Writer’s block has to be the scariest thing in any writer’s process. It’s crazy how it can intimidate you and cause you to rethink your passion. Often times I hear writers close to giving up on projects because of writer’s block. I’ll admit, I’m one of them. After my first book, even though I had ideas for two more to make it a series, I could not make myself write a single word. Not the title, not an outline, nothing. This was extremely frustrating knowing I did not want the first book to stand alone.
I found with my current work, writing an outline has been extremely helpful. This keeps an idea of what comes next. Often times that is exactly where the writer block comes up. How do we start, how do we make connections, where do I go from here? Now, when I have a block, I start working on something else. Even if it’s something simple like cooking, or working on recipes, painting, crafting, whatever it is to give myself a break. I’ve heard many authors say that if you have writer’s block the only way to get out of it is to keep writing. That sounded impossible to me. It not only didn’t make sense, this being the whole reason you aren’t working on your manuscript, but sounded to me like any work you could muster during these blocks would be crap to be honest.
My genre of chose right now is horror/thriller. I am a movie BUFF. When my writer’s block is the worst, I get on Netflix, and start searching for horror flicks both old and new. I watch both for entertainment and inspiration. Often asking myself, what would happen if..? I change the scenes around in my head, questioning everything. What if she died instead of him, what if the killer was an alien, what if the victim was a monster, etc. This has helped a lot with my block. I hope this helps with yours.
Elizabeth's Writing Corner 