Goodreads asked Channing Whitaker:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Channing Whitaker Though I can't say I've suffered writer's block severely, I have run into stopping points in projects. For example, after the first draft of my recent novel and another pass of rewriting I sensed the book was bloated and needed to be edited down for a better reading experience but I was too in love with the rich details to see what might be redundant, implicit, or overly explained. Rather than force it, I set the book aside, letting it rest, and began work on a first draft of a new screenplay. I chose a project that was thematically dark as the book was, in order to keep my creative mindset in that territory. After a few months I returned to the book with a more fresh viewpoint and saw rather easily what could be and needed to be edited. I completed the next draft very quickly and found the bloating I sensed was cured. This would be my approach for writer's block. If one plans to have a career as a writer, you likely intend to write more than one book, so when you have the writer's block, set the book aside and go start or continue work on something a little different, something you're coming to fresh, even if it's just an outline or synopsis for a future project. I think in many cases you'll have new ideas for you book pop into your head, demanding you get them on paper, and you won't be able to get back to that book fast enough.

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