Tommy Donbavand

Now, I don’t actually subscribe to the notion of writers’ block; if you can’t write, it’s because you don’t know enough about your story or characters. Something that can easily be fixed with a brainstorming session, allowing you to proceed.

I do, however, believe in the situation where a writer doesn’t know what should come next or, even if he does, exactly how it should develop. These moments come quite regularly when you write for a living, and you have to find a way around them so that you can get over the obstacle, and hit your target for the day. Some writers move on to another area of the book or script, others switch projects entirely. Here’s how I do it…

I clean.

Literally. I clean things in the house. Happened to me this very afternoon, in fact. I was merrily tapping away at SS5 when I came to what will be a big action scene that turns the story on its head. In screenwriting terms, it would be called a plot point. Only, I wasn’t sure exactly how it should play out for best effect.

So, instead of sitting and staring at a blank screen, I went downstairs and cleaned the cooker. Top to bottom, inside and out. I didn’t give up on my problem entirely; I let my subconscious work away at the scene while I scrubbed. And – as it does every time – my mind solved the problem for me. The answer just popped in there while I was busy doing something else.

Of course, that ‘something else’ doesn’t have to be housework, but getting a few brownie points from Kirsty while I’m letting my brain work on a writing problem doesn’t hurt. In fact, whenever she catches me cleaning during the day now, she’ll often ask if I’m stuck on something. All you need is another activity that will keep you busy and leave your mind free to roll up its sleeves and attack the obstacle in your way. Trust me, it works.

So, what will you do to occupy yourself while your subconscious continues to write? Come clean…

Tommy