What do you do when you’re writing and everything just stops dead?

fictorium:

Cry, honestly. It’s a horrible feeling, like someone just lopped a limb off without any warning.

But because deadlines and whatnot never go away I’ve had to find ways to push through. These might not work for anyone else, but each one has genuinely helped me at one stuck point or another.

– Go somewhere. Anywhere. The library. Starbucks. The parking lot at Target. Anywhere you’ve caught yourself daydreaming about a story but haven’t had anything with you to write. Take the notebook/laptop/tablet and even if it’s just a few sentences, that’s a crack in the dam.

– Time to look at your environment. Are the pets intruding on your writing time? Then sorry babies, door is getting closed for an hour. Is your roommate/gf/parent always interrupting? Closed door and a do not disturb sign if needed. Impose it, stand by it. They might think you’re kidding, but it’s a boundary that needs to be respected.

– Disconnect from wifi. Better yet if the router’s in another room and no one else is around, turn it off. You will do SO much more if you can’t refresh Tumblr-facebook-twitter every three minutes. There are browser blockers readily available too. Or get someone else to change the wifi password temporarily and not give it to you until you do what you set out to.

– Read something GOOD. I usually revert to an old fave – Truth and Measure, 1+1 = Window, dip into a random bit of Harry Potter for comfort. Or that book your friend pushed on you like drugs, go see what the fuss is about. The important thing I find is to pick ONE recharge/inspiration source, otherwise you end up reading endlessly and not writing. The same with watching ONE ep of the show to tune into fic characters again. It doesn’t work if you then Netflix binge.

– Instrumental music. All the pretty, none of the distraction for your word brain.

– Voice memo it. Sometimes saying it out loud still engages where fingers on keys won’t. Ask yourself or your characters questions. Why are you doing this? What do you do now? It feels wanky, but the answers come.

If anyone has other tips, feel free to add on!