Goodreads asked Fenton Grace:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Fenton Grace That's a tough question. Sometimes, I take a break. I decide that I don't need to write what I'm working on. I'll try writing or outlining another idea to take a break. Then when I return to the other material, I may have a fresher eye.

Other times, I decide that I will come up with an answer, and I tell myself this before I go to sleep. Then when I awake, I will have the answer. Sometimes I have to do this for a few days, but the answer always comes.

Sometimes I realize that my story doesn't have legs. It won't work as a novel, or is flawed in some way. I decide that it's not worth pursuing and I abandon it. I don't consider it a failure. I will likely return to the characters or idea in some way in the future. Perhaps one of the characters will appear in a different story of mine, transformed.

Most of all, I try to do different things that take my mind off of the problem, so that I don't dwell on it too much. I exercise, I play the piano, I garden. I try to enjoy myself and life. At times, I became so obsessed with writing that I forgot to enjoy my life. That is a lesson I wished I learned long ago.

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