The Writer's Slump Survival Kit

Here we are, it’s Tuesday. Or Thursday. Honestly, when you work from home, the days sort of blur into one long, caffeinated smear. Your manuscript is open, your cursor is blinking at you with the specific energy of a disappointed parent, and you, the person who once wrote three chapters in a fever dream, cannot write a single word.

Welcome to the Writer’s Slump.

I’ve been here, many many times. Through six books, an enchanted Papillon named Pixie, and enough coffee to flood a small municipality, I’ve learned that the best way out usually isn’t another productivity system. It’s giving yourself permission to play.

Sometimes I go back and read something I’ve written that I actually love. Yes, there may be a few sentences that make me want to hide under the bed, but there are also those wonderful moments where the dialogue worked, the emotion landed, and I thought, Wait. Did I just do that?

You did.

That writer is still in there, even if she’s currently buried under self-doubt and unread emails. Reading those old scenes reminds me that I’ve done this before. I can do it again.

If that doesn’t work, I write something completely ridiculous. I have a folder called Complete Nonsense, and it contains things that will probably never see daylight. Characters behaving badly. Completely unnecessary scenarios. Pixie having opinions about things she absolutely does not need opinions about.

That helps - sometimes.

When there are no rules, no deadlines, and no expectation that the words will ever become anything useful, the brain relaxes. Sometimes the good stuff sneaks back in while you’re busy writing rubbish.

I also like to put old writing beside new writing. Writers are terribly good at noticing what they still need to learn and remarkably bad at noticing how much they’ve already learned. Every once in a while, it’s worth looking back and realizing, Huh. I actually got better.

Then there are the impossible story ideas.

The wild “what if?” stories that will never make it into the book but are far too entertaining to ignore. Follow them for a while. Let your cozy mystery heroine have that ridiculous ballroom- dancing nemesis. Give the minor character from chapter four a secret life. Take the whole thing somewhere it absolutely should not go.

It doesn’t have to become a book. It just has to be fun.
 
And when a particular scene is driving me crazy, I rewrite it. Not because I have to, but because I can. I already know the characters and the story, so I’m not building a house. I’m renovating one, and I get to decide where the walls go.

Finally, when the cursor is being especially judgmental, I go read what my readers have said.

The emails. The reviews. The messages from people who told me a book made them laugh, cry, remember someone they loved, or simply get through a difficult week.

Those words matter.

They remind me that I’m not writing into a void. Somewhere out there are actual people waiting to see what happens next.

So when the words disappear, I try not to panic. I go find something I love, write something ridiculous, look at how far I’ve come, chase an impossible idea, fix a scene that’s been bothering me, or remind myself that someone out there is rooting for these stories.

The words usually come back.

And when they do, I remember why I started. Because I love this. That part is worth remembering. Now go write something wonderful. 🐾🐾🐾

P.S. Pixie says hi. She remains completely unimpressed by writer’s block and recommends more walkies and better snacks. She’s not wrong.