What To Write When You Can't Write!

Writer's block - does it exisit? For some poeple it does, whilst others absolutely refuse to let it into their lives.

If you're a writer and you want to earn some kind of a living from your writing then you can't really afford to give in to those 'I don't know what to write next' kinds of days so here are my top three work-for-me tactics in the fight against (whisper it) writers block....

* Write something else - if it's a particular scene you're having problems with then skip ahead and write a different scene, it can help to release that 'mentally stuck behaviour' and free up your creativity again

* Write freehand - sometimes sitting down in front of a computer screen can seem a bit scary - it's just staring back at you expectantly... For me, writing with pad and pen takes off the 'pressure' creatively. Though, for some reason, a posh hardback notebook seems like it is too special to scribble thoughts and scenes in, so a cheapo A4 lined notepad works best for me...

*Don't write! OK, I know I said this post was about beating writers block but sometimes the best thing to do is just get away from the computer and walk the dog, do a spot of gardening, bake some cakes. Not having to debate the next scene I'm writing frees up some brain space and then ... surprise, surprise... little ideas, thoughts and bits of dialogue start popping into my head for the scene, as if by magic...