The Block

I finally met it.  The Block.  That evil, unseen villain that suddenly appears right when you are in the most intense piece of your writing, just when things are hotting up and the plot is about to be revealed at last...

I'll admit, meeting it for the first time in my life was truly an experience!  I've always been a man of many written words, able to eloquently communicate with the keys - thousands upon thousands of words just flowing like water downhill.  My first two novels were written in one year, and there was no slowing down when I started the third in January of this year.  I sped through the first 50000 words with ease, the story developing as I wrote.  And then...
The Block.

At first I wasn't quite sure what was happening, I'll be honest.  I found myself making excuses about why I couldn't write - too busy, other projects, work, family... the list was endless.  It took me three months to realize that none of the above reasons were actually the cause... I had reached a wall in my story!  An impossibly high wall that was not only invisible, but also taunted me at every opportunity.
Right in the middle of my story I suddenly had no idea how to continue.  Words I typed would be deleted.  A thousand words a day became two hundred... and then zero.  The irony was that it was only when I actually realized WHY I had stopped writing, that I found a way to get around it!  There was nothing wrong with my schedule... it was all in my mind, all subconscious.  Once you've faced your fear head on, broken it down into bite-sized chunks and swallowed it whole - suddenly the path ahead is open!

I wrote five hundred words today.  Tomorrow, maybe I'll do a thousand.

Wayne - one.
The Block - zero.