It's 5:30 EST (I live on the east coast of the U.S.) as I type this. I've been up since 3:30 my adult AdHd brain full of two of my stories that I'm having issues with. I keep going over some conversations I've had and seen about writer's block. This is going to be looooooong. Make some time for it. Ready?
I don't really believe writers have writer's block.
Wait!! Wait!! Put away your knives and pitchforks. Hear me out.
Recently, when I was working on Cataclysm, somewhere around chapter 14 I got stuck. (It's not the first time I've been working on a story and this has happened) I didn't know what direction to take them. Other chapters seemed to want to be written so chapters 22-28 were done. But I couldn't figure out how to get them from chapter 14 to that point. Apex, this book, and 6 Degrees progressed fine. Two weeks. That's how long I wrote nothing on Cataclysm. (But I'd already had other chapters in reserve waiting for editing so ya'll didn't know that - *wink wink*)
I remembered something I read on an artist's blog about art block and recalled some of the stuff I learned in my college psych courses. I took out one of my notebooks and put pen to paper. It started as doodles and squiggles. Then a few words. Random shit. Then I wrote whatever wanted to be written.
It was a huge creative purge. It's not that I couldn't write, it's that other stories and ideas wanted out. I ended up with three werewolf stories, a super hero story, a mermaid story, and two space stories. He Chose Me wrote itself in its entirety in one week. The last story that wrote itself that fast was Switches and that was years ago.
As writers I think we end up having TOO MANY ideas and they don't work with the story or stories we're currently working on so we try to stuff them down and make our brain work on what we want it to work on. But our brains can be like stubborn toddlers throwing a tantrum. Until we give it what it wants, it won't give us what we want. Everything becomes bottle necked and we get frustrated.
Another time I had trouble 'writing' was when I was having major health issues. I was focused on dealing with reality. Not that I wasn't inspired to write but my real life took precedent and that's where my focus was. There's nothing wrong with that. (During that time I actually ended up writing poetry and doing spoke word...go figure)
Next time you're stuck - get a piece of paper and some markers, crayons, color pencils, gel pens whatever and just let go. Start with circles or zig zags. Draw a chibi or two or a full space ship. Write words or phrases or chapters. Whatever comes to mind. No filter. Do a mandala, sing, exercise. When your focus is elsewhere the ideas will flow.
Your thoughts? Leave me a comment, an email-love or hate mail. I'd like to hear your perspective or see how you've dealt with this 'writer's block.'

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How to Irk a Reader as a Writer
HumorJust random thoughts about things that writers do that irk me as a reader. Fueled by caffeine, lack of sleep, or reaction to something I've read. Take none of this serious! Be offended at your own risk.