Although I’m an editor by trade, I have occasionally written fiction as a hobby. I have participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) a few times, plus I’ve tried my hand at short fiction. That said, I can relate to having writer’s block, or the struggle of staring at a blank page, unable to write. I know what it’s like to write in fits and starts, where nothing seems to work.
Writer’s block, according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, is “a (usu. temporary) inability to express one’s thoughts in writing due to a lack of inspiration.” This phenomenon is frustrating to any writer, but it can be particularly frustrating for science fiction and fantasy writers who can become mired in the depths of worldbuilding, complex plots, and multiple viewpoint characters.
The causes of writer’s block vary from writer to writer, and so too will the strategies that work in overcoming it and managing it on an ongoing basis. As a fiction editor who’s helped authors push through creative blocks and who also has some writing experience myself, I have some tips and strategies for you to try.
Understanding Writer’s Block
It will help to first understand what writer’s block is (beyond a simple dictionary definition) and what causes it. Here are the major ones:
- Perfectionism
- Lack of inspiration
- Fear of failure or rejection
- Burnout or mental fatigue
These causes are universal to all writers, but two in particular might affect science fiction and fantasy writers for reasons specific to their genres: perfectionism and a lack of inspiration.
Perfectionism, for one, is likely to arise from a growing obsession with worldbuilding and attempting to make sure the intricate world of the story is just right. Generating unending details about a fantasy world in the attempt to make it come to life can bring the fantasy writer’s storytelling to a grinding halt. What started as storytelling might turn into writing a travelogue for a place that doesn’t even exist. (And without an engaging story to go along with it, what reader will even care about this imaginary place?)
A lack of inspiration can also affect genre writers in particular. One aspect of this is the thought that “this has already been done.” Truly, this idea haunts most genre writers, and it’s difficult to get away from it. Letting it get to you is a contributing factor to writer’s block. Insisting that your ideas must be fresh and cutting-edge is enough on its own to weigh you down in your writing.
Although it may be cold comfort, any writer—whether literary or genre, fiction or nonfiction, professional or nonprofessional—is at risk of succumbing to a fear of failure or rejection as well as burnout or mental fatigue. Writing is a complex thing. There is a lot going on in the process, and a lot can go wrong. It’s energy-intensive and highly variable in its effects. No wonder people can find it both exhausting and risky, and no wonder they run into problems that stifle their creativity.
Is It the Plot? Character? Setting?
Writer’s block isn’t necessarily an all-out, full-stop phenomenon. It can often manifest as a blockage in a particular aspect of your writing. You might get stuck on how to move your plot forward. Or maybe one of your main characters is stagnating, and you don’t know how to get them to progress. Maybe your worldbuilding has become overwhelming, preventing you from creating the settings and environments you need for the next phase of your story. If one of these is the case, you might decide to simply work on other elements of your story before coming back to the problem area. Taking a break from plotting, characterization, or worldbuilding might be all that it takes. However, if you try to get back to it, and it’s still not working, you might have to try something else.
Writer’s Block Breakers
I can think of three ways to help science fiction and fantasy writers break through writer’s block:
- Rekindling Inspiration
- Worldbuilding Workarounds
- Plot and Character Tricks
Try at least one thing under each category and see if they work for you.
1. Rekindling Inspiration
Read Outside Your Genre
If you write fantasy, you probably started as a fan of fantasy. If you write science fiction, you probably started as a fan of science fiction. You likely still read widely in your favourite genre, especially if you have the mindset of trying to stay informed about any developments. However, I recommend reading outside of your genre even in the absence of writer’s block.
Reading broadly is a good practice if you wish to keep fuelling yourself with inspiration. What inspires you can be found anywhere. Certain categories of books might make sense for you to try. If you read and write fantasy, try world mythology or world history. If you read and write science fiction, try recently published science books or news articles. These are obvious choices, but you can also find inspiration in unlikely places, whether it’s by reading mystery, horror, romance, or westerns. Read broadly. Letting these materials influence you will help you create something unique and wonderful.
Use Speculative Prompts Related to Your Genre
Writing prompts are a good way to get the creative juices flowing. They’re short pieces of text, providing an idea or topic. They encourage you to write about it in a thoughtful way. What you write in response to a prompt doesn’t need to be longer than a page or so, but if you find that your imagination runs away with one of them, great! Keep writing. You can find many ideas for prompts if you search online, but there are also many books chock-full of them, including one compiled by the Mayday Writing Collective called The Genre Writer’s Book of Writing Prompts & Story Ideas: 540 Creative Writing Prompts in the Genres of Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Mystery & Thriller, Horror & Supernatural, and Memoir.
Revisit Old Notes or Abandoned Ideas
Every writer’s got them. Have you gone back to read through yours recently? You might be surprised at how certain things look to you through a different lens after years (or decades) of letting them sit. The ideas will remain the same, but you’ve grown as a writer. You might find something interesting about them by seeing them in a new light.
Consume Different Media
Sure, you’re a fiction writer, and reading is important, but don’t underestimate the power of influence from other media. Watch film and television. Play video games and board games. Getting your head out of text and into sound and images might be what you need to get through your writer’s block. These offer a change of pace and a different sensory experience, even if they’re adaptations of books.
Fantasy writers might enjoy watching the TV adaptations of The Wheel of Time or His Dark Materials to see what’s different and what remains the same. This could give you some ideas on how to turn your influences into something more your own. The same goes for science fiction writers and TV shows such as The Expanse or Silo. It also helps to see and hear how people act and talk in science fiction and fantasy content, as it could inspire you in how you make your own characters believable and lifelike.
As for games, there are many options out there. What I will suggest here is to try a wide variety. Although it’s tempting to stick to cinematic AAA video games, you will find that there are many wonderful indie games with brilliant writing. And don’t shy away from board games. There are many engaging board games with narrative elements. One way to find these is by searching under the storytelling mechanism on Board Game Geek.
2. Worldbuilding Workarounds
Focus on Small Details
It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to create the world of your story all at once, only to get lost in the details. Try zooming in a bit and focus on small details. Slow down and spend some time inventing a creature (instead of a society), designing a local map (instead of a world map), or creating a tavern (instead of a metropolis). Focusing on these small details will give your brain a chance to clear away all the clutter. Think of it as adjusting your creative load to accommodate a reasonable bandwidth. You will also find that a collection of small details will eventually add up to a grand whole.
Write Peripheral Lore
Writing for the periphery (or “off-screen”) is a good way to approach worldbuliding if you find yourself stuck. Think of this as material that won’t necessarily make it into the text directly but will otherwise inspire you in your storytelling. Consider what lore you can create through, for example, the journal entries of your protagonist and antagonist, or letter correspondence between other characters. What you end up writing here, in the background, will likely influence how you write these characters. They will imprint on your psyche almost as though they’re real people.
3. Plot and Character Tricks
Skip the Stuck Scene
Have you gotten stuck on a pivotal scene, unsure of how to proceed? Put it away for now and continue with the next scene. You can always come back to it. It sometimes helps to know what happens next to figure out what happens before that in detail. Writing chronologically isn’t always the best way to write because our brains don’t always work that way. We often put more emphasis on mood and emotion, personal conflicts, or consequences. The order in which these happen can become a secondary concern. Don’t let the linear structure of your story slow you down (or stop you) from getting your story out in other ways. Remember, you can always go back and revise.
Interview Your Characters
Sometimes the plot seems to be working just fine, but then your characters start being difficult. What’s wrong? Do the characters need readjusting? Or is there something wrong with the plot after all? Try interviewing them to find out. Ask them unexpected questions. Some examples include the following:
- What animal do you identify with most and why?
- If you could have any job, what would it be?
- If you suddenly became rich, what would be the first thing you’d buy?
- If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
The more of these kinds of questions you ask, the more you’ll learn about your characters. This will help you work past any blocks they might be creating. (And maybe the plot is the problem after all.)
Introduce Chaos
When all else fails, there’s always chaos! See what happens in your story when you drop in a surprise event or new character. Writer’s block is sometimes a result of simple boredom. Always remember: If there’s no conflict, there’s no story. Introducing a new element to upset the balance of things could very well be the only thing missing. Consider making a mess and then seeing how your characters respond. Will they feel responsible for cleaning it up? Or will they find a way to get out of it?
Practical Techniques to Beat Writer’s Block
These techniques aren’t specific to any particular kind of writer. They are universally helpful in getting past writer’s block. It might be helpful to try each of these at least once. You might surprise yourself. The technique you feel the least hopeful about could be the one that helps you the most. There’s only one way to find out.
Change Your Environment
Try changing where you write and/or the way you write. If you normally work in a small, quiet corner of your home, try going to a café instead. Some people find the noisy ambience helpful. Or try writing outside for once. If you write using blue or black ink, try red or green. If you use white paper, try yellow paper instead. Do you use lined paper? Try blank paper. But what if you don’t normally write by hand? Well, try that then. And if you do write by hand, try typing for a change. Do you always use a word processor? Try a typewriter. Having your brain adjust to such changes could signal it for other changes, which is a good thing in overcoming writer’s block.
The “Ugly First Draft”
Many writers, especially new writers, are very cautious with what they produce. They take what they think is a good idea (and it just might be) and carefully try to produce something great. The problem is that it’s difficult to go from idea to masterpiece, and for the new writer, this can be an oppressive, self-imposed mindset. Writing is a craft, which means it takes practice. It’s counterproductive to try to go from zero to hero on your first try. Give yourself the space to write…well, like an amateur, especially if that’s what you are.
In writing, even for veterans of the craft, there’s what we call the “ugly first draft.” The very concept of drafts and the revision process should be enough to tell you that it’s okay to make mistakes or to be mediocre when writing a first draft. The important thing is to just write it. It’s better to complete a messy first draft than it is to give up halfway because you’re worried it’s not good enough. Just commit yourself to finishing the draft. You can always fix it later.
Set Microgoals
In all endeavours, goals can be powerful things. The trick, though, is that they have to be achievable. In the case of writer’s block, try setting a reasonable target to give yourself consistent small victories. It could be as simple as “Write 100 words a day.” That might seem like an insignificant target, but it will add up. The importance is consistency. After a week, you’ll have 700 words. After a month, that’s around 3,000 words. And you know what? That’s possibly an entire short story. You know what else? It’s far better than zero.
Long-Term Habits to Prevent Future Writer’s Blocks
Consider these long-term solutions for preventing writer’s block rather than dealing with it. The more you can integrate these techniques into your life, the more likely you will find yourself consistently adding to your word counts.
Establish a Writing Routine
Try establishing a consistent (but flexible) writing routine. Writing daily is a good habit, but if life gets in the way, consider a weekly routine. This helps if you’re working on a longer project, such as a novel. Progress is easier to maintain if it’s consistent. This could also be based simply on microgoals (see above) or freewriting, where you set a timer (for fifteen minutes, maybe) and write with no distractions and no editing. You might have a topic in mind, or maybe you prefer writing whatever comes to mind. The important thing is to just write.
Keep an Idea Journal
Writers have traditionally kept a notebook with them at all times so they can jot down ideas as they strike. (And they do happen to strike unexpectedly.) With the advent of smartphones, most people can now take notes whenever they want, regardless of whether they’re writers. There are now many options at our disposal for recording our thoughts, whether using text, voice, or video.
The hard part is getting into the habit. It might feel awkward to stop what you’re doing to record something, especially if you’re at a social gathering, but if you tell people you’re working on your writing, they’ll understand. However, if you would feel more comfortable waiting until you have a private moment, then do so. Just be careful, as ideas have a tendency to slip away if we leave them unrecorded. Once you’ve built a habit of keeping an idea journal, it should feel natural, if not invigorating, to add your next big thought to your collection.
Learn to Rest
The best way to avoid burnout or mental fatigue is to balance creative output with rest and relaxation. If writing is a hobby or a part-time practice, you might feel pressured to write whenever you have a free moment. This can become a problem if it cuts into the time you might otherwise spend unwinding. Give yourself permission to take a break if you find yourself losing creative energy.
Some of the tips I’ve provided above double as opportunities to relax. Watching something on TV or playing a video game are good options in this respect. You could also try lying on the couch and listening to inspiring music, whether it’s something classical or your favourite soundtrack. A lot of writers will admit that they’re “always writing,” and this is in part what they’re talking about. The writing life includes various experiences that inspire and influence us, and an important part of that includes rest and rejuvenation.
Join a Writing Community
A comforting thought about struggling with writer’s block is that you’re never alone. It’s something that every writer faces at some time to some degree. With that in mind, I strongly recommend joining science fiction and fantasy writing communities. There are many great communities on social media, whether out in the open or in private groups (such as on Facebook). Find one that suits your needs. Some writers might prefer larger groups with many opportunities for interactions with others from around the world. But a smaller private group might be more your speed, where you get to know the members well as you support each other in your creative lives. What you will find, regardless of which community you join, is a lot of support regarding writer’s block. Getting advice and support from like-minded people is a great way to work through difficult periods in your writing.
I hope these tips help you in your struggle. Don’t lose hope! Remember that no matter how bad it gets, writer’s block is temporary!
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