Breaking the Block

  We’ve all experienced the slam of the Writers Block, or what has been referred to as the Tyranny of the Blank Page. It is always difficult, but not insurmountable, no matter how much it seems so.

    Years ago, I read in Writers Digest not to perceive a block as a Block per se but as a Bridge, a bridge to take you where you ultimately want to go with your story. When I engage this frame of logic/tactic I’ll ask myself a series of questions in advance of my traverse across the bridge:

1.)  The purpose of the next Chapter (sentence, word, etc.) is to ______

This is a broad question with likewise broad intent and if can be answered, it will tell me roughly where I want to go. 

2.)  When the reader finishes the next chapter, they should ______

Hint: The answer should be “Know where they are in the story”.

There are two other questions that can be asked in addition to the above, or asked simultaneously:

3.)  At the end of the next chapter the reader should understand_____

And,

4.)  The Reader should wonder______

If the reader can answer number three, they understand where they are. And if they are wondering “Wow what’s next!”, it’s a safe bet the writer has smashed the block and successfully traversed the bridge that keeps the story moving!

 

Good luck!

                                                                        Billy Neary