Goodreads asked Rebecca Heflin:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Rebecca Heflin I know there are writers out there who say there is no such thing as writer’s block. Nora Roberts is one of them. But I believe there is, or at least ‘sticky points’. Most of the time, it originates in the author’s head. My second book, Rescuing Lacey, won several awards, and when I was writing Dreams of Perfection, I let self-doubt get to me. What if Rescuing Lacey was my best book? What if nothing I wrote could ever live up to it, much less surpass it? I was afraid to write a single word unless it was absolutely perfect. It terrified me.

Other times, the block can come from external stresses, like a day job, family issues, etc. Things like that can suck the creative energy right out of you.

When I’m stuck, there are several methods I use to get ‘unstuck.’ Sometimes I walk away from the writing. Take a walk or tackle a mundane household task, and the next thing I know, an idea has popped into my head and I’m ready to go. Another method I’ve used is to stretch out on the couch, the bed, a hammock, even the floor, and close my eyes, letting my mind wander. What am I having for dinner tonight? What was the name of that shop in Santa Fe? The one with the fabulous spices? What was the name of our guide in Costa Rica? Ooh! Guide. Monteverde Cloud Forest. Night hike. That’s it! The hero and heroine go on a night hike in the cloud forest. Voila. Problem solved.

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