A Map to Get Out of Writer's Block

If you've ever had writer's block, you know that it's powerful enough to block your memory as well. You've heard so much great writing advice over the years, so many innovative approaches to tackling plot and character issues, and suddenly you can't remember a single one.

That's when you need a map. Depending on whether it's a plot or character problem, you can follow different paths that lead to innovative ways of thinking about the intractable manuscript. We started calling it the Map to Get Out of Writer's Block.

Let us know what you think.

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Fail Fast, Fail Often

In entrepreneurship, everyone has adopted the mantra, 'Fail Fast, Fail Often'. The idea is to launch products as quickly as possible, even if they're half-baked and embarrassing. If some people like it and are willing to pay for it, you have a winner.

This is the way to sort through the infinite number of ideas and variations on them, without relying on your own biased opinions or needs. Let the market determine what's worthwhile.

How does this apply to books?

I'm not advocating that every writer should try to publish their first draft. Let's maintain some level of professionalism at the book or ebook form. However, writers should continually be receiving feedback. They should be posting chapters to test them in the real world. (Wattpad is a good platform for this.)

"Does Chapters 3 lag? That's odd, I always loved my grandmother's story. I need to rework that before it becomes integral to the plot."

Obviously, a lot of the testing method depends upon the author's writing practices. The point is, he or she shouldn't be embarrassed by the draft. If people are enjoying the manuscript in that form, you're onto something. Keep going.

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