Blocking Writer's Block

Have you experienced writer's block?

I have come across a well known phenomenon in the writing world. It is something that has not happened to me before today, but it is something that I read about frequently. It is a difficulty writing a particular chapter or scene. A small version of writers block, I imagine. But today, while writing an important but not difficult scene, where my sleuth is looking over the crime scene for clues, I found it difficult to write. I couldn’t find the right words to describe the scenario, the dialogue was clunky and every sentence was a slow trudging quagmire of literary labour. I had to leave the computer for a couple of hours and then found that when I returned, I could continue typing the story with the same enthusiastic vigour I had for the earlier chapters.

Is this something that many people experience often? If so, what do you do to combat it? I love writing stories, it is my passion, and the thought that this mental wall could prevent me from doing just that, frustrates me. I admit, when I had to leave the keyboard and come back to it, I was frustrated. That cliché of the author pulling out their hair out and shouting at the computer screen was not just a cliché today; it had taken life in the form of me screaming at a few pages of my manuscript.

I’m sure you would be glad to know that the episode didn’t last long, and once I had a coffee and some lunch, I was right as rain. Is food the answer, or caffeine, or just the break from tapping away? If anybody does have the answer, or maybe even some helpful suggestions, please let me know.

Read, follow, comment and enjoy.

Mx