Today, I feel like talking about Writer's Block. It is the number one problem of writers, myself fully included in it. The past half a week has been a fairly good indicator that I do fall prey to it as well, so I am going to go into details about what I do when I am 'blocked', and how I prevent getting blocked.

First and foremost, on a novel, have a plotline. Then, you can point to the plotpoint you are working on and assign yourself the goal of getting something written on that plotpoint. While you may be stuck on a word or paragraph, you know where you need to go in advance.

Now, point two. If you are stuck on a word or a paragraph, write FIXME, in one word, and skip it. Even go to the point of stopping mid sentence if need be. Go to the next paragraph. If required, go to the next scene. This movement will jolt your poor mind and help you get unblocked. Don't spend more than five minutes drooling over a word. FIXME is easy to find later with search and replace/find, and will help you get word counts.

If a word is bugging you, ask a friend. But, once again, FIXME works well. Use it.

Now, what happens if you are just confused, and have no idea what you want to write on? This form of writing block is a little more difficult to work with. Using a community like my own writing_dare can force you to write, even if it is on a subject you hate. Having a subject can help you unwind. Treat it like you would a writing assignment for school. You may not WANT to do it, but do it anyway.

The most important thing is that writing blocks are 100% mental. You have gone and convinced yourself that you can't put anything down, and that is that. You're blocked, and you don't know what to do. It is easy for a writer to trick themselves into believing they can't write, or what they do write isn't good enough.

If blocked, quality is the last thing you should be worried about. Bang on that keyboard. Scare your dog or cat. Scare your parents.

Hell, scare your neighbors. Involve your whole community in your quest for enlightment and unblocking. Have some fun with it.

Writing comes best when you are having fun. Pick a song, write about how it makes you feel. Write about a favorite pet, a sport, or other activity. The biggest point in getting unblocked is to believe you can pick up your pen or sit at your keyboard and do it despite the distractions. All it takes to get unblocked is one word.

Just one.

Or something entirely silly that makes you giggle, such as the rabid monkey hunting Monkey-Hunters of ole. If in doubt, pick something random and make fun of it. Then you'll laugh while you're unblocking.

Good luck! And remember to believe a bit in yourself.