When I have writer’s block, it’s procrastination in disguise. It’s not that I can’t write, it’s that my brain is trying to come up with last-minute distractions. My go to method for dealing with this is a cup of coffee (iced when it’s warm, hot when it’s cold) and some journaling.
Occasionally it’s not procrastination. Sometimes it really is writer’s block. When that happens, it’s because I’ve written myself into a corner. I start with an outline for my longer works, but it’s more of a suggested list of ideas than anything I have to follow no matter what. On one hand, it allows me creative freedom in case I get a better idea later. Often it’s because, after a certain percentage written, I hit my stride and think of even better ideas that fit better. It’s typically because I’ve gotten a proper feel for the characters I’m working with on the page. After a point, the outline becomes useless because I’ll deviate so much that it becomes useless after a while.
However, that’s not always the case. Sometimes characters and their actions surprise me, and until I figure out what comes next, it completely derails my momentum. That adage about “no surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader” is truer than I like to admit. But that means it’s okay if outline is a list of suggestions. That also means that sometimes they do something so unexpected it leaves me at a loss how to follow it up.
Recognizing the problem is only one facet of the whole picture. If it’s just procrastination, I have a suitable method for dealing it with these days. But when it’s actually writer’s block, I still don’t have a good system in place for dealing with it. Sometimes I’ll work on side projects, while waiting for inspiration to hit. often, I’ll write other scenes or work on a different part of the manuscript instead (as a chronic underwriter, I’m often looking for clever ways to pad out my word count.) Sometimes I’ll journal potential ideas and ways that the problem could resolve. If I’m lucky, I’ll drop a quick note to myself and move on to fill in later. That’s not always practical, however, for large swaths of the book.
Where does that leave me now, seeing as how I’m writing this because of actual writer’s block? Well, it leaves me frustrated. The story I’m working on I started world-building for about fifteen years ago, but this part of the story I’d always glossed over in my head “to fill in later.” But because I never generated a single idea for it, I’m paying the price now.
Seeing as how this is my third book, it’s safe to say I’ll get past it. I hit this same point with both others after all. I’ve done it before, so I know I’ll do it again. It’s just the getting there part that’s bothering me.