Tea break

I had an encounter with writer’s block this week. I’ve been working on a post about fanfic that’s just not coming together. Over at Strange Horizonsa couple of weeks ago, Renay of Ladybusiness shared a bit about her first fandom and her relationship to fanfic. I’d already been thinking about my own relationship to fandom and fanfic, so I thought it might be a good opportunity to share some of those thoughts. However, the more I tried to write the post the more I struggled. I just couldn’t figure out whether my post was adding to a conversation and allowing my readers to get to know me better or whether it was navel-gazing and out of step with the tone of the blog. The closer the deadline got, the harder I tried and the more frustrated I felt.

So I decided to step away and give myself a break. This is the first time I’ve experienced writer’s block in relation to the blog, but it has certainly happened with my fiction before. When it does, taking a break is something I find helpful. Sometimes I work on something else and sometimes I step away from writing altogether. Either way, it gives my subconscious a chance to chew over the problem. It always comes up with an answer. Perhaps in this case it will clarify what I’m trying to say or point out the post not something I need to write after all.

While my subconscious stews, I’m going to make myself a big pot of tea and dive back into my current book (The Art of Effective Dreaming by Gillian Polack). I’d also love to hear from you.

What do you do when writer’s block hits?