-Can be an AU
-Be careful of not god-modding with this one

We’ve all been there. Some people have it all the time. Some say it doesn’t exist. I class writer’s block as anything from lack of motivation to not being able to solve a plot problem. Whatever it is, here’s a list of activities to try and get those creative rivers running. 

1. Move. Pick up your laptop and go to a different room. They say a change is as good as a rest and this can be true with writing. Move to the kitchen. Write outside. Go to a coffee shop. Sit in the cupboard under the stairs and block out the world. Just change up the scenery. 
2. Swap Medium. If words just aren’t doing it for you make aesthetics, mood boards, draw maps or characters. Victoria Aveyard once said she designed book covers and let the plot stew in the back of her mind. 
3. Write Something Else. Working on other projects can give you inspiration for what you’re working on now. Find some prompts. Write irrelevant short stories or character studies. Write about your characters as kids or at defining points in their lives. 
4. Plot. Hands off the keyboard, open up one of those many unused notebooks I know you have and start scribbling vague, half formed ideas. Allow yourself to write things you might discard later. Allow yourself to try and work through an idea you like but don’t understand yet. Try and work out the next 10 steps. 10 things you want to cover. 10 scenes. 10 days. Whatever it is, just write it down. 
5. 20 Minutes Rule. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Sit your butt down in that chair and write for 20 minutes. I don’t care if it’s trash. I don’t care if you’re going to delete it all later. I don’t care if it’s nonsense. Do it. 20 minutes of writing nonsense is still more productive than 20 minutes staring at that wall. After 20 minutes if you still don’t want to write, leave it, but you just might find yourself inspired. 
6. Finally, Take Time Off. If none of this is working, it’s likely a sign of burn out. Take some time for yourself and just do nothing. “Write every single day,” yeah sure if you wont to be a machine who pumps out words instead of art. Sometimes you need to recharge before you move forward and that doesn’t just mean getting a good nights sleep. Look after yourself and be kind. This isn’t a race against the clock, you have your whole life to publish a book. 

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Romance With Toxic Undertones

Toxic and emotionally abusive relationships are hugely overlooked in literature. Many red flags are so romanticised that real people believe these warning signs are actually romantic. Here are a couple of examples and what to try writing instead.

“I can’t live without you!”  

In the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, we see the crazed Norma Desmond telling the much younger Joe that she couldn’t go on without him, that she’d kill herself if he leaves her. Here it’s clearly portrayed as manipulation, but you’ll see many versions of this line in current media pretending to be a declaration of love. Dependency does not equal love and this hugely manipulative sentiment 

Instead try, “You are the best thing in my life.” This retains the sentiment of valuing a significant other, without the threat of what will happen if their love is unrequited. 

“I will not let you do that. End of discussion.” 

Ohhh we see this one a lot in fantasy. A good portrayal of this being toxic is the song ‘mother knows best’ from Tangled, but most of the time when we hear this it’s between a romantic pairing and it’s portrayed as okay when it’s not. It’s is instant shut down of communication presented as being protective. Communication is key for functioning relationships and decisions that affect both parties should be made together. Also, maybe don’t just tell your partner what to do. Just a thought. 

Instead try, “If this is what you really want, I won’t stop you, but can we talk about this first because It worries me when you put yourself in danger.” Please find a better way to word that, but the idea is to keep the ‘I’m really worried about you’ without all the ‘I know better, you don’t get a say.’

“I can’t stand it when you talk to [enter name]”

No, extreme jealousy is not a healthy part of a relationship. it can lead to the victim cutting themselves off from friends to avoid hurting their partner and this isolation makes them easier for their partner to control. Trust is important in relationships, and if the love interest refuses to trust the MC around other boys/girls then they’re being toxic.

If you want a plotline where character X is trying to steal the MC away from their partner try having them bring it up like, “I think X is trying to flirt with you” “Really? I just thought they were being nice.” “I doubt it, but it’s fine. I trust you.” 

If you found this post helpful I have a couple of older ones on red flags that are frequently romanticised. [1][2] 

Disclaimer: I am not a trained relationships counsellor or therapist, I just have experience with toxic relationships and have done researched into the early signs and toxic behaviours. If any of my suggestions are wrong I am open to being corrected, but this is something I wanted to share.  

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Always start with the character! 

As writers, we tend to focus more on the major plot points as these are the things we spend hours pouring over when we write. But for the reader/publisher/agent to care about your book, they first need to care about your character. 

As humans, we value a connection, even with someone fictional. When you open your pitch/synopsis with who your character is and what they value, you allow the reader to root for them, even in the synopsis. 

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Beta readers: welp, you’ve got a problem here.

Me: No I don’t, that’s fine! I don’t know what you’re talking about. 

Beta reader: Okay…

*Ten minutes of silence*

Me: Oh my lord, if you’re gonna go on about it that much, I’ll change it! 

Beta reader: I didn’t–

Me: I’m only doing this for you. Not because you’re right. Or because it’ll make my story infinitely better. No sir. Not because of that. Not at all.

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Me on a walk: Wow so many writing ideas

Me cooking: Wow so many dialogue ideas

Me doing uni work: Wow so many plot ideas 

Me sat at my computer trying to write: Wow so many distractions

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