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Writer's block is a nearly inevitable occupational hazard. Like a baseball player mired in a batting slump. They'll try almost anything to break out of it. And the longer it persists, the more severe it becomes. Pretty soon they're pressing at the plate. Which only makes matters worse.
In a similar way, writers can begin to "press at the keyboard" when suffering writer's block.
Recently, I came across a quote (I believe it's from a poet) which went something like this: "When you're suffering from writer's block-simply lower your standards."
Makes sense. Instead of trying to write a great scene, put less pressure on yourself. Just get it down on paper no matter how lousy it may seem at the time. Struggling with dialogue? Lower your standards. Get something written, even if all the characters sound the same. Having difficulty with plot? Try writing two or three alternative plot twists-no matter how ludicrous they seem. In fact, the more ludicrous the better. (It's like that slumping hitter trying out new stances in the batter's box.)
The point is-you can always go back to revise and polish your draft when pent up creative juices begin to gush. At least you've got something to work with. An even happier phenomenon may face you: your work may not appear nearly so poor as when you first wrote it. Even when you consciously lower your standards, your writing's not that awful.
Try it some time.
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