All blocked up

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've never really had a problem with writer's block.

Whoa, whoa! Hold on, there, before you grab that pitchfork — that's not to say I don't get stuck while decision-making or finding resolutions. Sure I do. But that dastardly spectre people call "writer's block", where one sits in one's chair for hours, weeks, months, then pulls one's hair out because that perfect solution simply cannot be found? Thankfully, not yet.

At this point, I'm actually starting to think it's a myth designed to scare off novice writers, because what people describe as "writer's block" seems to me an exaggeration of a natural facet of the writing process: problem solving.

Every writer shoots around the core of a scene only to miss the mark, now and then. Every one of us has become stuck trying to resolve a scene or character arc in a satisfying way. The problem isn't that we can't find a solution, but perhaps that we're not handling that problem with the right mindset.

That said, there are occasions when frustration sets in, as I think a recent tweet of mine demonstrated nicely:

Considering J.R.R Martinning this scene and just killing all my characters with fire. That'd be easier than making it work, at this point...#WritingCommunity #AmWriting

— James McLeod is querying (@James_McLeod_) September 25, 2020

It happens!

But one way I tackle 'stuck' situations is pretty common, I think; I attack it with as many alternative ideas as possible. So, say we need a scene were the murderer needs to vanish from a crime scene quickly. Well, he could climb out the window. Shimmey up the chimney. Squeeze behind a bookshelf. Crawl under armchair. Find trapdoor under rug or crawl into ventilation system. Etcetera.

Most of these will be pure pfaddle and a bunch of freshly picked cliché. But now at least there's some turned soil to grow some fun ideas from.

So, what if it's a windy day, and the criminal cracks the window behind the curtains to make the fabric ripple. He hides behind the door until the protagonist enters, then slips out behind him, undetected? Some misdirection is always nice.

And even if I settle for an idea that isn't some-new-kind-of-genius, the way the scene is written can always make that mundane solution entertaining.

So, if you get stuck, have faith that you'll solve it and don't self-diagnose your problem with the fabled block too quickly. It only makes for unnecessary frustration.

Writing is problem solving, and you will figure it out. Best of luck!