How to Beat Writer's Block

Does Writer's Block Exist?

Author Richard Price makes an interesting remark in the video about writer's block. And if I completely agreed with him, I wouldn't be blogging, now would I?

His first point regards writing a novel. While he works on a manuscript, he has no real problem coming up with ideas or writing. The issue he finds is slowing down enough to put everything together. 

I fully agree with him on this. Once a project is rolling, I don't struggle much with coming up with ideas, but making sense out of them is something different altogether. 

However, I never face writer's block in-between novels. 

From time to time, I may find it difficult to come up with a good short story idea, but after a week (max) inspiration smacks me in the face.

As for blogs, well I have even more of a problem. Most writers will blog about their life when they don't feel like chatting around their writing life anyone. They say things about the great life of New York, or the places they've traveled to. Well, I live in bum-fuck Indiana and have zero dollars to spend on traveling. I would love to, and I would to blog about them, but it might before a bit before those days arrive. 

To get back to writing, generating ideas, or blogging, I use the same trick.

I DO NOT BELIEVE IN WRITER'S BLOCK. 

Say your car is having some issues. Let's assume you cannot figure out how to turn off one of the inside lights. You try the switch. You try closing all of the doors. You try locking it. Hell, you pull the fuse. But when none of these things work, you're left frustrated and confused. You have all of these ideas and none of these are working.

So what should you do next? Consult the manual, right?

If your manual is anything like mine, it probably doesn't go into detail about the light inside of your car. In fact, although it may list the part, it doesn't troubleshoot it.

The next solution? Google. 

In the same manner, when a writer can't think of anything to write or has too many ideas to put together, the answers can be hard to find. And there isn't much of a manual. And Google won't magically give you an idea. But from these places, you can find a prompt.

A good prompt is the cure for what we call "writer's block." A news story, something that pisses you off, something that interests you, something you say in the eerie thirteenth hour of the night. 

All of these a good ideas. There's no such thing as writer's block, and if there is, it's as likely to be solved as déjà vu.