Writer's Block

[Arabella Porter]

 Ladies and Gentlemen,

    No one likes writer's block. I believe that we can all agree on this, yes? Although we wish this terrible disease did not exist, there is no vaccine. However, there are various cures and remedies. Like white willow bark to a cold and aloe to a sunburn, different cures are called for different kinds of blocks.

   Maybe you know what you would like to write but when the words hit the paper, you're piece appears as though it was written by a hormonal seventh grader. Perhaps you have the information but can not seem to organize it into writing. Maybe you can't find anything to write about.

    There are so many different kinds of the block and so many ways to cure it. Tell me, what are your experiences with writer's block? How did you break free from it? 

[Ezra Yesterday]

Often, when I block, it is because I have had another shiny new story idea, and my mind wants to wander down the unexplored rabbit trail instead of finishing along the path it started. The only ways I have managed to break it are:

1.   Make an outline of the new idea [so I can return to it later] and try to finish what I was writing before.
2. If that doesn't work, I walk away and read a book or two... something that is not related to the genre I am attempting to write.

That usually works for me... At least until the entire process starts itself anew.

I should add that watching movies and playing games don't work nearly as well, probably because they don't require you to immerse yourself as deeply as a book does.

[Arabella Porter]

Right. If you think about it, books require you to visualize what they're talking about. A movie or a video game already has the image. The book will exercise your imagination.  

[Ezra Yesterday]

Of course, the other half of my block problem stems from procrastination, so when I have to go read, I usually choose a trilogy, hahaha.