You are happily writing your next big hit of a novel, its going awesome and wham! You stall out. You are tired of writing, its starting to sound corny and tedious, you can’t write anymore. Just remember: There is no such thing as "writers block". You have just lost your motivation, your passion! If you ever get stuck while writing a novel, STOP and mentally clear away everything you thought about the direction the book should take. Get a blank page on the computer screen so the pages aren’t taunting you, and:

Take a character, any character, and ask it a question.
For example:
• What did this character do for halloween as a kid?
• What kind of pet peeves would this character have?
• What kind of car would they drive and how do they drive, impatient & yelling at others?

Then start writing.

I suggest making a new file that is strictly for characters, if you haven’t already done so. One file per character. Lable it "stuff" or "characters" or "other" and label each file in there by the name of the character. Then if you ever need any of it, it is easily found where you can cut and paste it into your document.

This isn't limited to just the "humans" in the book. It could be a development of a corporation involved in the plot. Or a town in the plot. This is not wasted time, this turns into character development. And you are writing! And character development is a blast. It doesn't matter how good it sounds or if you use unfinished sentences or bad grammar.

Sample:
Character development: Young Sammy loved it when all the relatives got together for the holidays. But he couldn’t stand it when meal time arrived. Crowded tables and he was left handed. Which made him have to squeeze in and try not to bump elbow with the right handers. They chewed with their mouths open and he hated that the most. He couldn’t hear anything else but that chewing and snapping and slurping. If that wasn’t enough, after the meal they would pick their teeth with toothpicks and suck their gums for what seemed like hours. He could never get over that irritation.

In the novel: A now grown up Sammy has a love interest. She has totally captivated him. Maybe you want to throw in a twist to this happy arrangement. They finally have a meal together. Maybe she is not so hot after all, she chews with her mouth open.

With your character development you know Sammy like an old friend and you know how he would react in this situation. So you start typing away. What writers block? Not you!

So, clear your screen. Start writing something new and you may find yourself writing into the quiet hours of the night unable to stop.

© Julie Howell