Write on through

You’ve got the idea, you’ve carved out the time and your plugging away at your story. Then the inevitable happens: you hit a stumbling block. Maybe the dialogue isn’t working, or you need to fact-check something critical. Maybe the character isn’t realistic enough, or the plot is careening into left field. Do you stop, reread, take a breath and try to regain your control?

I say absolutely no: just write on through.

Don’t stop. Don’t lose that great momentum! Just write until it works again, write until you’re back on track, write until it all clicks and you’re back in the groove.

Forget whether you “risk” tossing out the entire chapter. Let your brain and your fingers go and ride that creative horse until it stops.

If you stop to take stock of your surroundings or to line edit, if you allow that other side of your brain to take over, you’re effectively derailing your entire creative process. The best and most efficient thing to do is just go with it. Commit to letting go and taking the risk that half of what you’re writing might be waste. Let the piece lead you on and write until your creative genius is at the reins again.

It’s been said writer’s block is just a fancy term for insecurity, for letting our worries interfere with our ability to produce.

Don’t go there. Just write on through.