How to Prevent Writer's Block

Let's start at the beginning, which is getting an idea for a story. The main question any writer must ask herself or himself-and the most frequent-is: "What if"? No, there's not much that's really new, but we all look for exciting and thoughtful variations on what has been, and what might be instead-which is the "what if". There are many ways to develop an idea, but that is the genesis of most of them. There are so many catalysts, but the most important for each writer is: What am I interested in? Science, history, existing literature (how many variations are there on "Pyramus and Thisbe", which includes the most famous, "Romeo and Juliet"?), nature, romance, murder/mystery, etc., etc. If you are really interested in a subject, and something strikes your fancy about it, then think "what if" something about that particular idea could happen that would be different, and there is your story.

Developing Your Idea

Okay, so you have an idea, but don't know how to develop it. There are two solutions. First, write a synopsis. Don't try to write the story all the way through. Just plot out different things that might happen in this "what if" scenario. Where or how do you want it to end? How do you get there? What are some of the major events you envision happening along the way?

Developing Characters

Do you already have characters? If not, this is a good time to develop the major players. Try to develop a profile for them, just as if you were a detective investigating someone related to a particular case (such as a love affair, or a murder, or someone's childhood background). Develop details, including where they live (setting) as well as their personality. While you might be able to add a few minor characters now, you can really do that as you go. The most important part of developing a character is to determine what they want in this story, and how they would go about getting what they want. This is character motivation and integrity, or lack thereof. Making sure your characters stay "in character" throughout the story, unless some major event causes them to change, is very important.

Fleshing Out the Story

Can't think of any more information to put into the synopsis, or feel you are ready to start writing a rough draft? Then go right ahead. Don't worry about the order of the scenes. If you get a great inspiration about a scene that might be in the middle of the book, start working on it right now. It may change later, but at least you will have some reasonable chunk of writing that will make you happy. Many people develop "writer's block" because they think they need to write from A to Z, but get bogged down on K. An agent or publisher will never ask in what order you wrote your chapters, only if the book if finished.

Keep Several Stories Going

Some writers claim they can only work on one project at a time. If they mean they must spend the bulk of their effort and concentration on one major work, then that makes sense. If they mean it's only possible to have one project in their mind, and can't even think of something else until it's finished, that's ridiculous. Very few writers who follow the first guideline about developing ideas do not at least think of other story ideas during the same time frame. Just because you are writing a novel, a play, whatever, does that mean you can't be thinking of another story? There is no law against writing those ideas down, and perhaps idly fleshing them out a bit when the current major opus gets a little stale.

Conclusion

For any writer who keeps their minds and their computers active, there is no such thing as "writer's block". There is only what they happen to be working on today, and perhaps as well tomorrow, and what they will switch to when that is not working. Keep plugging away.