John Fitch V - Guest Blogging - Is Writer's Block Real?

Wow, another weekend come and gone, but we are glad to have you back at another Guest Blogging session. Today's guest is John Fitch V - someone to certainly keep your eye on. Topic: Writer's Block ... is it for real and how to overcome it.


When Stan asked me to jot down some thoughts for this blog, I jumped at the chance to reach some new readers. My only question was: What the heck am I going to write about?

I paced my office for hours. I doodled. I stared at my computer screen.

“I gots nothin’,” I said to myself, a look of abject horror spread across my face.

It was a sad day, especially for someone who doesn’t believe in writer’s block.

Yes, it’s true. I believe this term is meaningless. Like ghosts, I haven’t believed in it for some time, and I want to tell you why. Writer’s block is the killer of creativity; it is the killer of stories. Yet, it's purely self-created, more than a little self-indulgent, and is also an excuse for procrastination. As you may have surmised, the “I can’t think of anything to write!” complaint doesn’t sit well with yours truly.

I learned how to eliminate writer’s block a few years ago. Prolific author Kevin J. Anderson listed 11 tips on his old MySpace page, and the second one sticks with me to this day: Defy The Empty Page. Anderson used the movie THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN as an example: Billy Crystal played an author who had trouble coming up with his opening line. He paced and paced, staring at his typewriter as he attempted to write the hook necessary to grab his readers. Anderson’s message in this tip is simple: A writer cannot let the first sentence be a hang up, especially when you’re only writing a first draft. As Anderson writes, “You’ve got to start your fingers typing, or your pen writing, or your tape recorder recording.”

Earlier this year, I found a sure-fire method for curing a block. I was in the process of brainstorming/outlining my first thriller novel and I have to admit, I got a little stuck. In order to get out of this sticky situation, I opened an e-mail and began to type a message to Steven Savile, one of my best friends in publishing. I typed what had just happened in my outline when it came to me: “His agents have NOT left the country!” It opened up new scenes in my mind. I couldn’t stop writing after that. It was my ability to get the fingers going—in the e-mail—that made all the difference. I came up with an idea, and I ran with it.

Simply put, I don’t allow writer’s block to invade my writing process. If it comes anywhere near my office, I beat it back with a stick. But I digress…

The goal of any writer is to get your story into prose. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad during the brainstorming/first draft stage. If it’s bad, delete it and it won’t exist ever again. Or copy and paste it into a different file; you never know, it may be useful in a different novel.

In a nutshell, the best way of overcoming writer’s block is to deny it from happening. A writer just needs to get the story moving somehow, even if one has to type “I can’t think of anything to write!” over and over again until an idea comes into focus.

Now that I’ve got this blog post out of the way — what am I going to write about for my next novel?


Great post, John! Thanks for sharing your tips on breaking that cycle.

John Fitch V is an independent author specializing in the YA, fantasy, and thriller genres. His web site is www.johnfitchv.com, be sure to check him out there and hook up with him on Facebook and Twitter as he has lots of great stuff he shares with his friends, both stories and playful banter. His baseball time travel novel, TURNING BACK THE CLOCK, (Go Sox!) recently spent time in the Kindle Store’s Top 500. This fall, he’ll release his seventh novel. Continued best of luck to him and we look forward to seeing more of him, both here and in the industry!

So folks, what are your thoughts the big WB? What are some tips you can give to break the cycled that John hasn't provided here? We are looking forward to your input.

Thanks for your continued readership and we will talk again soon.