It's the dreaded affliction that every writer fears. Well, nearly every writer. A few claim to never have such an affliction, but I don't believe them.
Yes, you know what I'm talking about.
Writer's block.
Egad, I think I traumatized a lot of you simply by mentioning it!
First of all, what exactly is writer's block, and what causes it?
The short definition is simple. Writer's block is a loss of inspiration that causes a writer to be unable or unwilling to write. You just can't think... nothing comes, or if it does, it's a slow and painful process that sounds uninspired and forced. Like most formula romances.
The causes can vary widely, and they depend largely on the writer's personality, writing style, living situation, and how much time they have on their hands. One of the primary causes is nothing more or less than just plain being burned out. You've written so much, you've been working on that masterpiece high fantasy novel for so long, your muse just up and died and you have nothing left. It seems that no amount of staring at a screen will bring her back, so you give up in despair and walk away with just a few chapters left to write.
Another cause is the opposite of burn-out... you haven't written in so long that, for whatever reason, you just can't find the threads of inspiration that started your story in the first place. I've had this myself, more times than I care to think about. I have a habit of never deleting anything because I never know when it will come in handy later. I've gone through some folders of old work, frowning deeply as I find an obscure little Notepad file with a blurb that I could swear I've never seen in my life. From the writing style, and the fact that it's on MY computer, I know darn well that it's mine, but I can't figure out where the heck I was trying to go with it. I have a folder marked "Obsolete" for those poor, DOA snippets of what could have been literary glory.
A third cause is much more complex and harder to deal with. Living situation. If you have a large family, like me, finding time to sit down and focus on your story without being interrupted and losing your train of thought for the zillionth time is an exercise in frustration.
"Ah, the kids are all outside. I'll just take a few minutes to jot down some notes." You sit down to write, and not thirty seconds later, the door bangs open.
"Mom, I can't find the bike pump and my tire is flat!"
"Ride your scooter."
"Everyone else is on their bikes! I need it!"
"It's in the garage, right next to the light switch."
"I looked and it's not there!"
Your train of thought just hit a penny on the rails and is careening wildly back and forth. You get up, go look, and practically kill yourself tripping over the bike pump.
"Mom, I looked, and I swear it wasn't there!"
"Yeah, right, the bike pump gnomes hid it just to watch you and snicker when you couldn't find it."
"Since you're here, can you pump the tire for me?"
Sigh. Train of thought just wrecked, no survivors. "Yeah, sure."
By the time you make it back inside, your inspiration has fled, and when the other kids noticed you pumping a tire, their bikes have all suddenly developed mechanical issues in dire need of your immediate attention. So much for writing. By the time you get the little darlings into bed, your muse has fallen into an exhausted stupor and you couldn't find an ounce of creativity if your life depended on it.
There are many other causes. Illness, injury, computer problems, accidentally knocking a glass of soda all over your notes so you no longer have any idea what you were supposed to be doing... the reasons are as endless as the rolls of authordom. They all have one thing in common: something has gotten in the way of your ability to write, thus called "writer's block".
What do you do about it?
That's a good question. The remedies will vary as well, and your block may require more than one solution. I've read through a number of social media posts from desperate newbies who just can't seem to get going, and the veterans have a number of great ideas. These solutions also have a common thread.
Stop writing.
Uh, say what?
Yes, I meant it. Stop writing for a period of time, even if it's just a minute, then execute the second step of whatever the solution is. Most often, the block is caused by something else that needs to be dealt with, so if you continue to try to force yourself to write, you will not get through that block no matter how hard you try. At least, not without producing a load of crap that you kick yourself over when you read it later. Stop writing, take a step back, identify the problem, and find a solution.
I realize that not all writer's blocks are cut-and-dried, easily identifiable, and readily remedied problems, but most of the time, you can at least narrow down the possibilities. Let's start with the first one since it seems to be the most common complaint. How can you deal with burnout, especially when you really, really want to keep writing?
Take a step back, take a breath, and figure out how profound your writer's block is. Sometimes it's a temporary burnout. You haven't written for a while, then you found a day with some free time and spent three hours in a frenzied, passionate writing session... only to come to the end of the third hour with your brain feeling like pasty mush. You've lost the muse... where the heck did you go this time?! I was on a roll, get back here!
Nope, she's gone. It was fun while it lasted, but she's too tired to keep going. So... stop writing. This kind of block could be fixed by something as simple as going and doing something else for just a few minutes, then coming back. I space out my writing by alternating with my chores. I'll stop and unload the dishwasher, then write for a bit. I'll stop again and load the dishwasher, then write some more. So on and so forth, keeping your mind fresh as you give it more to think about than just whether to give your hero a katana or a broadsword.
This burnout may be more serious. You've had a good run of daily writing for a few weeks, then you sit down at your desk and absolutely nothing will come. You have time, the house is quiet for once... and you just can't think. What do you do now?
Sometimes, the above solution will still help. I find that when I'm doing a mind-numbing chore like folding laundry, chewing over my writing while I work can generate great ideas. When that doesn't work, maybe a longer break is called for. A few days, even a week, but it's generally not recommended to wait so long that you forget all about your work. Come back to it later, but not too much later.
If that doesn't help, try going back and reading over your work. Editing, proofreading, or just a good, old-fashioned review of what happened. Enable the comment feature on your word processor and make notes here and there. Plot holes, characters that need fleshing out, maybe you made your main character's sidekick a female and you discover they really should be a queer male with an obsessive hobby of nautical cosplay... go over the work and figure out what needs your attention. That editing may prompt your writing to flow again, and by the time you get to where you left off, you are ready to continue.
Then again, insisting that your writing be contiguous could also cause writer's block. I very rarely write a story from beginning to end. I'll write bits and pieces. A conflict here, the dark night of the soul there, introduce the villain, maybe throw in some backstory on the snarky supporting character... there is no hard and fast rule that says you HAVE to start at the beginning.
Is it easier? That depends entirely on you, and it may cause you to have to do more editing, but if you find yourself blocked on writing the chapter about why the main character's mother is such a narcissist, but you have a great idea for the chapter where the main character tricks the villain into setting free the captive lover, then hey, go with what you have! Take what your muse gives you while she's in a giving mood, and don't complain.
You may find yourself stymied by the whole project. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will convince your muse to let you work on your current story. So, a good solution may be to work on something else. Yes, it happens... authors will have more than one active project at a time!
Gasp... isn't that against the rules?
What rules?
In all seriousness, it is very common for an author to have multiple projects. Creativity rarely regards such mundanities as logic, and I have found myself taking a plot piece from one book that just didn't fit, then turning it into its own story. Again, I don't delete anything. This has a secondary purpose of showing me which tropes I overuse.
If you are stuck on one book, and you just happen to have jotted down an outline from that weird dream you had after your niece's bachelorette party, then give the second project a shot. Let your muse have something else to do for a change. Think about your day job, would you be happy doing the same thing every single day?
Neither would your muse!
There are some other great suggestions. If you haven't eaten in a while, you should know that your brain feeds on carbs. Go eat something. If you sit too much, your blood flow slows down and you get sluggish. Get up and go take a walk. Ride a bike. Run a marathon, whatever. Just take care of your body. Your brain resides where? Yes, inside of your head. If your body isn't happy, your mind won't be either!
If you have family distractions, try to find a quiet place to write. For me, that's not feasible as I have a toddler, so I have a desk right in the dining room. I've had to learn to work through the distractions. Make a deal with your family members to have some writing time. My older kids can usually be asked to take on the little kiddos in the evening to give me at least a bit of breathing space. Maybe see if your spouse would be willing to fly solo for an hour while you hide in a closet with your laptop and a secret stash of chocolate.
If you reach the point that no solution has worked, and you are frustrated such that you are ready to give up... walk away. Negative emotions like anger and frustration can actually inhibit your ability to think! If you've worked yourself into a tantrum, then your muse will hide under the bed until you are ready to calm down and be reasonable. Give it a break.
If life in general is frustrating, you might need to set your writing aside and focus on the rest of the world until you have things in hand and can take the time for your story. I know it can seem like a terrible idea to just give up on your writing, but if it has become more of a chore than a delight, your writing will sound boring and torturous.
There is no writer's block that cannot be overcome. You can find your muse, you can make her happy again, and you can revive your creativity. It may take some time, it might take more patience than you care to think about, but the absolute worst thing you can possibly do is to force your way through it. Write a fanfic, join a writing prompt group, sing in a barbershop quartet... whatever you do, don't make your muse do something she just can't.
Conversely, don't just give up. It will come when it's ready. You can do this.
