So, You're Stuck ...

The blank screen can be intimidating. Some call it "writer's block", a term I've never particularly liked.

I'm facing elements of it myself right now as I'm working on my third novel. This is the first one that I haven't already "pre-written" in my head, and so I'm experiencing new challenges as a writer. I have a general idea of where I'm going with the story and the struggles my characters will face, but it's not laid out nice and smoothly like my other stories.

The first issue I encountered was that I wanted to write everything sequentially, like I ordinarily do. I may have known the next major scene, but I wasn't sure how to build the connection from the place where I was.

For days, I pecked at the keyboard, getting frustrated and deciding that I needed to take another "Facebook break."

I realized about two days ago what a mistake it was (the sequential part, not the Facebook part, though  wasting time on Facebook is questionable, too). I finally tossed up my hands and said, "I'll write the scene I want to write!" Once I gave myself "permission" to move on and work on something else, the words flowed smoothly again.

I also wanted everything to be perfectly written. I'd find myself going back over the same sentence, searching for the exactly perfect adjective which would convey the exact shade of meaning. I'd always heard, "Don't edit as you write," but I'd never understood what it meant. I finally let myself just write, get the story out onto the screen, and then go back at the end of the evening and do the edits I thought it needed.

Allow yourself to meander. You never know when that paragraph that you're sure you're going to delete later might be the seed of a good idea. Even if you end up taking it out, you may be able to use a scrap of text in another place or build off of an idea it contains. I have a "bits and pieces" file where I put paragraphs that I might want to save for later.

If all else fails, you may want to jump over to work on another project for a while. It can give you a much needed "brain reboot."

Find things which inspire you. Believe it or not, I've discovered I write romance best when I'm listening to White Zombie, Nine Inch Nails and Rammstein. Don't ask me to explain it. When I switched my Pandora station to my usual preference, 90's Alternative, my productivity plummeted.

You never know where you'll find inspiration.

Reading is always a good place to start because you can study the way other writers have dealt with the situation you're facing. Watching television, playing games, anything creative can give you ideas that might help you find your stride again.