One of the messages I get all the time goes something along the lines of "Hey, can you help me? I can't get rid of my writer's block".

And one of my most popular Youtube videos is on...you guessed it...writer's block.

So I'm VERY pleased to announce that the Word Nerd's live chat tomorrow night (at 7:00 est) is ALL ABOUT THE BLOCK. And how to beat it, of course.

To warm up, let's get down with some quick and dirty tips.

1) Diagnose the issue.

This is what I find myself repeating more than anything else. WHY do you have writer's block? Are you stuck in "don't know what happens next" limbo? Are you frozen in fear because you think everything you've written sucks? Are you frusterated with how the story has turned out and you don't want to continue?

There is always a root cause of writer's block, and step one is to dig for it, diagnose it, and learn how to kick the problem in the butt!

2) Ditch the fear, darling. You suck, embrace it.

Sorry, I don't mean you suck, like, personally. I mean...your first draft sucks. It's always going to. The key to beating THIS block is to keep going. Let yourself suck. Accept the suckage and power through. 

There's an old saying that goes, "There are no good writers, only good rewriters". 

Or something like that. I think I butchered the line, but you get the general idea.

The first "version"of your story is going to be horrible, but that's OKAY. No one needs to see it, you get to rewrite it as many times as you need to.

3) Are you Plotter or Pantser?

Do you plot everything out in detail, down to the colour of people's shoes and what they had for breakfast ten years ago? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants, and you have no idea how the story is going to end while you're writing it? Maybe somewhere between the two?

The point where you run into trouble, is if you are a pantser who is trying to plot every little thing, or a plotter who is trying to write without planning.

Tip: You may have to experiment with a few stories to see what works best for you.

Don't forget to tune in for the live chat. If you have any questions that you would like answered during the  chat, simply post them in the comment section below and start with "Dear Word Nerds".