What to do When Writer’s Block Strikes

Written by Shae Rufe

Writer's block. No two words stop a writer faster than those. While it has been argued that this is not a legit thing, I can tell you from personal experience it's real. Yes, you can be writing your heart out and suddenly be stuck on what to write, where to go next in your story, like with me right now. I actually know where I want my story to go, I just don't know how to connect the now with the future. Sometimes that happens, it's normal, and there are some things that can help fix it. I was sitting here wondering what to write about when I got stuck on my next blog...and then this blog happened. Let's face it, sometimes writing about what has you stuck and how you get yourself unstuck! Is that a thing? Being unstuck? It is now. I have declared it!

One of my go to inspirations is music. Whether it's helping me write a scene, or just chilling out, or helping me work out, Music is a huge motivation in my life. I've actually written a whole blog (a while back) on how music is a huge inspiration. It's all kinds of music for me. Scores from films are a big help in helping me work out scenes. While some pop songs can help me imagine a scene between characters. Whichever it is, I mostly just hit shuffle and let the music decide for me. Though, I have to admit I skip a lot of songs. If a particular song is not helping my mood, I just skip it...this happens often.

Sometimes fighting through writer's block is as simple as taking a step back from what you're stuck on and working on something else entirely. Like a video game! Kingdom Hearts, or Assassins' Creed, or Batman are always a nice distraction from what I'm stuck on. Of course, these can be dangerous if you get sucked into them. Either way, they can sometimes help clear your mind and get it onto something else, which will help refocus you. Random fact of the day, video game scores are actually designed to help you concentrate and think better! Which was the justification I used when buying the Assassins' Creed II soundtrack.

Lastly, if you are stuck on a part of your story or whatever it is, you're writing, but know another part of the tale you want to write, just write it. Sometimes getting that out of the way will help you get unstuck and continue to write where you had left off. Later connecting the two. And if not, there's nothing wrong with a rewrite. Stories are living things that tell us how they want to be written. While we authors may think we have control, it's really the stories that drive us and tell us what to do and how. It's just a matter of listening to what the story wants to be said. Granted, we have a bit of say and power, but it’s mostly our characters and our stories that drive us and tell us where to go. So, let it flow...or let it go, but I am pretty sure that's copyrighted.

---