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 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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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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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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When you begin your writing, it is best to go into it with a plan. Last week I talked about using tropes to help plan, develop, and expand your writing. What I didn’t mention in that article is that you also need to plan it out and outline your writing.

This planning stage of outlining has helped me speed up my writing process. Prior to this new way, I utilized James Patterson’s method of having every chapter be a scene and jotting down what will happen in that scene. This is a good method, but at the same time, it doesn’t provide the why that I didn’t realize I needed. In this case, the why provides the character arc.

When I went in search of a book that felt would help me develop my characters into richer, deeper characters, I found several that were helpful in doing this. In fact, I even utilized Gwen Hayes’ book Romancing the Beats to create my latest book, Romancing Mr. All-Star. Using her method that she gives in the book, I created an outline template I could use for writing Romance books.

At one time, I simply used the whole plot diagram to create my books where you have an introduction, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. This was great, but it lacked thoroughly developed characters. You need those characters to live and breathe to the point they almost step out of the pages. You want your reader to pull for them. You want your reader to know them intimately and personally. In the end, it’s not the plot that the reader remembers. It’s the characters.

The book that helped me understand this dynamic was John S. Warner’s book The Secrets to Creating Character Arcs. This book helped me to understand character development in context to the plot outline. Prior to this, I wasn’t fully thinking about how the conflicts and incidents in the story affected the character. I went into writing assuming that my character was brave and bold, but the inner conflicts didn’t resonate or were missing. The character didn’t change due to the circumstances in the plot. That’s where learning about character arcs came into play.

Well, aren’t you an ELA teacher?

While I do teach ELA to middle school students, character arcs are something that we teach to high school and college students. In middle school, we teach how to identify a character’s traits, but we don’t delve into the why behind the change. We talk about dynamic characters, but not in terms of the character arc (which is the character’s journey). Warner explains it like you have several plot lines overlapping one another. One’s arc may end before the climax of the story. Another character in the same story may reach the end of their arc after the climax. These outlines all overlap one another. I suppose that is why after reading Warner’s book, Hayes’ book made me understand why I had to hit certain beats (goals) in my writing.

Overall, when you begin to plan out your writing, you should definitely take into consideration your character’s own journey in the story line. Paying attention to how they will change throughout the story and who will change them can help you build a better outline for your book or story.

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The use of tropes can be a lifesaver when you need to develop your characters. If you have a damsel in distress, they will probably find themselves in difficult predicaments. Things may befall them where they are in constant need of rescuing, and the hero will have to step in multiple times to save them.

Tropes can also be used to plan the setting of your story. If the character is on a journey, they may go to different settings. Maybe it is one specific setting: a vacation. Think along the lines of National Lampoon’s Vacation. The Griswold family encounters many things on their journey to their favorite theme park.

Utilize tropes creatively, or just use them to plan out your story when you are stuck for ideas of what to write about.

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I had listened to co-workers discuss the fact that they worked better with a deadline, even though they did much of it last minute. For me, I gave myself a deadline. Usually, I give myself 30 days. I have a writing count spreadsheet that I use, and I give myself a set number of words I’d like to reach. For example, 50,000. If I go over, that’s good. If not, I look to see where I can add more detail. This gives me a deadline that I can see when I put in my daily word count.

To help with my writing, I also have a notebook that I carry around religiously. It’s a Mead Five Star Notebook that has two halves and some pockets in the middle. The first half I use for ideas and snippets to include. The second half is for my daily To Do Lists and important information that doesn’t relate to writing. With my ADHD, I’m screwed without it.

Each evening, I spend time writing. I flip through my notebook and add in any ideas, conversations, or writing that I may have started. Any bit of free time, I’m writing. I even spent time during my planning and lunch to write at work, so when I came home in the afternoons, I could easily transfer that to my document.

With writing, I have found that you have to be consistently working. You have to maintain your focus and keep up with your stamina. Case in point: my newest work that I’m writing. I haven’t been consistently writing due to so many other things going on, and I can tell the affect. I’m struggling to get back into writing the book. It’s difficult after taking such a huge break. My writing doesn’t flow the same. How will I fix it? Probably go back to reading books that are similar to what I was writing to get me back into the mode of writing I was working on. I mean reading paranormal wolf shifter romances is miles away from writing young adult and middle grader novels.

Oops!

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One thing that I’ve done lately has been to go back and reread some books that are currently in the genre in which I am writing. Each time I’ve reread the books, I have made sure to pay attention to specific details. My first pass at a series was to see the connections among each book within the series. Another pass was to pay attention to setting. Another pass was on dialogue.

Reading, along with your writing, can provide you with the tools that you need to write better. Not only will it enhance your vocabulary, but reading will keep the creative juices flowing.

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