TRANSCRIPT

Certain concepts can take hold as truths. For example…

Being cold can cause a cold (colds are actually caused by viruses).

Bulls are attracted to the color red (bulls are colorblind).

Or a wet phone should be put in rice (this may actually cause more damage to your phone).

Another concept that’s taken hold as a truth is… Writer’s block.

Writer’s block is defined as "a usually temporary inability of a writer to produce or continue working on a piece of writing.”

Now I know, there will be many moments, when you’re working on a manuscript and just feel stuck about what to write next. But that doesn’t mean that you should label your situation as “writer’s block” and use it as an excuse to stop writing.

For example, a doctor doesn’t walk into the emergency room, see a kid with a bone sticking out of his leg and say, “Yeah, I’m not really feeling it today. Nothing’s coming to me about what to do. So I’ll leave it for now and come back to it later.”

No, the doctor's a professional, so she does her job.

You need to see yourself as a professional writer (whether or not you’re getting paid it), and write no matter how uninspired you feel.

You know, perhaps my view on writer’s black comes from my background. In advertising, there are deadlines. Oftentimes crazy deadlines. And I would not have lasted long in my career if I came to any meeting with no ideas claiming that I just couldn’t come up with anything.

When you’re stuck, you just got to keep pushing. One way to do this is to ask yourself questions about your story. This can open up new ways for how you can proceed, for example…

What would be the next best thing to happen?

What would be the worst thing to happen next?

What would the most outrageous thing to happen next?

What would be the most unexpected thing to happen next?

What would make the reader laugh right now?

What would make the reader cry?

What event from the character’s past could trigger an emotion right now?

What could the child character be doing right now instead of an adult character?

What if I incorporated a new sense into the story right now, such as sight, smell, taste, touch or feel?

What could be a better or funnier name for a character?

If all of those don't lead to any sort of ideas, you can put yourself into another author's shoes and say, "What would Dr. Seuss, or Mo Willems or Mac Barnett write right now?"

Doing this may lead to bad ideas – but those bad ideas can lead to good ones.

And if you’re really not feeling creative, you can still move forward. Go back to the beginning of your manuscript and start evaluating word choices:

Is each word as powerful as it could be?

Could another word be funnier, sillier, more intriguing?

And can you eliminate filler words like “just,” “so,” or “very”?

We all have responsibilities in life outside of writing. That’s why the time devoted to writing is so precious. Giving into the myth of writer’s block wastes this opportunity. Worst of all, it doesn’t move you towards your goal of becoming a published picture book author. Writer’s block is simply an excuse not to write. It gives you an easy out to justify your lack of progress.

So rather than believing that writer’s block has any power over you, shift your mindset to one where you have power over writer’s block. Approaching your writing from a position of power, as opposed to a victim, can inspire and energize you to continue writing even when it feels difficult.

Those are my thoughts on writer's block. Perhaps that is an unpopular opinion. I would love to get your thoughts on it. Please comment below.

And, as always, thank you for watching. If you got any value out of this video, please like it, subscribe to my channel and share the video with other aspiring picture book authors.