Writer’s block. I’ve been puzzling over this month’s prompt for weeks. The generally recognized definition is when a writer (or a painter or any other artist) sits down in front of that blank sheet of paper (or computer screen or canvas, etc.) and just can’t think of a thing.

I attended my town’s First Friday event this month and went to my favorite art gallery. This month they were doing  a color your own kite activity. I love it when they have a make and take in addition to the desserts and wine. Anyway, there was a small table set up and two pre-teens were sitting there kites already out on the table. The boy was busily drawing a blue bird with associated branches and such. The little girl was just sitting, staring at that blank, white, plastic kite. Her mother was trying various prompts to get her moving on her drawing.

Being enthusiastic about drawing, I got my kite out of its package and sat right down. There were some coloring sheets on the table, of butterflies. So, that’s what I drew on my kite, a butterfly. As her mother hovered, the girl sat there watching me begin to draw something equivalent to a 3rd grader’s efforts. That seemed to break her spell. She picked up a marker and began drawing a talking building, with trees and flowers and other buildings all around it. Was it watching someone make a fool of herself that broke the ice? I don’t know.

Have I experienced writer’s block? Sure, but in small doses. For example, a prompt for a recent contest I was interested in just left me cold. I eventually came up with a couple of ideas but they were so puny, I put them aside. Sometimes in the middle of a work, I’ll suddenly realize I don’t have a clue as to what’s supposed to happen next. I think it happens to all of us. I don’t know how other people get through it. I usually take a break, go for a walk, clear my mind of the panicked churning that’s going on and let my subconscious (or my muse) do the work. When I come back, I can focus; ask the right questions (what if? If she did this? …and then?), and get on with the process.

I did the same thing in high school and college with term papers. In that case I picked a topic (if one wasn’t assigned) and began the research process. Having some facts available to me helped. It also helped that a paper has a format: Introduction, Body, and Closing. I just needed to work in small bites to get through it. Looking at the whole thing can be daunting, not so much if it’s broken up into manageable chunks. It works for my writing too.

So, writers block. How does it affect you? What do you do to overcome it? Were any of my tricks helpful? Comments and discussion are welcome!

The Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour is sponsored by the website Forward Motion (http://www.fmwriters.com) . The tour is you, the reader, travelling the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. There are all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s always something new and different to enjoy. If you want to get to know the nearly thirty other writers check out the rest of the tour at http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com!  Up next: Jean Schara!