Goodreads asked Alydia Rackham:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Alydia Rackham I'm not sure I've ever really had writer's block. And I think that's because I take one very important preventative measure: I outline. All the way to the end. Now, I don't go into excessive detail, but I do know what's going to happen in each chapter. So I just move through, point by point, as each event is accomplished. If I didn't have an outline and was just making it up as I went, I have no doubt I would be blocked often and my stories would be untidy. However, writer's block must not be confused with The Wall. Now, The Wall arrives during every novel about 3/4 of the way through, and it's equivalent to what happens to a marathon runner. And essentially--though you think to yourself that your story is boring, that it's lost its momentum, that something has gone wrong--it merely means that you are tired. The best thing to do is take a sort break, perhaps read something, go on a few long walks, and then forge ahead and finish. Early on, with the first couple novels, a new writer is inclined to think that there's a terrible flaw in the tale, but really, just rest is needed, and the realization that this happens every time, regardless of the story.

flag