Sometimes I’m asked by aspiring and working authors for my thoughts about writer’s block, specifically how to get through it. I have had numerous brief instances of writer’s block in the past as well as one extended episode about four years ago that lasted several months.

I don’t believe that “writer’s block” is the correct name for the lack of desire / motivation to write. Obviously, anyone who’s learned how to write words in one or more languages can do the mechanical act of writing at any time. When I reflect on my various instances of writer’s block, I think their origins come from one of two sources: (1) lack of inspiration or (2) lack of enthusiasm.

Lack of Inspiration

I believe lack of inspiration is a massive part of writer’s block, particularly for fiction writers. Most of the time, inspiration and ideas come fast and furious to writers. Certainly, the overarching idea for a new book or series comes quickly to me, and I would suspect to most. In other words, lack of big ideas is not the problem. The difficult part is finding words to fill in the space between the book covers and make the main idea a reality.

Usually for me, episodes of inspiration-based writer’s block last the shortest amount of time. Some might only be a couple of days long while others might last a week or two.

If I’m am suffering from a lack of inspiration, I tend to take a complete break from writing, lasting anywhere from a day or two to a week or two. During this “break” period, I typically spend time away from all creative and storytelling endeavors, refusing to watch television or read fiction books.

Often, I find reading nonfiction is really helpful to getting fiction ideas and inspiration. Maybe a biography gives me an idea for a character. Maybe a history book suggests a story arc. Maybe an article about a scientific breakthrough suggests a form of magic to add to a story.

I think a lack of inspiration comes mostly from conscious overworking of the creative part of the brain. That is why, I think, taking a break from creation for a period and simply absorbing facts can rekindle inspiration.

Lack of Enthusiasm

“Lack of enthusiasm” doesn’t mean that you aren’t still enthusiastic about being a writer, I just mean that for whatever reason, you are not enthusiastic about what you are writing or were planning to write. In other words, you lack enthusiasm for the act of writing itself.

I think the enthusiasm-based blocks are more difficult to get through than inspiration-based blocks. I rarely have enthusiasm-based blocks, but when I do, they are long-lasting.

The most recent episode of such a block occurred about four years ago. I had written several Minecraft-inspired fan fiction books, including completing the main, nine-book story arc of the Baby Zeke series. I had planned to keep writing more Minecraft-inspired books, but then something happened in my life. I’m not going to tell you what it was, but it took me out of my writing routine. At the time, I was working a full-time job and had to write on nights and weekends. Because I was usually quite tired when I was writing, if I didn’t have any enthusiasm, it was extremely difficult to muster the willpower to write.

Unfortunately, this lack of enthusiasm lasted for several months. I believe that I only completed one rather short book during that period of time. (Contrast this to my present-day output of 40,000 – 50,000 published words each month.) I think maybe I was just getting burnt out and the thing that happened gave me an excuse for a much needed a break.

I also can’t tell you exactly what snapped me out of that episode because I am not really sure what it was. What I would say is that if you’re suffering from a lack of enthusiasm for the physical act of writing, try to do something for which you have enthusiasm, maybe a hobby or a physical activity of some kind. Enthusiasm is contagious and it seems to me that if you can find joy in your life doing something other than writing, sooner or later, you’ll find the joy in writing once again.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? If you have, please leave a comment and let me know how you dealt with. Thank you.