Writer’s block—writers bemoan it, write articles about it, test theories about how to get over it.

I honestly can’t remember ever having it.

In my life, time block is more of an issue. Too many ideas, not enough time. Swirling thoughts that come at odd moments, which I hope to capture on paper before they dissipate. The itch to write, write, write when I can’t.

If there’s ever a moment of “huh, what goes next?” it’s because I haven’t prepared enough.

I’m a preparer. I admit it. I am not a stream-of-consciousness writer. I believe in multi-thousand-word character sketches, from which my plots grow.

My bible is the book Breathing Life Into Your Characters by Rachel Ballon. For each character, I re-skim the book. For each stage of a character’s life, I re-skim the book. Once I thoroughly know who all my characters are—their goals, their fears, their challenges, how they meld or collide with each other—how could I possibly get stuck?

If there’s ever a moment’s pause, I don’t push my way through. I get up, go for a walk, have a bath, prep dinner, read someone else’s novel, sleep. Give my subconscious time to wrestle it out. And in these moments of silence, the ah-ha invariably comes.

Do you get writer’s block? How do you avoid it?

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