The Deadly Writer's Block

   There is nothing worse for a writer than to encounter writer’s block. Unfortunately, I faced a blank screen a number of times as I wrote my novel and will, no doubt, face the deadly block again at some point.

    After consuming increasing amounts of caffeine to stimulate the senses and with hopes that the words would materialize on the screen, I found another method to work around the block.

    Since Harbinger of Secrets is a period novel - London during the Second World War - I turned to other strategies to get the words flowing again.  Caffeine just wasn’t doing the trick!

    I found the best inspiration, if you want to call it that, was to play music from the 1940s, since the book is set during that era.  I collected a large number of British and American songs from artists like Vera Lynn, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Doris Day, Marlene Dietrich, Glenn Miller, and others.  I found this music provided exactly the right ambience, almost placing me in the 1940s.  It was a method that worked well for me.

    Alternatively, I would read the works of writers I admired, especially the works of Graham Greene.  His command of the English language was spectacular in my opinion, with a cadence that led the reader to read on and on.

    I’m sure other writers have their own remedies for writer’s block, but the two above never failed to inspire.