"Welcome to Miss Sunshine's Clinic! How can I help you today?"

"Um... Well... You see..."

"What's up?"

"I..."

"Are you struggling to get words out?"

"Yes..."

"Tell me more."

"I... I can't write anymore. I sit down to write. And I just... can't."

"Oh. I think I know how to diagnose this."

"Oh, no."

"Yup."

"It's not..."

"I think it is."

"Please, Sunshine, anything but..."

"Writer's Block."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO--"

And then the customer realised healthcare was super expensive, was in debt, and then decided to jump onto an eagle and enter the realm of toothpaste.

True story.

Anyways! Writer's Block! I'm sure it's a term we have all heard at some point.

For those who don't know what it is, it's basically that feeling we get where we simply just cannot bring ourselves to write our stories. It happens for a plethora of reasons, but it's a pretty dangerous cycle. We fall into the slump of not writing, so we put our project off for days, then weeks, then months, and it just gets even harder to write then, because we've lost a grip on where our story was.

So, what sort of things cause Writer's Block?

Well, you can't just ask someone why they had a heart attack... rude much.

(But also, I blame Greg the Mosquito.)

But because we are writers and we ruthlessly murder characters, I think we can all ask each other... Well, why do we lose our spark? What makes it so hard for us to write sometimes?

Let's go back to the heart attack analogy. Heart Attacks can happen for heaps of different reasons. Sometimes, it's simply random chance. Sometimes, we aren't really looking after our bodies. Sometimes, it's a genetic thing. Sometimes, we go on a roller coaster. And sometimes, someone gives you a cup of coffee or something.

Similarly, there are a bunch of random reasons why we get Writer's Block. Some might be genetic. Some might be coffee related.

However, these are usually the common reasons that I can think about:

If you have been writing a lot and overworking yourself, you probably need a break. So, please! Take care of yourself! Take a warm bath, walk a pet [even a gold fish], eat your favourite food, listen to some amazing music, go to the ocean, dance a little -- anything that helps you find some restoration and peace within yourself.

Actually, speaking of that, if anyone has any favourite songs, please tell me their names here! I'm looking for more music outside of Eurovision!

It can be super intimidating to write, especially when you haven't written in ages. Imagine being a singer, then not using your vocal chords for two years, and then singing again. It's happened to me before. I sounded like a duck whose throat was caught in a fence.

But be patient with yourself, and give it a chance! The worst that can happen is that you notice you're a bit rusty, but then that gives you the chance to polish it!

It happens! Sometimes we have a super big chapter to write about a really intense topic, and we just do not feel like we are good enough. But, trust me, you are good enough! I believe in you!

Let's face it: stories take time to write. A 100,000 word novel, assuming you write 1,000 words a day, would take 100 days. That's not including planning or editing. That's over three months of writing something, and like, that's longer than any of my relationships have ever lasted. So, not only do you need commitment, but you also need patience and focus.

And, sometimes, we have to accept that it is okay to move on to another story. But sometimes, it is worth fighting for.

Which is also fair! It's hard to have sight of every moment in a 100,000 word novel.

The perfectionism in us sometimes takes over, and makes it really challenging to want to write because we are too busy shrivelling up every time we jot down a word. It's tough! Sometimes, we are way too critical, and we just want things to be perfect instantly.

And, once we fall into this trap and it's no longer authentic, then it naturally is harder to write.

Lemme hug you. Lemme.

You are good enough. Always. Those other writers have also felt the exact same way.

When we don't have an audience, and we feed off people responding to our works, it can be super difficult to take this in. We have to get used to writing for ourselves, sometimes, as opposed to others.

In which I urge you to seek some professional help and therapy, and remember that you are not alone and that you are loved!

RIP.

(No, for real, it's not the end of the world. I promise.)

This is less writer's block and more procrastination station, but still a valid reason to not be writing! I have heard rumours that this story itself, actually, is highly distracting for people trying to write. Whoops. My bad.

In which, man... I don't know what to tell you, except, either a) try to find time or b) make those short moments you do have to write as powerful as possible.

In fact, I probably even covered half of them. But that's because, if I tried to stay back and cover every single reason every single person has experienced Writer's Block (I mean, seriously, I've heard of someone who couldn't write their story because they had a giant crush on their character and because too invested in him that they couldn't write the chapter where they died), I would be here for literally weeks.

So, instead, let's move on to some tips!

I just want to make it clear that I have spent 20 minutes thinking about a cool theme to use. And I have nothing. This is so difficult.

I'm just going to list them and hope inspiration strikes.

[Edit: It didn't.]

[Edit: It did eventually.]

So, this is going to be like a treatment plan! If you have Writer's Block, try one of these tips every day! It doesn't matter which order you do it in, but for the sake of this chapter... let's just do it in the order that I came up with them in. It's not scientific. Sue me.

Also, please remember! Not all of these tips will work, which is why some tips are literally polar opposites. But I suggest giving all of them a go until you find the one that helps you!

A real life adventure! With the age of technology, we can get so fixated on our projects and television that we forget that there is so much beauty in the world around us. So many colours and smells and sounds -- so many people and stories and dreams. There will always be something amazing outside.

So go for a walk! Go to a park! A jungle, an ocean, a river. The snow, the beach, the mountains.

Find your zen area, if there is one. And just drink in the atmosphere.

Maybe, settled in nature, ideas may fill you up!

But also, not just the outdoors. I personally used to have a chapel I would break into, because there were secret tunnels I would explore. Maybe try going to places that are simply inspiring -- whether it be museums, art galleries, libraries, or illegally breaking into churches like me.

Sometimes, we just become too fixed on trying to push through one story that we just lose our love for writing while we agonise over it. So, try writing something else! Maybe another story idea that you've thought about, or a little drabble, or even some non-fiction writing about the world of your story. Be creative!

Sometimes, when you write something new, it can light up that spark again -- or you can even use some of the newly written stuff in your story.

Additional idea: write something REALLY bad on purpose. Write some satire about One Direction sharing a bedroom with every BTS member and all of them getting into one big, giant relationship with the Mary Sue who has beautiful purple hair and 493 different talents. Make it really cringey, and have some fun, and remind yourself why you love to just spit ideas out!

Even try really bad poetry! Write about a piano that wants to eat rose petals. Rewrite Romeo and Juliet except if they actually had some common sense. Find something whacky and go for it!

If you're stuck on ideas, sometimes it can be super helpful to get some input from a friend or family. It can help to get an outsider perspective to help find your passion, or even to provide some guidance without the bias that you do have.

By the way, if you need help with these, please send me a message! I love supporting people through this!

Also, sometimes, just getting someone to really feel passionate about your work and champion it? It's huge. It's ground-breaking and can help us find that strength to keep going. My readers have saved so many of my stories, especially when I was younger.

If you don't have a friend (and no shame here), make an imaginary one and talk to them! Sometimes, just talking it out with yourself is all you need to help.

Seriously.

Don't look at it like a huge, massive slab of metal that you need to climb over. That makes it look and feel more difficult than it needs to feel. Don't look at it as a dead end.

Try to see it as a little "Wet Floor Sign". Once it's dry, you can easily walk on the floor with no issues. Or, if you're daring, you can skid across the floor anyways. Or, if you're really daring, you can get tractor and run that little pest over.

Or, you know, you can walk up to the sign, pick it up, and toss it in the bin.

Try to conceptualise it in your head as a minor setback that requires patience and problem solving, as opposed to an enormous and agonising task at hand.

If you're burnt out, or if you get ideas by dreaming or contemplating your stories before your dreams snatch you to another realm, have some rest!

My alternate: showers and baths. Seriously, if I'm not belting Christmas Carols in the shower, I'm thinking about all my story ideas.

Create like a magical item for yourself. A cup of tea. A crystal. An eyelash. The bible.

Mine is my ex's toenail.

Kidding!

Find something special and magical, and use it as a 'touch item'. Touch it when you need ideas, and don't push yourself. Just rely on the strength and magic of it.

It won't work for some people, but it might for those who feel spiritual connection to things!

And when you meditate, don't force yourself to think about your story. Instead, if it comes to you, fantastic! If it doesn't, that's okay -- hopefully, you've still found some sort of peace.

If walking around and exploring doesn't work, maybe the polar opposite will.

See your blank word document as an enemy that needs conquering. Glare at it. Make it your slave. Show Google Docs who the real boss is.

And then cry when you remember the guy who made it is super rich but anyways that's besides the point.

For the competitive ones in us, seeing it is a challenge is what we need!

Give yourself a break. Don't keep pushing ideas that aren't there.

Sometimes, like desperate ex boyfriends, they realise how much they love you when you've let them go.

So, pull an Elsa. Let It Go. Anna will come back and force your butt back to Arendelle anyways.

Sometimes, we make Writer's Block worse by being mad and upset with ourselves for... well, being human. It's human to have writing struggles. So, seriously, remember that, and give yourself some love. Don't keep beating yourself up when you are simply just trying your best.

If you have had a heart attack, doctor's will recommend you to work out why (assuming you, you know, are okay afterwards).

If it's blocked arteries, they may recommend you to eat a different diet.

If it's triggered by a fear, they may recommend you to avoid said fears.

So, try to work out why you have Writer's Block! Are you simply being a perfectionist? Are you simply out of ideas? Are you burnt out?

Self-awareness can help you work out what, exactly, you need to do to help your Writer's Block!

Keep your phone in another room. Close the Instagram tab. Stop online shopping. Turn off Netflix.

If you're like me, stop watching videos people cooking with miniature utensils.

Find your zen.

Focus.

Make sure you're not forcing yourself to write all at once! Sometimes, that's what may be burning you out! The human attention span is not as long as we think it is, so make sure you are looking out for yourself. Treat yourself to some snacks and naps! Play with some Lego! Watch another episode of that random Netflix show everyone is raving on about (Bridgerton?)

We all have different styles. We are all growing.

Remember that.

Love yourself and your work.

It may not be perfect but, also... what is perfect? Even the best authors have one-star reviews. Trust me: you are doing great.

Your story might only be one person's favourite story. But, for that one person, it could mean the whole world to them.

So, never underestimate the power of your words.

I'm looking at 70% of you. Maybe more. You know who you are.

If you are editing and overediting because you just need it to be perfect, and you're not allowing yourself to move on, then you need to bonk yourself on the head with a cactus.

I promise, you will get to edit and perfect it later.

But, for now, we write drafts for a reason.

I'm going to break it down and be real with you: when I write these chapters, I feel like a fraud.

I've never been in writing clubs. I've never taken any writing courses. I am literally a person who loves literature, who is trying her absolute best, and for some reason, thinks she's qualified enough to give people advice.

I'm definitely not qualified. I wish I had the time and money to do this, and one day, I hope to actually take a writing lesson.

However!

I pride myself on how much I care. I pride myself on how much I like to research and analyse and try to work out what is effective and what is not.

I suggest, if you cannot take a writing class to help you hone your skills and become more used to overcoming Writer's Block, you also try to join me in my constant hunt of research and growth.

See a therapist or a counsellor. Find the support you need, and overcome that. Your health is more important than your chapter where the two characters slay a dragon with a pair of scissors. Trust me.

Some people actually love writing the later chapters, and then working backwards! If that's what helps you and makes it work for you, then go for it! There's no shame in doing things in a strange, round-a-bout order! I eat dessert before dinner all the time.

This works especially well if it's been a really long while since you've touched your story! Sometimes, it can give you that passion all over again as you live and breathe the characters, see them grow, and remember how much you love all the juicy tension and worldbuilding inside it.

Tell your mother, "Mum, if it's not done by tomorrow at midnight, throw your slipper at me."

She probably won't throw her slipper at you, but just knowing the threat is there is sometimes enough.

Heard of sprints? It's where you [and bonus: with other writers] set a timer for ten minutes, and you write as much as you can in that ten minute sprint. It can be super effective having peers do it alongside you, and seeing your word count slowly accumulate.

Abandon your bedroom or study room!

Go to a park! A café! A library!

Or even just try writing in your kitchen or something.

Classical music, or super heavy metal, or weird siren sounds, or even ASMR. If there is a sound that really helps you find a writing zone, then try to use it! This takes experimenting, but eventually, by association, it actually makes you feel like writing more when you listen to the specific type of music.

Find inspiration in other stories! Find inspiration in movies, even!

Read, read, read!

Find a pattern. Whether it's a place or a time -- find something somewhat consistent, and try to make it become a habit.

Habits die hard, after all!

How have I not said this one yet? Am I actually crazy?

Plan. Plan the chapter you have to write. Bullet point it all out. Start formulating the dialogue. Start creating a beginning, middle and end. Really spell it out for yourself, so when you begin writing, it is less daunting, because you have most of it jotted down in manageable chunks.

I've reviewed people's stories, and not to tooth my own horns, people have come to me and let me know that my review has helped them find their rhythm again. And I'm so glad to have helped these people.