There are several things that you can try to overcome writer’s block.

Just Start

Sometimes just starting with something is a good path. It may not be good or perfect, but it does get you into a flow. Revising can come much later. You may write it and choose to change it, but at least you are doing something.

Change locations

Change up your writing routine. If you write in your bedroom, go outdoors. Or go to the local coffee shop. Change your scenery around you to spark some new ideas.

Change the outline

Change up your outline. Or outline just that one section. For example, I may want to create an outline for an entire scene by detailing what happens when. Describe setting. Give reason why they are in that setting. Give the details of what happens in a minute-by-minute and play-by-play commentary.

Writer’s block doesn’t have to be an issue. Just get creative with how you deal with it.

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I wanted to try my hand at another romance before I get back into the Operation books and the Twin series.

Just know this:

The new book will be a brother’s best friend trope (she’s going to fall for her brother’s best friend), and it involves baseball. This book has been living in my brain for some time now, and I can’t wait to get to started.

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I can’t blame it all on my ADHD because I also have several businesses that I run from this office, and things are usually in here and related to those businesses. Not to mention writing for several blogs. The demand of everything requires that I take organizing things, such as my time, seriously.

Will I clean it and try to keep it clean? Sure.

Do I think better with a clear desk or a chaotic one? That’s a toss up. Clear and clean is optimal because I don’t see something and remember something else, but chaotic is a sign that I’m focused on what it is I’m doing at the moment.

When writing, I’ll pull out my outlines and pictures and whatever else I need. Do I stay here and write? Not always. I have been known to go to other places in the house to write. My bedroom being one. In fact, I’ve done this recently. It just depends on the mood.

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When I put my descriptions into an AI generator, this is what it came up with. What do you think?

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7:00 a.m.

I am usually awake by this time. My most productive brain time is in the morning. I have ADHD, and I tend to treat it using coffee. I make myself a cup of coffee and go to my office. While I drink my coffee, I read my emails and plan out my day.

8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

During this time, I write my blog posts for the 7 websites I run (which includes this one). To be the most productive, all quick posts that require little research are written first followed by those that need more time. After writing, if I still have time leftover in my 2 1/2 hour slot, I will plan ahead my months using my content calendars.

10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Work on my latest writing project. It depends on if it is a novel, article, or short story.

12:00 pm to 1:00 pm (Lunch break)

1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

This time is for errands or cleaning around the house. I generally use the afternoons for those things that do not require a whole lot of concentration. Errands. Cleaning. Organizing. Brain power is for those tasks that need it. Everything else is just getting it done. Or working on it.

2:00 pm to 5:00 pm

In the afternoon, I work on my other businesses, like sewing. I will go into my sewing studio and work on sewing or new projects. If I don’t have anything that I’m currently working on, I may write, but mostly it is sewing. Sewing is one of my happy thoughts, so I enjoy doing that last in the day. It’s right up there with reading.

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When I’m not writing (like this week due to being super busy), I indulge in reading. This week’s reading is Layla Hagen’s Taming the CEO. It is a fantastic Enemies-to-Lovers romance.

I’ve read a few of Hagen’s books and Taming the CEO just happens to be the latest read of hers. It started just a little slower than I’m used to, but honestly, I think I needed that. I had been reading so many fast paced novels that having one that was slower and let the story unravel was a nice change of pace to slow my brain down. Usually I would read a book within 2 days and this one was more like a week. I’m not going to complain because like I said, I needed that change of pace.

This is a typical enemies to lovers, much like the Whitley brother’s books seem to be. I mean, all of those bachelors are wanting to stay bachelors, but Gran has different ideas when it comes to her grandsons. She enjoys playing matchmaker, and this book is no exception, although she didn’t need to push too hard for this match. It was over the moment they met. It was just everything in between that seemed to be the issue.

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Future Ideas

Sometimes the writing isn’t completely useless. Sometimes you can use the writing for future ideas. Take the writing apart and choose what you can use. Just because you have characters, settings, etc. in a text doesn’t mean that you can glean inspiration from it.

For example, I have a piece of writing that I started 15 years ago. I didn’t delete it, because there is a scene where the character is watching a storm rolling in across a field and she compares it to the storm that is happening in her life. Now, my story didn’t go anywhere, but this piece of prose is excellent writing. I remember thinking about it and writing it down to go with a story I had about domestic violence. That story didn’t pan out, but that scene did. In fact, I used it in another story because the imagery was so powerful.

Reviving a stalled piece

If your story suddenly stops because you have no idea how you wrote yourself into a corner, then maybe it is time to sit down with your characters. When I wrote Romancing Mr. All-Star, I ran into a similar situation. No matter how hard I tried to follow my outline, it just wasn’t happening. I couldn’t get the story to go forward.

Instead of abandoning my story, I changed course. What would happen if he couldn’t meet with his girlfriend to make things right because she was in an accident on her way to meet him or vice versa. I’m convinced that this sudden thrust of unforeseen circumstanced is why Game of Thrones has so many killed off characters. Inserting a new conflict or obstacles is a good way to determine how your characters are going to respond. In my situation, I decided to put that into the book. Yes, it may mean extra writing that never sees the light of day, but sometimes you find something that works well with your book.

Revisit your outline

If you story stalls and you can’t connect one scene to the next, then maybe you need to revisit your outline. Much like the advice above, this involves the addition of something new. Maybe you need one or two more scenes to get you to the next? Examine your outline and determine the next steps to take. Do you need an additional scene. Do you need to change perspective?

Even if I can create a loose outline that allows me to know the direction, sometimes I have to examine it closely to determine if there needs to be some roadblocks or change ups in the outline. These days I know how to input more between the big ideas, but when I first started, I had to be detailed when it came to my outline. I laid out each chapter scene-by-scene. If I struggle too much, I may go back to that until the story can easily flow again.

Writing that I started and stopped are generally treated this way if I want to revive them. I will go back and look at them to determine if I need to revise or even recreate an outline. Sometimes this is enough to shake the cobwebs loose from the writing and allow me to complete something that I thought was useless. I don’t lose all the time I already have invested in a piece of writing.

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I don’t always read fiction books. I do include books that I think will include useful information to help me improve my writing. I currently have several books on crafting scenes in my queue to read and I started with this one: Setting: How to Create Authentic Settings that Readers can’t Get Enough of by Justin Herzog.

I haven’t made it far into the book that is only 59 pages on my Kindle Fire Tablet, but so far it reads like an ELA Common Core textbook where it talks about the influence the setting has on the characters and plot. As a former teacher, I already know this. Yes, the struggle is real.

All of that aside, I do want to offer some advice when it comes to reading while writing. Always be in pursuit of improving your craft. Read nonfiction books about writing. Read fiction books in the genre you want to write. Seeing what other authors are doing in their writing can help you with your own.

In my last book, Romancing Mr. All-Star, I read a lot of romance, even some spicy romance. While I read these books, I thought about how the author crafted their characters, and what I found was that it improved my Show, Don’t Tell. I can see this when I compare it to my earlier writing. When you begin writing, you will probably be rough around the edges. Your writing may not read like perfect prose. This takes time and revisions. Revisions is not editing. It’s reading and changing for clarity and story continuity. It’s improving your piece until it is perfection. And what you may find later on down the road after you learn a few more things is that you probably could have improved that piece even more, but you didn’t have the skills needed back then.

In my current book, I’m hoping to improve some of my writing and provide a more interesting story.

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Developing characters when I’m writing utilizes a system that I learned when reading a book a long time ago. It was to create a note card with the information for each of your characters. This is something that you can refer back to multiple times as you are writing.

A huge issue is when there is a discrepancy between what happens at the beginning to what happens later. Eye colors change. Hair colors change. Name and name spelling changes. Yes. I’ve seen all of these in books that I have read recently. The way to solve this is to have it clarified at the beginning. As soon as you are creating these characters.

Create a template that you can use that keeps track of all of the pertinent information. Then use it.

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This romance is going to take place across several years and will be a heroine falling for her brother’s best friend kind of romance. I’m still finalizing my outline and working out the kinks. Hopefully in a few weeks, I’ll be able to provide you with a Tuesday Teaser.

So, what should my next project be after this one? Take the poll and let me know your thoughts.

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