Today I was thinking of talking about the dreaded writer's block, and how we can overcome it if it has been plaguing us for a while. One of the first remedies that comes to my mind is time. Simply take a week to a month off of writing. Sometimes we just need a long break and there is nothing wrong with that. If you have been sitting in front of your laptop/notebook and writing for an hour or more each day for months, of course your mind is going to get tired. Maybe you took a day or two break, but that isn’t always enough. Go out for a while, breathe and step away from the writing. Once you’ve had a long break, come back. Sit down. And just write.

If you come back to writing again and your brain still can't process what to do with this once scene you have been stuck on, I encourage you to think of some other scene in the book- doesn’t matter how far ahead it is. It could be the end scene, or some random scene about 3 chapters ahead. Think of that scene, and write it. Ignore the fact that you aren’t writing chronologically. It’s okay. I’ve found that if I get stuck on one scene, by writing another scene that is far off, I get a desire to want to connect the scenes and by giving myself a visual, attainable goal. The writing comes pretty naturally after that once I see ‘Oh look, the scene I love! It’s just around the corner- let’s get to it!’. Give it a try and see what happens!

Another thing that works is try writing random things. I don’t care if it seems silly or pointless, just throw something in there and write how your character would react to it. It can be something goofy (a rubber chicken?) or something serious (a character death?). How would your character(s) react to this new change? Think you know? Good. Write it. Even if this seems utterly pointless, afterall why on earth would we keep a rubber chicken in a fantasy novel or whatever you are writing, just write. You will always get something out of more writing practice. Maybe you wrote this one random line that struck something inside of you and now you know how to continue your story- or maybe this whole new scene can be used! Awesome! But even if none of the writing can be used, guess what? You just worked on learning more about your character. You have more knowledge on how they act, and now you can write a stronger character!

I hope this has been helpful to y’all! Now for the word of the week!

The Word of the Week is: Melomania

Pronunciation (Romanized): Meh-low-mah-nee-uh

Definition: A strong, excessive attraction to music and melodies

History and Etymology: Derived from the words ‘Melos’ which means ‘song’ in Latin and the ending ‘-mania’, showing a disorder.

Example: The melomania seemed harmless, simply putting Harold into a bad mood whenever he went through long periods of time without music.

That’s all for this week, Readers! I love you and hope you have a wonderful week! See you on the author side!