Kim Rodriguez wrote, in the FB group “Writer’s Retreat”:

I’m having a problem and I need some guidance. I can’t seem to get a story out of my head. I can see it, it replays over and over for hours but I’m looking at a blank page and the words just won’t come out to describe it. I think it has just been swimming around in my head so long that it is so special to me that I’m anxious about making it perfect.

How do you all overcome your “writer’s block”? Is there a secret bypass or a password that I need to enter somewhere in my brain? Please send help, and coffee.

My reply: 

You could try writing any words that come to mind about your story. “Banishment”, “betrayal”, “love”, “business”, etc… then pick one of the words and begin to write about it, in the context of your story. Don’t worry about quality, or whether or not you’ll use what you’re writing — all you’re trying to do right now is get the pipe flowing.

Some people find it useful to hand write each word in the middle of a blank page, then write other words or phrases around it, with lines radiating outwards.

And re: making it perfect… that will stop you dead in your tracks. First drafts ALWAYS suck — they’re rough, they’re ugly in places, and usually not that pretty everywhere else. But you’ve got to get them out in that rough form before you can polish them in the editing phase. “You can’t edit what you don’t got”, as the saying goes. And trying to make it perfect on the first pass will only succeed in slowing you to a crawl.

I wish you all the best!

On the FB group “Writer’s Retreat”, Kim Rodriguez asked:

“I’m having a problem and I need some guidance. I can’t seem to get a story out of my head. I can see it, it replays over and over for hours but I’m looking at a blank page and the words just won’t come out to describe it. I think it has just been swimming around in my head so long that it is so special to me that I’m anxious about making it perfect.

How do you all overcome your “writer’s block”? Is there a secret bypass or a password that I need to enter somewhere in my brain? Please send help, and coffee.”

My reply:

You could try writing any words that come to mind about your story. “Banishment”, “betrayal”, “love”, “business”, etc… then pick one of the words and begin to write about it, in the context of your story. Don’t worry about quality, or whether or not you’ll use what you’re writing — all you’re trying to do right now is get the pipe flowing.

Some people find it useful to hand write each word in the middle of a blank page, then write other words or phrases around it, with lines radiating outwards.

(And re: making it perfect… that will stop you dead in your tracks. First drafts ALWAYS suck — they’re rough, they’re ugly in places, and usually not that pretty everywhere else. But you’ve got to get them out in that rough form before you can polish them in the editing phase. “You can’t edit what you don’t got”, as the saying goes. And trying to make it perfect on the first pass will only succeed in slowing you to a crawl.)

I wish you all the best!