The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in shock-proof shit-detector.
Ernest Hemingway

Yeah, I totally love that quote. Mainly because it’s true. When my writing stalls, it’s typically because whatever I’m doing isn’t working. It’s not some blockage of the mystical vague muse, it’s because I’ve written crap that isn’t going in the right direction. Either I’m in the wrong POV or the scene is flat or something else just isn’t right. And how do I know this? Because I feel it.

There are tons of roadblocks that can stop your writing cold. And often we blame the ‘muse’, when in fact there’s just something wrong with what you’ve written. And it stalls you completely, making you unable to move forward. And when you’re pushed for time and you can’t go on, that can be a very very bad thing.

Writers need to learn to tune into their own personal shit detector, to know when what they’re writing isn’t working so they can slam on the breaks and take a new direction before you come to a complete stop and you’re unable to go on.

Because, trust me, when it happens, it isn’t the muse–it’s you. It’s something you’ve done. It’s fixable. And it’s fixable without having to stare at a blank page for 3 or 4 days, clutching your hair and moaning that you’re unable to write because you’ve reached an impasse.

Not true.

Sometimes you just have to mark that spot in your book that isn’t working, and come back to it later after the book is finished. I often do that when I’m pressed for time because I don’t want to be stalled, and I know something isn’t right about the scene I’ve just written, but I’m not about to give up 3 or 4 days of my time to stare at the page and do nothing. Doing nothing is disastrous. Either fix it or move on and come back to it later. Trust me, it can be done.

The worst thing you can possibly do is nothing at all. Forward progress is everything in your writing. Do whatever it takes to keep the momentum flowing at all times. If you know what the problem is,then change direction and fix it. If you don’t, flag it for later. But always keep moving.