writing that do not turn out as we wish. The problem with writer’s block as a concept is not that you are stuck. It’s that you have given up on the prospect of something better.
When you get to a point that just isn’t working for you in your story, you have to work through it. I know that it is tempting to leave it and skip ahead to a better point but then you have to come back to it and that just looms over you and builds up that dreary feeling.
Keep in mind that better part of your story and work through the bad one to get to it as soon as possible. If you don’t have that gem to look forward to, ask yourself, ‘What if?’ or consult your spice book.
Writer’s block is a lie. It is something we build in our minds with our ‘can’t-do’ defeatist attitude when things don’t go our way. The only thing to do is own your story and give your self-esteem a kick-start.
Do you believe in writer’s block? What do you do to encourage yourself to write instead of drowning in a pessimistic pool of procrastination?
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