Ug...Writer's Block

I've only suffered from this malediction a few times in my life and all runs were short.  This time, however, I may as well have come down with mono, complete with the "hit by a truck" body aches.  Ug.

Other bloggers have asked, "What do you do to overcome Writer's Block?"  And I've naively said, "I just keep writing."

But it's not that easy.  I stare at text on the screen, I plead with my characters to cooperate, I read or edit what I've written in hopes that inspiration will stike...but no.  Frustration surfaces and complicates the matter.

My analytic mind wants to know why my fingers aren't magically working the keyboard.  I've deduced that my characters aren't in the right mindset and I don't like where they're going.  The flow isn't there.  The convergence of past and present doesn't meld as well as in previous works. 

The "why" of it does matter, but if I think too hard about it, that's all I'll do.  And I do think about it...a lot.  But thinking isn't the same as writing.  Plus, I'm at the point now where my thinking ends with what I have written, so...yeah...is there such a thing as Thinker's Block?

The first three chapters are solid and work well.  It all unravels from there.  With that in mind, I have to think back to my answer, "I just keep writing."  Well, how did I do that in the past?

I opened a new document and wrote on a fresh screen without the influence of the existing material.  That's what I need to do.  Start anew at the last place that makes me happy and see where it goes. 

It's a decent start and doesn't mean I have to scrap what I already have written.  If it works in the story, it'll fit in somewhere.  But maybe I'm clinging to something that doesn't work and it's time to let it go.  And so I will set it free.

To quote Harry and the Hendersons...."Run free Little Bob!  Run free!" 

^_^' ~ Little Bob is not the name of my WIP...