Writer’s Block in the Streets of Tel-Aviv

Two weeks ago, I was on my way to visit beautiful Israel, where my book, Pinnacle Lust, takes place. As I looked across the city’s rooftops from the airplane window, the sight took my breath away—the place where my character, Sharon Lapidot, fell in love and had an illicit affair with Dr. Sloan.

Romanticizing Tel-Aviv and Sharon and Sloan’s love affair was easy—however, the writing process wasn’t always that straightforward and simple. As I reflected on the joys of being a published author, I was also reminded of the struggles of getting to that point.

The writing of Pinnacle Lust was not without its roadblocks. Needing to assemble my scenes in the proper order was time-consuming and often slowed my writing to a halt. Remembering the layout of the streets of Tel-Aviv was another hurdle, one that I often overcame with the help of Google Maps. And the last one—and often the one that most authors can agree on as the worst: writer’s block.

I suffered my fair share of writer’s block when writing my debut novel. I knew where I wanted the overall plot to go, but when it came to figuring out a way to get there, there were times when my brain froze and my typing followed suit. So how did I get around it? I have two go-to methods that work every time.

If I’m sitting at my keyboard at a complete standstill, I sign off for the day. No sense sitting unproductively. Instead, I take the time I would have spent writing to take a long walk and mull things over. Often I find that the simplest things like getting blood flowing can open creative doors I didn’t know I had!

Sometimes, the opposite is true. One of my favorite tactics is to relax in my recliner, close my eyes, and visualize where I’m at in the story, replay the most recent scenes, and let my subconscious make the connections between where my characters are now and where they need to be.

I’ve found that I most often experience writer’s block when I’m caught up on small details. Is what I’m writing clear? Will my readers understand and enjoy my book? The bottom line? Who cares—you (or your editor) can deal with that at another time. Once I throw those concerns out the window and simply write, the ideas and words flow into my brain and onto the page.

Happy writing!


Michelle

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