Writer's Block *insert scary music*

Writer's block is a condition, associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work--Wikipedia

Writer's block--the scourge of all writers! For decades we have been battling this fearsome foe, and its raging fire has vanquished many of our kinsman. Fellow penwielders, it's time to unite, pick up your pens, and face this dragon with courage!

Okay, cut the drama. Here are some tips on writer's block: how to prevent it and how to cure it.

There are many kinds of writer's block, and they effect different people at different times. Here's a list of some of the types I've been afflicted with, as well as a cure.

#1. Perfection Writers Block--this is when you have trouble with a scene, sentence, paragraph, or whatever of a book because 'it just doesn't seem right'. Your characters may have mutinied, your words may refuse to line up for you, and you are NOT enjoying it.

Cure: relax. There is no such thing as a perfect first draft, or second draft, or even third draft. Write it out, no matter how un-perfect it sounds, and move on. It's keeping you from finishing your book.

#2. Lazy/Bored Writers Block--this is one that I suffer the most from. Your book has become boring and/or you just don't feel like writing. Some forms of this (Procrastination Writers Block, Busy Writers Block) are coming up soon.

Cure: plunk yourself down and write. Pick a time and place where you won't be distracted, and truly write. If you are bored with your book, add something exciting. A drastic plot twist, a dramatic battle, a new character or setting...whatever.

#3. Biased Writers Block--this one is where you are usually just starting yet another book after you have ditched at least five of its predecessors. You are thinking that this is going to be just like the others; you eagerly work on the beginning of it, but then the novelty (no pun intended) wears off and you end up stuffing it into the back of your closet.

Cure: get out of that mindset. Tell yourself that this is one that your going to finish. And maybe you could even do so--write a very small first draft first, and then expand on it. Attitude is key in writing.

#4. Busy Writers Block is when you feel really rushed. You have a dozen places to be one after the other, lots of school work and chores and responsibilities, and you just don't have the time to write.

Cure: find the time. If you aren't the one driving (duh), and you don't get car-sick, write in the car. If you have a minute while waiting in the dentist's office, write. And so on.

#5. Procrastination Writers Block--that's where you keep on laying off writing. You may have convinced yourself that you don't have enough time to really write right now, or that you'll get on to it later. I think a lot of people suffer from this one. Myself included.

Cure: Don't procrastinate. Simple, huh? Even if you only have five minutes to write, write for five minutes. At least you wrote. And tell yourself that you might not have time to write tomorrow, so you should get it done now.

Now for the stages of writers block:

Stage Green--you don't have any writers block.

Stage Yellow--you have writers block, but it's just mild and you can pass the glitch easily. Only lasts for 2 seconds up to a day.

Stage Orange--writers block that is moderately hard. You've been staring at a blank page for a while, and keep on hitting the delete key over and over again. Last from over a day to three or four days.

Stage Red--severe writers block that can't be surpassed. Lasts from over four days to a long time. Like months. I had this once, and that started out as Procrastination Writers Block.

Stage Past-Red--writers block so bad that you don't write again. Ever. Thankfully, I don't know anyone who's had that.

But how do we nip this problem in the bud? Prevention, of course!

1). Don't skip writing; get yourself to at least read over the chapter you're working on once a day. I suppose sometimes it can't be helped, but when you skip when you could have written (even just a paragraph) you start finding more excuses. Stuff like, 'Well, I didn't write yesterday, so it wouldn't hurt to skip today, too," or "This hasn't been the longest period of time I didn't write, and it won't be until a week! I'm doing fine," can be easier to listen to if you haven't gotten yourself on a writing roll.

2). Keep it sloppy, especially if you're on your first draft. First drafts are supposed to be messy. If they aren't there's something wrong! If you're stuck on a short few sentences that are so boring you don't know what to write, just go ahead and mess them up. You can go back later and fix them. (of course, final drafts should be absolutely pristine, but we're not talking about final drafts here.)

As an ending note, one of my friends gave me a list of tips for overcoming writer's block (neither she nor I wrote them). I picked out the ones that were the best.

1). Write down 12 ideas that might come next in your book. Don't stop, even if the third one sounds really awesome. 12 seemed an awful lot for me, so I shortened it to seven. It still worked. And don't not write down an idea, even if it sounds crazy. I wasn't going to write down one of the ideas, because it sounded very clique, but it ended up that idea was the one I used (combined with another one).

2). Ask youself 'What would happen if...'. Again, let your mind wander, and don't discard the crazy ideas.

3). At least look at the part that you left off writing. A lot of times, I think I have writer's block because I haven't had any new brainstorms. Actually, if I can just look over the chapter that I got stuck on, I get inspired a lot of times.

(this last one is a tip that I thought up)
4). Read your Bible. God, as the Author of this amazing story we are living in, is the master of writing. Many parts of the Bible are poetic, descriptive, emotional, and just plain inspiring!

Yours without wax,

Izori