Goodreads asked Elizabeth C. Mock:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Elizabeth C. Mock 1. Therapy and medication. I am not even kidding. Another writer friend once said, writer's block is really life block. She could not have been more accurate. For me, writer's block is either a form of procrastination caused by emotional disregulation (I'm feeling negative emotions I'm not acknowledging which are blocking me from writing), or it's my ADH. Both of these can be dealt with through the combination of my medication and therapy. Therapy gives you the tools to get through what's blocking you.

2. Creating a habit of writing helps with writer's block. Keep showing up and you'll get it done. Even if it's like pulling water from stone, show up and get your words in. I also use implementation intensions. If I finish grading, then I write. I don't choose to write. It's just the next thing I do. What wires together in the brain fires together. Show up for thirty days to create the neural connections of a habit.

3. Sometimes you need to spend a day laying bricks to be able to write what's next. Talk to a critique partner or just a friend or family member about what's blocking you in the story. Those aren't lost days. The story needs to percolate in your brain sometimes, and talking out loud about it can really help.

4. If you're still stuck, sleep on it. This works because of what REM sleep does in your brain. It takes information from your day and makes connections, and you just might wake up with the solution. Don't try to force it. It'll take the time it takes to get through the plot/character problem. Be kind to yourself.

5. Take a day off and live your life. Go do something fun and recharging. Go a museum. Go to a concert. Go out to eat with friends. Read a good book. Just engage in art or connection with other. You can't pour out what you don't have in you.

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