Sick people don't like being told there is nothing wrong with them, and writers don't like being told that their writer's block is the product of laziness and a lack of commitment to the craft. Yet, oftentimes, that is the attitude a blocked writer encounters. As a frequent sufferer of hard-core writer's block, I've decided to take a stab at writing the kind of article I'd always wished I could find.

First off, I'd like to clarify what I'm talking about. This article is going to be about a very specific kind of writer's block. There tend to be two different kinds. The first, Idea Writer's Block, is an inability to generate ideas. Many, many articles have been written about this form of writer's block. This is never my problem. I always have ideas. The second, the kind that dogs my footsteps, is Writing Writer's Block. This is when you know what needs to happen in your story -- Character A must be moved from City B to City C, for example. You sit down and see your entire story mapped out in your mind, clear as anything; you set your fingers on the keyboard, or pick up the pen and --

Zap!

Brain freeze.

Suddenly, for the life of you, you can't figure out how to write your scene. You know exactly what has to happen, but the words jumble up and won't flow. Nothing you write sounds any good. You become hung up on a minor detail, such as: should Character A take a bus to get to City B? A train? A car? Which is it? Only one answer is correct!

This happens to me on a regular basis and, the longer it goes on, the more it begins to resemble a low-grade panic attack. If I attempt to write the scene before I've figured out the correct answer, I get chest pains. To someone who has never experienced this before, I'm sure it sounds a bit unbelievable and overly dramatic. That doesn't change the fact that this is a wall I often come up against.

Common advice to writers at this stage is to "leave it alone". To work on something else. What do you do when you've done both those things, and it's 6 months later, and you're no closer to a solution?

There is hope!

After years of struggling with this, I've come up with a set of solutions that work, at least for me.

1. Go away, and leave it alone. Work on something else. I hatehatehate being told this, but sometimes it does work. I don't recommend trying this solution for more than a day or so, though, because you can lose the story's momentum if you wait too long.

2. Talk the problem through with someone you trust. Many problems that I had completely dead-ended on, I defeated within minutes of actually talking out possibilities with my husband or sister.
3. Run a spread of Tarot Cards. I have my own decks, but I most frequently use this free tarot reading website. They have an automatic generator with a wide variety of decks and spreads to choose from. The results are both specific and general enough to help me make a solid decision.
4. Word painting. This is like writing poetry on acid. Open up a simple text editor like Notepad, or find a sheet of scrap paper. Write everything that comes to mind -- it doesn't have to make sense. Ramble! Forget grammar or any kind of coherency. My exercises when I do this look something like this:
   • glass and water and things that fall up or down or never at all

   I try to focus on words that hold special creative meaning for me.

5. Write out every possibility. This is, of course, the most time consuming option. Unfortunately, this is also the one that most often works for me. Should Character A take the bus to City B? I'll start writing it. I usually know within a few sentences whether or not this angle is going to work. Delete delete delete and try Character A out in a car. Bingo! Like I said, it ain't pretty, but it often does the trick.
6. Draw a picture of the scene. Even if you're not artistically gifted, a simple sketch, floor-plan, or map can often solidify the scene in your mind.
7. Go for a walk. Exercise. Oftentimes, focusing on a physical task will help take the pressure off the part of your brain that is churning its tires on your story. Depending on your personality, listening to music may or may not help. Meditation or meditative yoga are also good ways to lessen the stress surrounding the writer's block.

Other Ideas

These are additional suggestions, provided by members of the specficmarkets LiveJournal community.

• Magnetic poetry. When block hits, stand before your fridge and move the words around. On the same line as this, try using a random word generator. Providers: wicked_wish | coyotecult

• Recharge time. Forbid yourself to write for a week. Reading, playing videogames, watching movies -- all are acceptable, just no writing! Provider: gaaneden
• Let your subconscious do the work for you. As you're lying in bed, think about your story. Provider: agilebrit
• A clean body equals a clean mind. Take a shower. Relaxing and hygenic! Provider: bradleysands

Read More

Writer's Block - I'll Think of the Title Last, by Elfpants.

Writer's Block @ the Dilbert Blog, by Scott Adams.

writing4fun - A LiveJournal site that offers a random idea generator. Provider: jrosestar