Dealing With Writer’s Block

by David Khara, @DavidKhara

I wish I received a dollar every time someone asked me if I suffered from writer’s block—in France, they call it “the blank page syndrome.” You know, those moments when you want to write, you are ready to write, but you can’t seem to write a single word. Ideas keep coming to mind, but don’t seem to make sense. Or worse, every time you write a sentence down, you immediately erase it because you simply hate it.

Actually, I do no suffer from this syndrome, probably because I started writing novels at a fairly advanced age. Still, when I worked in advertising, I had this problem.

I was 21 at that time, and luckily enough, my boss taught me something that made quite a big difference, something I still believe in today: not writing is already writing.

What did he mean by that? Well, when it comes to creating, we all have a very specifically structured mind. For instance, when musicians walk in the streets, they don’t hear sound, they hear notes. Standup comedians do no hear conversations, they hear sketches, photographers see pictures, and so on.

When you can’t write, get out, leave the computer behind, go shopping, go to a movie, read a book, play videogames, have a drink with friends—do anything instead of staring at that bloody blank page. If you are truly a writer, getting back to ordinary life will fill your imagination, words pronounced around you will nourish your dialogue, and people will become characters.

The fun part of it is that you won’t be aware it happens, it just does, and when you go back to your pen or computer, words will simply flow without any problem. Try it, you’ll see.

Today, I don’t give writer’s block a chance to settle in. On some days, I wake up knowing I won’t be able to produce anything worthwhile so, I simply forget about it, confident in my ability to produce more the next day. And I do every time.

Writing is about action, knowledge, emotions, and these don’t come out of nowhere. They come from our past, our experiences, our connection to the world around us.  Basically, writing is all about life, no matter what kind of book you’ll write.

So the only way to do it, is, obviously, to live your life.   

David Khara is the author of the Consortium Thriller series, which offer a roller-coaster ride that dips into the history of World War II, rushing back to present day with a loop-to-loop of action and humor. The Bleiberg Project was an instant success when it was first released, and The Shiro Project just came out in paperback, published by mystery and thriller publisher Le French Book. The third book in the series, The Morgenstern Project is scheduled for release in English spring 2015.