How to Beat Writer's Block Every Time

photo courtesy screencraft.org

You’ve probably heard about the guy who was so busy painting his bedroom floor he didn’t realize he was painting himself into a corner. Hey, it happens. Sometimes you become so concerned with the here and now, you forget to take the future into consideration.

As a writer, I learned not to paint myself into a corner by simply planning for what comes next. That’s not to say I outline my novels ahead of time, like an architect will layout an office building or an engineer designing an HVAC run. Quite the opposite. I usually come up with a title and a vague idea of what I’m going to write about. Then I sit down and start writing it.

The story usually takes me where it’s going. However, along the way, I will make a limited outline of my main character’s next few moves. This serves two purposes. It means I know precisely where he’s going in the story, and second, it means I won’t be painting myself into corner.

Still don’t know where your main character is going next? Still blocked?

Here’s a neat little trick. The next time you’re stuck, get up from your writing desk and take a walk. This walk might constitute pacing around the house or apartment for a bit. Next, I want you to think logically about what would happen next. If your character finds himself early on in the book surrounded by cops who want to arrest him, and it looks like there’s no getting away, what might happen logically and believably that would allow him to escape, and therefore allow the novel to continue?

Consider the many possibilities. 

Maybe he gives up, raises his hands in surrender, and then, as a cop goes to cuff him, he spins around quick and steals the cop’s service weapon. Or maybe a helicopter or drone arrives and aids in his escape. Maybe a cop shoots when he’s not supposed to and it causes a chain reaction of all the cops shooting at once. Your main character might escape in the ensuing confusion and mayhem.

You get the point.

Whenever you feel like you’ve painted yourself into a corner, don’t panic. Get away from your typewriter, take a deep breath, and think logically about what might happen next. It’s not only what happens in fiction, it’s how we live our lives on a daily basis…planning out what’s going to happen next, even if that means having to walk over wet paint. 

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