WRITER'S BLOCK

What is “writer’s block”? Is it a real thing? How do you cure it?

Well, I can’t speak for all writers. But for me, yes, writer’s block is a real thing.

Writer’s block, for me, comes in different forms. The most common form is the “eh... I just don’t FEEL like writing... and I know anything I write in this mood will just be garbage anyway.”

The next most common form is the “I have far too many things to write, I have deadlines for all of them, and my brain just froze... I cannot decide what to write first!”

The less common, but totally terrifying form is when I sit down and cannot think of a single thing to write. At all. Nothing. The operators for the creative centers in your brain are all currently speaking to other customers, try again later.

The first two versions are pretty easy to deal with. They fall less under the “writer’s block” category and more under the “overwhelmed writer” or “unmotivated writer” categories. The cure is to simply sit down and write SOMETHING. Even if it’s just a list of the things I have to write, then at least I have an idea of where to start.

But the true writer’s block? That can be paralyzing. Thankfully, I have come up with a sure-fire cure.

Christmas music.

I know, it sounds crazy. Other authors cannot believe I often write to Christmas music. I don’t know what it is, but when I get hit with writer’s block, all I need to do is plug in my headphones, pull up my Christmas albums (doesn’t matter if the songs are instrumental or have lyrics) and suddenly that wall just melts away. Maybe it’s the familiarity of the songs, I know them so well they become a sort of “background” music which the practical side of my brain can latch onto, freeing up the creative side of my brain to start churning out ideas. I really have no idea, I’m making this up as I go along. But for whatever reason... Christmas music is the cure. (Sometimes Celtic music can stand-in as well, but it’s not as much of a guarantee).

How about you? What forms of writer’s block do you deal with? Do you have a sure-fire cure? What is it?