January Blog

How to Write When You Have Writer’s Block (From Someone Who Avoided It for a Year)

Let me tell you something real, writer’s block is not always dramatic. It’s not always staring at a blinking cursor like you’re in a movie, waiting for inspiration to strike. Sometimes, it looks like a story sitting in your head for an entire year while you “think about it.” Yes, a whole year. No shame, because that was me.

I had this idea, a story that would not leave me alone, but every time I thought about writing it, I questioned myself. What if it’s not good? What if it ends up being just a paragraph? What if I start and then… nothing? So instead of writing it, I let it sit. For a year. If procrastination were a sport, I would have been undefeated.

Then another author, Curtis J, came along and told me something simple that changed everything; just write something. Not a masterpiece, not a bestseller, not even a full chapter. Just something. So I did, I started writing a few ideas a day. Nothing fancy, nothing perfect, just getting the thoughts out. Then something unexpected happened; I caught the writing bug.

Those small ideas turned into momentum. Momentum turned into chapters, and chapters turned into a full book. Somehow, while working a full-time job and managing everyday responsibilities at home, I finished my first book in six months. Six months, after not touching it for a year. It still surprises me when I think about it.

When I finally let people read it; my husband, my mother, and another author, I only gave them the first five chapters. I just wanted to see if they would be interested. And they were more than interested; they were hooked. They didn’t just like it; they wanted more. They wanted a series, and I remember thinking… a series? Because in my mind, the story was complete. I had said everything I wanted to say. I didn’t know what more I could give.

Then I went on Reedsy and connected with an editor. Of course, there were things I needed to improve, but I wasn’t discouraged. Instead, I took the feedback, made adjustments, and even changed the ending. That’s when Deadly Secrets in the Tar Heel State became a series. The book I thought was finished turned out to be just the beginning.

Now here’s the ironic part; these days, I don’t struggle with a lack of ideas. I have too many. I’m pulled toward retro horror, dystopian stories, and fantasy worlds, all at the same time. Somehow, even with all of that creativity, I still haven’t started the next book in the series. That’s when I realized something important; writer’s block doesn’t always disappear. It just changes form.

So what does that mean for you? It means if you’re dealing with writer’s block, you’re not failing; you’re in the middle of your process. That process isn’t always neat or predictable. Sometimes the best thing you can do is give yourself permission to write badly, to start small with just a sentence or a single idea, and to let go of the pressure to be perfect. Set a timer if you need to, write for a few minutes without overthinking it, or even talk your ideas out loud before putting them on paper. Also, if you need a break, take one, but don’t walk away from your story completely.

At the end of the day, your story doesn’t have to be perfect, and it doesn’t have to be your best work right away. It just has to exist. So if you’re stuck, unsure, or overwhelmed, just keep writing. Even if it feels messy, even if it feels random, or if it doesn’t feel like your best. Because one day, you’ll look up and realize you didn’t just get past writer’s block; you wrote a whole book.