Writer's Block does not exist. It is not a disease or a recognized medical condition. You can't catch it from a dirty toilet seat or by sharing bodily fluids with another similarly infected author! You convince yourself you have Writer's Block, and the longer and harder you force yourself to try and write, the harder it becomes to get over it.

If you fall victim to a bout of 'the block' then the best thing to do is put down your pen or switch off your computer, get up from your desk and go and do something completely different. Staring at a blank piece of paper or an empty computer screen will just compound the problem until it gets so bad you'll convince yourself you'll never have another decent idea and that you were stupid to think you could ever make it as an author in the first place. But the truth is that if you've got as far as sitting down to write, then you must have had ideas at some point...

One of the tricks to overcoming Writer's Block is to remember those ideas, keep records of them and get to know them intimately! Keep a notepad with you and scribble down anything and everything that inspires you - it doesn't matter what it is or when. Work on these ideas and develop them slowly over time. Go over them in your mind again and again. Never throw any of your notes away. Just be realistic and don't expect your basic idea to turn into a 100,000+ word novel overnight. If you sit down to write without having done any planning in advance then Writer's Block will hit you like a sledgehammer between the eyes. Writing can be a long, slow and hard process and most of the time you'll avoid Writer's Block if you're aware of that from the start.

Finally, don't punish yourself or try to force yourself to write. There will be days when the words just won't come and if you're not ready to write then you'll do much more harm than good if you keep trying. You need to be in the right frame of mind, in the right location and have the right tools. Don't be afraid to sit on your backside and play games or watch a film or get drunk or do whatever else takes your fancy if you're not ready to write. Chances are you'll end up scrapping the few paragraphs you manage to force out anyway. So to summarise, I avoid Writer's Block by:

1. only writing when I want to write
2. not feeling guilty when I don't want to write
3. planning in detail before I sit down to write the first word
4. getting up and switching the computer off if things aren't going well

First published in Culture Shocker ezine February 2003.