Eat, Think, and Be Daring: An Answer to “Writer’s Block”

Note: This article was first published on Medium by Manuscripts Press on February 13, 2023. I am reposting it here!

“There’s no such thing as writer’s block.”

That was how my editor at New Degree Press, Alan Zatkow, responded when I claimed to be a victim of that phenomenon. Instead of indulging my self-doubt and confusion, he taught me to ask myself three questions:

When was the last time you ate?

Sometimes we get so busy we forget to eat, and our writing suffers accordingly. Like many aspiring authors, I had to snag time in between working a full-time job, taking care of my family, and household chores to work on my novel. Even when I found the time to write, I experienced brain fog and difficulty focusing that I attributed to writer’s block. Once I asked myself this question, I counted several occasions on which I hadn’t eaten by two or three o’clock in the afternoon. Since fueling the brain is critical to feeding one’s creativity, the remedy was simple: EAT (and drink enough fluids, get enough rest, etc.).

What is the worst thing that can happen (in your story)?

Sometimes we stop writing when we don’t know what comes next. Asking this question — and coming up with some really fun answers — helped reignite my imagination and took parts of my story on completely new trajectories. The first opportunity I had to try this technique occurred after my editor advised me to add a chapter describing a futuristic obstacle course for my main character. After receiving Alan’s sage advice, I spent the weekend amusing myself with absolutely horrendous ideas for physical and psychological rites of passage. I combined the two that scared me the most. The result was a brand new first chapter entitled “The Tunnel,” and its addition changed the entire tone of the book.

From that point forward, I played the “worst thing that can happen game” to enliven the story. It helped me concoct a number of ideas ranging from torture methods to evil conspiracies — additions that breathed new life into my characters, my world, and my writing experience. I now have a collection of “worst thing” ideas for future books, and a powerful antidote to inveterate creativity hurdles — the ability to THINK my way through them.

What are you afraid of?

This was by far the most important — and the most difficult — question to answer, but it was essential to getting me unstuck when all else failed. The outcomes of this kind of blockage included perfectionism (e.g. a failure to finish or submit scenes, chapters, or stories because I knew they weren’t perfect), and Imposter Syndrome (the persistent sense that my characters, my story, and my writing more generally was terrible, and that I would be revealed as a fraud if my book ever got published). Answering this question involved identifying and unpacking some deeply rooted insecurities and limiting beliefs I had about myself. Although I began some of that work with a professional coach before I started the publishing process, I didn’t make the connection between my fears and my inability to create until I repeatedly got bogged down during the revisions process, and my editor used this question to remind me how to name those fears as the outcomes of some inner feelings of unworthiness.

The solution to overcoming those feelings was equally as daunting…at first. When creators release their work to outside audiences, they put a piece of their soul on display for the world to accept or reject. Rejection and failure are painful, but they are essential to our growth and improvement as creators and as human beings. My coach had encouraged me to read some works by Brené Brown, and her counsel to “dare greatly” echoed in my mind when I finally confronted those fears. As it turned out, the response to my published work was almost comically opposite of what I had feared. The critical feedback I received was helpful, and my community was overwhelmingly supportive of — and impressed by — my efforts. That’s how I learned that the solution to fear-induced writer’s block is to BE DARING.

So, the next time you feel stuck, try to eat, think, and be daring. You may be astonished at how effective those actions are when it comes to unblocking your story, creativity, or life in general.