For a writer, nothing can be more frustrating than drawing a complete blank.  No matter how much you think about where you want to take your story or how you want to build the plot, you continue to stare at a blank page. 

Writer’s block can be devastating to the progress of a book or story.  I have gotten hit with it in the past and have struggled to overcome it.  A lot of writers suffer from writer's block at some point in time and the thought of walking away from a story that seems dead in the water can be tempting; but it’s important that you try to work through your writer’s block in a constructive way.  Sometimes setting the manuscript aside, thinking that you just need to take a break from writing, can leave that book collecting dust for months!  Believe me, I know!

One of the best ways to overcome writer’s block is to JUST KEEP WRITING!  Perhaps you do need to take a short break from your current project to clear your mind and regain focus on where you want to take your story next, but in the meantime, concentrate on writing something else.  A short story, a poem, or even a letter to a friend…  Keep those juices flowing, just give them another outlet.

An exercise that I find helpful when I need to purge my mind of the muck that is gumming up my literary flow is to find an every day object (one that is around the house or in your office) and start free-flow writing about that object.  Begin by describing it in great detail.  Then add some of your own flair as a creative writer by giving this object a personality.  Put the object in a frame of mind and write about its thoughts, desires, regrets and hopes.  Take this object on a short adventure.  You may not like what you come up with in the end, but the point is not to create another masterpiece.  This is an exercise to work out a few mental knots and loosen up your imagination.

Once you get those creative juices flowing again, you may find that you are ready to take on the rest of the project with which you were previously struggling. Being able to break free from the structure of your work-in-progress with a free-flow writing exercise may also help you find a solution to that dilemma that is holding you up or could even bring about new ideas that could fine tune your original concept.

Hopefully, after a few free-flow writing exercises, the next time you pick up your manuscript, you won’t feel quite as stuck.

 Compelling books begin with compelling characters.  No matter how big or small their roles may be in the grand scheme of your story, each character has a history, a personality, quirks and passions…. At least, they should.  So what can you do to freshen up your characters if you find some of them are reading a little stale or seem to be cliché? 

Why not get to know your character(s) better through a character interview?

Write down a series of questions that you would ask anyone you didn’t know very well.  Adjust them to suit your character, perhaps give him a job interview or write questions that your character would have to answer for an online dating site.  Come up with questions that will really force you to look deep into your character’s soul, motives, likes and dislikes. 

Once you have your list of questions, it’s time to sit down with your character and really get to know him.  Don’t just answer the questions as if you were the character - imagine that your character is actually sitting across from you at a coffee shop or in your office. 

Pay attention not only to what your character says, but HOW he or she says it.  Is your character quiet or loud?  What does his voice sound like? Does he have strange or annoying habits when he speaks?  

Write down the character’s reaction to the questions you ask and make notes about his body language when he answers.  Does he avoid eye contact?  Does he bite his nails?  Does he hesitate or is he quick to answer?  Does he smile?  Is he flirty? 

This is your opportunity to really investigate what makes your character tick.  It’s also a great way to discover what kind of feeling YOU get from your character and determine how you can best present this persona to your readers.  When you are done with your character interview, you will have a detailed list of traits and idioms unique to your character.  Use these elements to SHOW your reader who your character really is. 

Taking time to get to know your characters will make all the difference when writing them into the story.  Again, no matter how minor the character may be to the plot, creating compelling characters will help to build a compelling story.  Be inventive and find ways to make each of your characters stand out.  Your readers will thank you.

Sitting at my computer, I glumly stare at the screen, quietly breathing, as I wait for something to suddenly inspire my next words.

OR

Sitting at my computer, I stare at the screen with little anticipation, breathing as though  each sigh robs me of my train of thought as I wait for inspiration to strike and guide my next words.

There is an ongoing debate in the literary world regarding the use (or overuse) of adverbs in writing.  While adverbs certainly have their place in the literary world, relying too much on adverbs to convey a thought can leave your work a little lackluster in the end.  The above examples both convey the same idea (author experiencing writer’s block) but I think we can all agree that the second sentence is far more engaging to read.   Why?  Because it SHOWS (versus tells) the reader what the character is thinking/feeling.

Good writing draws the reader in, makes him or her experience the moment with the character.  The more enticing the writing is, the stronger the connection between the reader and the story can be. 

That’s not to say that you, as a writer, should avoid adverbs altogether, but you should certainly be aware of how often you do use them, as, again, too many can take away from the potential of your storytelling. 

If you find that you use adverbs a lot, that’s OK - keep writing!  Don’t let your flow be hindered by word choice; but when you go back over the pages you wrote, challenge yourself to find other ways to phrase your sentences to omit some of the adverbs and engage the reader with more active descriptions.

In time, it will start to become more natural for you to move away from using so many adverbs and can broaden your literary horizons.