I’ve got a quiz for you. Match the novel excerpt with the author. Here are three excerpts:
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An abandoned auto court in the San Berdoo foothills; Buzz Meeks checked in with ninety-four thousand dollars, eighteen pounds of high-grade heroin, a 10-gauge pump, a .38 special, a .45 automatic and a switchblade he’d bought off a pachuco at the border—right before he spotted the car parked across the line: Mickey Cohen goons in an LAPD unmarked, Tijuana cops standing by to bootjack a piece of his goodies, dump his body in the San Ysidro River.
 
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
However little know the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.
 
    A white boy rode flatfoot on a skateboard, towed along, hand to shoulder, by a black boy pedaling a brakeless fixed-gear bike. Dark August morning, deep in the Flatlands. Hiss of tires. Granular unraveling of skateboard wheels against asphalt. Summertime Berkeley giving off her old-lady smell, nine different styles of  jasmine and a squirt of he-cat.
 
And here are the three authors: Jane Austin, Michael Chabon, and James Ellroy. OK, match them up.  I’ll give you five minutes.
            ...dum, dum, dum dah, dah, dum, dum, dum…
            OK, times up. The answers are: number 1, James Ellroy, from L.A. Confidential; number 2, Jane Austin, from Pride and Prejudice; number 3, Michael Chabon, from Telegraph Avenue. Did you get them right? I bet you did. Why am I so confident that you knew the answers? Because each author has a unique voice.
            If you’ve been writing for some time now, someone has bound to have told you: “You need to find your voice.” So, what is voice? The answer to that is controversial. Different writers will tell you different things. As a compromise I’ll use the Wikipedia definition: it’s “the individual writing style of an author, a combination of their common usage of syntax, diction, punctuation, character development, dialogue, etc., within a given body of text (or across several works).”
            So, how do you develop your voice? First of all, like anything worthwhile developing your voice takes time. Its not an overnight affair and it may take years for your unique voice to come to the fore. But, it will be worth it.
            You develop your voice like any other ability—you practice. That means writing regularly and writing often.
            You can help develop your voice by reading great authors, authors whose work has stood the test of time. Not only the classics but contemporary writers, also. I recall my reaction to reading Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath for the first time. I became so angry I wanted to toss the paperback across the room, because I realized that no matter how much I tried I’d never be able to write like Steinbeck. But, I continued reading and I read other greats. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that my writing doesn’t approach the level of Steinbeck. But, it is much better that when I started. And, I think I have a unique voice as a result.
            Read the greats. Over time you’ll find yourself picking and choosing what works for you.
            Another way to help you develop your voice is to write poetry. If you’re sincere in your efforts, poetry can open you up to a new vulnerability and release hidden dreams. All necessary for a unique voice.
            Voice is more than writing style or technique. It is your personality, your sensitivities, your whole being.
            Voice, in the long run, is about you being you. Your vision, your love, your faith being laid bare on the page. No pretense, no effort to put up a façade of respectability. It is raw, it is naked, and it is sincere.

​            You sit there staring at a blank screen. The cursor defiantly blinks at you like the strobe of a police cruiser in your rearview mirror. Your fingers are poised above the keys ready to peck out the stream of ideas that will begin percolating in your brain. But, nothing comes. The well is dry. You can’t think of a thing to write. You then realized you’ve got it. That dreaded writer’s block. It has hit you like a sudden case of the flu.
            Writer’s block is a controversial subject. Some say there’s no such thing while others see it as a real problem for writers. The cause could come from several fronts. A lack of inspiration is probably the foremost people cite. Other causes can be from distractions, adverse life events ranging from mild to serious, fear of failure, and the one I’m most guilty of: laziness.
            Aside from a serious adverse life event, which may require professional help, most cases of writer’s block, with a little effort, can be overcome or prevented.
            I’ve got six ideas that might help the next time you sit at the keyboard and feel absolutely stuck:

• Outline your work before you begin your actual writing. Having an outline provides a roadmap for your work. Depending on how detailed your outline is, you will know exactly or at least approximately where you’re going with your particular piece of writing. And, you’re less likely to become stuck.
• Stop in the middle of a sentence at the end of your writing session. This way you have a definite starting point for your next session. All you need do is complete that sentence, and the next, and others will likely flow.
• If you are stuck, get up and do something else—do a load of laundry, get a cup of coffee, take a walk, listen to music. The change of activity will allow your subconscious to work on the problem while you concentrate on a totally unrelated activity.
• Just write something, even if its nonsense. Sometimes just the act of writing itself will ignite the fire you need to resume your project.
• Begin work on another chapter or another project, one that you have a clear idea regarding the content. If you’ve outlined your work it’s likely you’ve thought about different chapters or sections. So, when you’re stuck on one you can work on another section, one in which you have a clearer vision of where you’re going.
• Read something. This could be poetry, a work in your genre or a work in another genre. The point is that reading can spark your creative juices and overcome that writer’s block.

 
            Consider these potential solutions to writer’s block. Put one or more into action the next time those creative juices don’t seem to be flowing and you may find that you can plow right through that writer’s block.