You’ve sat down at your keyboard. The house is quiet. Maybe a few rays of sun filter through that window you love. You put your hand to the computer. You type a sentence…Oops, backspace! You stare at the blank screen. What to write? What to write?–I’ve got nothing… Why is this so hard?

If this has ever happened to you, whether at the beginning of a scene or smack in the middle of one, you’ve encountered writer’s block. It’s a familiar foe, and it comes sometimes when we least expect it. So how can we overcome this obstacle? What does it take to write through the impossible?

Solution #1: Give your writing time. Every now and then you actually have to walk away from the keyboard to write something profound. Leaving an idea to grow, to develop in your mind, actually can help you overcome writer’s block. So the next time you’re struggling to write, step back from the keyboard, go for a walk, take a short trip to the coffee shop, or buy lunch. And when that excursion is said and done, return to your keyboard. Try again. That’s the key with writer’s block. Never let it win.

Growing up, I had the blessing of owning horses. My senior year of high school we bought a 2 year old beautiful, red dun mare (see her picture above). She became my project, and I adored riding her. But one day, she started bucking under saddle. After about 5 hard tosses, I fell off her side and landed on my back. At the time, the clay soil was rock solid. I thought I had broken my back, and it took days to heal. From that moment on, I had a choice to make. With each toss, I could climb back on, or I could quit.

Writers, we have the same options. When writing gets hard, we get tougher. Sometimes we walk away for the moment, but we always return to the keyboard. Type again. Never let something your passionate about fall by the wayside due to writer’s block. That’s a lesson every serious equestrian learns at a young age, and it’s one we as writers can take to the bank.