Goodreads
Goodreads asked Ira Robinson:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Ira Robinson I ask one simple question. "What if...?"

That question is powerful. It can open doors you never expected. Let me give you an example.

In front of me is a water bottle. Now, while I purchased the bottle at the store, myself, and it was new off the shelf, let's explore that "what if" question.

What if the bottle was bought at a second-hand store and was previously owned by someone?

What if that someone passed away, and their items were donated to the store by their relatives?

What if the person who died actually was drinking from the bottle at the time they died?

What if they died because they were shot by someone?

What if their spirit entered the bottle, becoming trapped within? And what if when I drink from the bottle, their spirit gets into me and I can now hear their voice?

What if they want me to find who killed them?

You see how it can go? That one simple question, and any single thing you look at, can become the beginnings of a story. Even if it's fragmented and makes little sense, at first, it could be a story destined to take on epic proportions.

It's just a matter of plucking the strings of your What If question to get that melodious chorus of a novel out.

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more