1. How do you deal with writer’s block?
My experience has been that creativity is like a muscle: the more you exercise it, the easier it is to use. Or, if that metaphor doesn’t float your whistle, creativity is like a nuclear chain reaction: once it reaches a certain threshold, it becomes self-sustaining. My point is that I have reached the point where accessing my imagination for purposes of writing is no longer a problem.
That having been said, I do have the occasional day or two where the creativity doesn’t flow as well as I would like it to. My main way of dealing with this is to have a lot of projects on the go. If I’m not inspired to write a CNE story, maybe I’ll be able to write a Multiverse Triptych. If I’m not up to writing a Multiverse Triptych, maybe I’ll write a CNE story. If I can write neither, perhaps it’s the day I will contribute something to a Land of Wonders novella. Worse comes to worst, I can always contribute pieces to articles for my web site.
This approach is especially important when working on a novel. I tend to be a plotter, so I usually have a good grasp of major plot points before I start writing a novel. Still, writing a short story is a sprint and writing a novel is a marathon – it is a long process. And sometimes I need to take a break (which has occasionally lasted for months); at those points, having other writing projects is very important.
On those rare days when absolutely nothing works (which happens more and more these days for physical rather than intellectual reasons), I do something else. Read for research. Read for pleasure. Catch up on email and social media. I write enough that I don’t have to beat myself up over missing a day or two here or there. To go back to my original analogy, if you tense up your muscle because you’re in pain, it just hurts all the more; the more you worry about writer’s block, the harder it is to overcome. I find if I distract myself enough, I’ll come back to writing with a fresh perspective soon enough.