“Writing about a writer’s block is better than not writing at all.”

~ Charles Bukowski

I used to deal with writer’s block by watching a favorite movie or two. Sometimes going dancing (or staying in and dancing) would do the trick too. Stream of consciousness writing just to get it out can help jump start things if you find yourself editing before you even get started. And other times, you just need to walk away from it for a little while.

Recently, I reached an impasse with my fiction writing. Totally jinxed myself. I was on this major roll and completely absorbed in it. Then, I started talking about it, and stopped writing. My characters weren’t cooperating anymore. They didn’t want to talk to each other. Couldn’t figure out where they were headed next.

Complete stall-out in the middle of my fictional highway.

I think the biggest issue wasn’t that I started talking about it, that can actually be a good thing…it keeps you excited. The problem was that I was out of fuel.

So I did the following:

1. Got out of town.

2. Went to see one of my best friends and favorite writers (who also happens to be my brother).

3. Hung out with a wonderful bunch of raggle taggle gypsies who I love and laughed and played and made mischief of one kind and another. I didn’t think about my stalled typewriter that was stuck at home on my fictional highway, not even for a minute.

4. Spent a million hours at the airport (or maybe just eight) when my flight was delayed and read three books.

5. Came home and slept (not enough) and dreamed (not enough) and woke up fueled and ready to go.

Writer’s block comes to all of us who write at one time or another for one reason or another—and you don’t have to resort to flying to Nashville to get rid of it. If you want to stay home and deal with your writer’s block, a few great tips:

[Infographic provided by Vappingo proofreading services]

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