BLOG 6

Writers block is real!

My goodness does it come down like a trap door, cutting you off from the creative juices trapped in your brain. It seems to come out of nowhere too, one minute your flowing freely, the next, boom! Door is shut and you just can’t seem to get past it. Sometimes it’s so bad it has you questioning whether you are a writer at all. It seems implausible that you were ever able to write anything, let alone something decent!

Over the years I’ve learned that writers block is not necessarily a bad thing. Yes its annoying and impractical, but actually I heard an expression recently that helps to understand it. ‘Listen to your body when it whispers, or you’ll be forced to hear its screams’. I realised this is also true for the brain. Writers block is simply your brains way of telling you, we need a break. A spell of block also does wonders for allowing you to come back to your work with fresh eyes once you are ready to get back to it. So I try not to think of it so negatively, or curse myself for not being able to write when I want to, and allow the ebbs and flows to happen naturally.

Sometimes though, the block is just because our story has got stuck. There’s a few things I’ve found that work in this type of scenario. Firstly, try switching the season your book is set in. My second book started out as a summer setting, but I was struggling with it, so I changed it to autumn, more specifically Halloween, and wow did it make a difference! The change took it in a whole new direction and brought the characters to life. Secondly, try adding in a new character. Their thoughts and motivations could be in conflict with your main character, or if you already have this type of conflict, try the opposite. Make them a surprise ally. Thirdly, another technique I learned is the confetti technique. It's also a lot of fun as you don’t know what you’re going to get. You write a bunch of scenarios on paper, cut them up and fold them, then throw them up into the air like confetti to mix them, then put them in a bowl. Do the same with different character types and another one for different settings/scenes. Then pick one of each and add into your story. Sometimes, this method will even give you the premise for an entirely new story!

Hope these suggestions help any other writers out there. If anyone has more ideas for battling the block, please feel free to contact me via my contacts page or Facebook.