Beat Your Writing Blocks

Beat Your Writing Blocks 

Writer’s block isn’t a moral failure. It’s usually a signal. You’re tired, you’re scared of the next choice, your story plot isn’t adding up, or your brain is asking for a different input. If you write fantasy like I do, you’re juggling extra plates. World rules, magic constraints, character arcs, lore, stakes. When any one of those stalls, the whole draft can freeze.

When I’m blocked, I don’t “push through.” Sometimes that works. Often it just makes me associate the project with dread. Instead, I work to figure out what kind of block I’m having, then use the right tool. Each problem requires a different fix. Am I always successful at beating the block? Of course not. But in the trying, I discover new ways to cope and to make my story better.

Figure out what kind of block you have. Most blocks look the same from the outside. You stare at the page, you tidy your document, you suddenly feel the need to research 14 kinds of medieval bread. But the cause of the block changes what will actually help.

Decision block versus energy block. They’re not the same.

Decision block feels like “I don’t know what happens next.”

Energy block feels like “I know what happens next, and I can’t make myself care.”

Decision blocks are often structural. The scene doesn’t have a clear goal, you’re missing a cost, or the choice you need your character to make doesn’t feel earned. Energy blocks tend to result from overload. Life load, emotional load, or the accumulated weight of writing or rewriting a long draft. 

Sleep matters more than writers want to admit. If your brain feels like soup, it’s not you being “undisciplined.” It’s biology doing its thing. Until you've rested, thinking and writing are extremely difficult.

Fear block dressed up as craft. Fear is sneaky. You tell yourself you can’t write the next chapter because you haven’t nailed the magic system. Or because the midpoint has to be perfect. Or because you haven’t read enough in the genre this year. It sounds responsible, but it’s often avoidance with a nicer outfit. You don’t fix fear with more pressure. You fix it with smaller stakes and faster feedback.

  

Get moving fast when you’re stuck. When you want out of the stuck feeling today, here are some moves I reach for first. They’re not glamorous, but they work for me.

o   Write the tiniest version of the next scene. The stripped-down skeleton: who’s in the room, what they want, what goes wrong, what changes. Sometimes it’s bullet points. Sometimes it’s bare-bones dialogue.  I’ll even give myself permission to write a “bad take” in present tense, like a rehearsal. Because the brain relaxes when it’s not being judged. Then I convert it later.

 

o   Switch modes with intention. If drafting is jammed, I’ll swap to a different mode for 15 minutes to avoid procrastination for three hours. A short, contained pivot. Maybe I’ll just work on making sure the dialogue in a scene is consistent to each character. Or I’ll grab a description and pare or expand it.

 

o   Another way to switch cognitive gears. Your brain stops grinding the same stuck groove.

·       Examples that tend to unlock fantasy drafts. Adapt for other genres:

·        Make a quick list of three rules your magic cannot break. Then break one and see what the consequences would be.

·        Write a one-paragraph history of an object in the scene. A sword. A letter seal. A forbidden herb. Where did it come from and who lied about it?

·        Draft the argument your villain makes to justify their plan. Not their evil monologue. Their honest internal logic.

If you’ve been staring at a scene for two hours, your “block” may just be fatigue wearing a mask. 

o   Try a sprint, but make it specific. Write for 20-30 minutes with a goal in mind. Or don’t put a time limit on it, but sprint until you’ve reached a single target.

• Write only the turning point of the scene.
• Write only the moment the plan fails.
• Write only the last three lines that force the next chapter. 

o   Burnout and creative fatigue are not necessarily the same as writer’s block. Burnout shows up as irritability, dread, numbness toward a project you used to love, and that bleak feeling that nothing you do matters. Creative fatigue is similar, but it’s usually shorter term. You’re tapped out, not permanently broken.

·       The World Health Organization classifies burnout as an occupational phenomenon tied to chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed. That framing matters because it points to patterns and load, not personal weakness.

 

o   If you’re drafting a novel while also working a full-time job, your load might simply be too high for endless output. That’s not a mindset problem. That’s a brain-capacity problem.

·       Take breaks that actually restore you. Not the kind of break that turns into doom-scrolling, guilt, and coming back more tired. Break with a purpose. A walk. A nap. A shower and an early night. Or a “play break” where you do something creative with no stakes. Sketch a map. Make a mood playlist. Handwrite a scene you already love to feel rhythm again.

Procrastination usually has a reason. Most people treat procrastination like the enemy. But when you keep putting off the same chapter, something in you is objecting.

 

o   Common hidden objections

·        You don’t know what “good” looks like for this scene yet.

·        You’re afraid you’ll choose the wrong direction and waste months.

·        You’ve lost touch with why the protagonist wants this.

·        The scene is doing too many jobs at once. In fantasy, you’re trying to advance plot, reveal lore, foreshadow the ancient war, and deepen a family subplot, all in one tavern conversation. That’s a lot. No wonder the page feels heavy.

 

o   Make the next step embarrassingly small. The trick is to set a step so small your brain can’t argue with it. This is how you lower activation energy. Once the engine catches, you can go forward.

·        Name the scene goal in one sentence.

·        List three obstacles that could block that goal.

·        Pick the meanest one and write that moment.

 

Restarting a stalled draft without hating it. The one that has good bones but makes you wince when you open it.

 

o   Do a cold read like an editor, not a judge. Open the manuscript and read 10

pages, tops. Take notes on three things only:

·        Where you feel pulled forward. This usually means you hit a clean question and promised an answer.

·        Where you feel confusion.  This usually means you skipped a step in cause and effect.

·       Where you feel boredom. This usually means the scene lacks a real cost.

 

o   Write a new outline from the draft you already wrote. Your original outline is a historical artifact. It’s not a law. Make a fresh outline based on what’s on the page now. Scene by scene, one line each. What happens. What changes. What it sets up. This is where fantasy writers often discover the real problem: the magic rules shifted mid-book, or the villain’s capabilities quietly changed, or the chosen one prophecy is doing too much work. Fixing that at the outline level is faster than rewriting chapters blindly.

 

o   Give yourself permission to leapfrog. Love this part: you don’t have to restart at the exact stuck chapter. If you know a later scene clearly, write it. Draft out of order. Write the betrayal. Write the dragon negotiation. Write the moment your protagonist finally says the thing they’ve been choking on for 200 pages. You can stitch it in later. Momentum is worth a lot.

Resetting creativity after rejection. Rejection hits differently when you’re a creative person. It’s not just “no thanks.” It’s someone declining a piece of your imagination, your labor, and your taste.

o   Let it sting, but contain it. I’m not into pretending it doesn’t hurt. It does. I’ll give myself a set window. An evening. A day. Then I do one small action that points forward. I write one page of something new.

 

o   Rebuild and play. After rejection, your creative brain often gets protective. It wants to write “safe.” That’s normal. The way out is to play with boundaries.

·        Write a flash piece in your world from a minor character’s POV.

·        Write a scene that will never go in the book. A funeral. A festival. A private argument. 

A practical takeaway you can use today

Here’s what I’d suggest if you’re blocked right now.

 

o   Name the block in one sentence. Decision, energy, or fear.

 

o   Then pick one small move that matches it. A skeletal scene plan for decision block. A real rest break for energy block. A low-stakes bad draft for fear block.

You don’t need a personality transplant. You need a better diagnosis and a lighter next step. Most of the time, that’s enough to get the words flowing again.

 *****

If you want more craft tools from my corner of the fantasy world, this blog is where I share more articles and advice connected to my work as a fantasy author. Check back often or follow me on social media where I will announce new articles about writing, family, or kids activities.

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Want to learn more about my books for kids ages 8-12 in the Chronicles of Nadavir series? Check them out:

Deb Cushman's Chronicles of Nadavir
Frigg's Journey to Anasgar
Ping's Mystery in Pixiandria
https://debcushman.com

 

Norse Mythology for Kids

 

Norse Mythology for Kids Ages 8 to 12

Kids want to know about Norse mythology. The real one. Not the watered-down “everyone is nice and nothing scary happens” version. Stories from Norse mythology are serious, funny, sometimes gross, and full of big feelings. The fun part is you don’t need to memorize a million names to enjoy them.

I’m a fantasy author, and my middle grade fantasy adventure series, Chronicles of Nadavir, owes its inspiration to the stories and characters of Norse mythology. My grandfather was born in Denmark, as were ancestors on both sides of my mother’s family. All my life, I’ve loved the tales of Odin, Frigg, Freya, Thor, Loki, and the other Norse gods. When I write for middle grade readers, I’m always thinking about the same thing you probably are right now. “Okay, but who’s who. And what’s actually happening.” Let’s make it make sense.

 What is Norse mythology?

Most people think mythology is “old stories,” like fairy tales with extra thunder. That’s close. Norse mythology is a collection of stories people in Scandinavia and its territories told long ago to explain the world, entertain each other, and pass down values. Sometimes those values are brave and noble. Sometimes they’re more like “don’t be a jerk or a giant will eat your goat.”

 A lot of what we know comes from two main sources written down in Iceland in the 1200s: the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda. Most of the famous Norse myths we repeat today trace back to manuscripts recorded roughly 700 to 800 years ago. People told these stories aloud for ages before anyone wrote them down.

 

And since they were oral stories first, versions can change. In practice, that means there isn’t always one “correct” telling. This bugs some adults. Kids usually love it.

 Quick map of the Norse universe

Norse mythology has a built-in map. Not a perfect one. More like a doodle someone made on a tree trunk. The universe is often pictured around Yggdrasil, the world tree.

 Yggdrasil and the nine worlds

The stories often talk about “nine worlds.” Some are for gods, some for humans, some for giants, some for the dead. If you’ve ever played a game with different realms or zones, it feels like that. And yes, this idea of nine worlds shows up a lot in poems, but not as a neat labeled chart.

One reason it’s hard to draw a single official map is that the original poems don’t give one. Still, the number is very consistent. Norse poems describe “nine worlds” more than once, and the number nine is repeated across multiple surviving sources.

Midgard, Asgard, and the places you actually hear about

Midgard is the human world. That’s us. Asgard is where many gods live (like Odin and Thor). Jotunheim is where giants live. “Giants” in these stories aren’t always just big humans. Sometimes they’re more like powerful nature forces with opinions.

 What about Valhalla

Valhalla is one place in the afterlife, ruled by Odin. Not everybody goes there only the heroic warriors who died in battle . Some people go to Hel (which is a place and also the name of the being in charge of it). The afterlife stuff is complicated and sometimes a little gloomy, so I keep it simple when I’m writing for ages 8 to 12: different endings exist, and the stories are trying to explain bravery, loss, and fate.

 The main characters you’ll keep bumping into

The trick is not learning every name. It’s learning the “big few” so the rest doesn’t feel like alphabet soup.

Odin is the complicated boss. He is a god of wisdom, poetry, and war. He’s also the kind of character who makes deals that feel a bit sketchy. He wants knowledge so badly he’ll pay for it. Literally. There’s a story where he gives up an eye for a drink from a magical well.

The word “Wednesday” comes from “Woden’s day,” and Woden is another name for Odin. Fun fact: people today still say his name constantly and don’t even notice.

Thor is loud, brave, and not always subtle. I love Thor stories. He’s not perfect, but he’s relatable. He gets tricked, he gets mad, he eats a lot, and he actually shows up to protect people. His hammer is Mjolnir. It comes back to him when he throws it, which is basically the coolest boomerang ever.

A fun real-world detail: archaeologists have found lots of small Thor’s hammer pendants from the Viking Age. People wore them like jewelry. Archaeological digs have uncovered hundreds of Thor’s hammer amulets across Scandinavia and nearby regions. That tells you Thor wasn’t just “a character.” He was someone people truly cared about.

Loki is a problem and also entertainment.  He’s complicated: clever and funny and helpful sometimes. Then he does something that makes everyone’s lives worse. If you’ve ever had a friend who’s hilarious but also kind of a chaos machine, you know what I’m talking about.

Frigg, Freya, and the goddesses people mix up. The first book in my Chronicles of Nadavir series, Frigg’s Journey to Anasgar, has a main character named after the goddess Frigg. I did that on purpose. Frigg is someone I greatly admire.

 Kids ask me this a lot: “Why do some names sound similar?” Because languages change and stories traveled. Freya, sometimes spelled Freyja, is tied to love, beauty, and magic. Frigg is often linked with marriage and family, and she’s connected to Odin in many stories. Some details overlap depending on the source, so it’s normal to feel a little confused.

 Three myths that feel like middle grade adventures

If you want a fast way into Norse mythology, pick a few stories that show the tone. Big action. Weird humor. Consequences.

Thor and the stolen hammer. Thor wakes up and Mjolnir is gone. He’s furious. The giant Thrym has it and demands a bride as a trade. The solution? Thor dresses up as the bride. Yes, really. The comedy is that everyone keeps commenting on how “the bride” eats an alarming amount at the wedding feast.

This story survives in the Poetic Edda poem called Thrymskvida. The Poetic Edda preserves dozens of mythic poems, and some of the most famous Thor stories come from that single collection. When you hear this myth retold, it’s usually not random fan fiction. It’s coming from a real medieval source.

The death of Baldur. This one is sad, but it’s an important story. Baldur is loved by basically everyone. He starts having bad dreams. His mother tries to protect him by getting everything in the world to promise not to hurt him. Everything. Except one small thing: mistletoe. Loki uses that loophole, and Baldur dies. The gods try to fix it, but it doesn’t go the way you want. If you’ve ever read a book where one tiny overlooked detail changes everything, you get why this story hits hard.

How the world ends in Ragnarok. Ragnarok is the “end of the world” story. It’s about facing what you know is coming. Some characters choose courage anyway. That’s the part I like.

It’s not just one event. It’s a chain of disasters, battles, and huge changes, with some survivors afterward. Multiple Eddic poems describe Ragnarok, and scholars treat it as one of the central story cycles in the surviving Norse myth sources. When people call it “the big finale,” that’s not exaggerating.

How to read these stories without getting lost

The names can tangle your brain. The family trees are messy. So use a few simple tricks.

Use “teams” instead of trying to memorize everyone. I group characters like this:

Aesir (many of the Asgard gods, often called the “new” gods),

Vanir (another group of gods, called the “old” gods, tied to nature and prosperity),

Jotnar (giants), and

Humans.

You don’t need to know every member, just know which “team” a character usually belongs to.

And yes, there’s overlap and exceptions. Loki hangs out with the gods but has giant connections. That’s part of why he’s such a trouble magnet.

Expect jokes next to scary stuff. Norse mythology is not always polite. It will go from “ha ha, Thor is in a dress” to “oh no, someone’s dead” pretty fast. That mood swing is normal in these tales.

Remember that different versions exist on purpose. When working with young readers, I’ve noticed something. The moment they learn “there are different versions,” they relax. They stop trying to find the single right answer and start paying attention to what the story is doing.

Also, many Norse poems were written down by Christian scribes long after the Viking Age. That can affect how things are framed. The Viking Age is usually dated from about 793 to 1066, but many of the main myth manuscripts were written in the 1200s. That time gap matters. It’s like someone writing down your favorite story centuries later from memory. Details shift and depend upon which person is telling the story.

What’s true, what’s made up, and why it still matters. This is the question adults argue about, and kids ask. “Did people believe this?” Sometimes. Some of it was religion. Some of it was entertainment. Often it was both at once.

What we know is that the stories were important enough to survive in poems, carvings, and later manuscripts. We also know Norse culture valued poetry and storytelling. Skalds (poets) weren’t just “people who made rhymes.” They were like living memory keepers.

 These myths are packed with writing fuel. If you like making your own stories, Norse mythology hands you ready-made ingredients: magical items, tricksters, monsters, quests, and brave choices that cost something.

I use myths like these as inspiration when I’m building worlds for middle grade readers. Not copying. More like borrowing the mood. Dwarves and elves. The bravery and friendships. The “we’re going anyway” attitude.

 Safe ways to enjoy Norse mythology as a kid

Look, some Norse myths get intense. There’s fighting, revenge, and a few moments that are just…well, yikes. That doesn’t mean you can’t read them. It means you pick versions made for your age.

Choose kid-friendly retellings with notes. The best middle grade retellings don’t baby you. They explain unfamiliar stuff quickly, keep the story moving, and don’t throw graphic scenes at you just to be edgy.

Talk about the tricky parts. If a story feels unfair or sad, that’s a normal reaction. A lot of these myths are trying to wrestle with unfairness. Sometimes the lesson is “this is how fate works.” That can feel really annoying. Sometimes it’s “watch out for loopholes.”

Try reading it like a storyteller. Here’s a fun exercise I use when I’m drafting scenes. Read a myth and ask:

Who wants what?

What gets in their way?

What’s the twist?

That’s it. You’re thinking like a writer.

 

Have questions? I have a few answers!

Are Norse gods like superheroes? Kind of, but they’re messier. Superheroes often try to be good all the time. Norse gods can be brave and helpful, then make a decision that’s selfish or petty. That makes the stories feel more like legends than moral lessons.

Why are there so many giants? Giants are basically the “big challenge” characters. Sometimes they’re enemies, sometimes they’re family, sometimes they’re just forces of nature that won’t cooperate. They keep the world dangerous, which gives the heroes something to push against.

Is Loki a god or a giant? Depends on the story you’re reading. He travels with the gods a lot and acts like one of them, but he also has giant family connections. The mix is part of what makes him unpredictable.

Did Vikings really believe in Odin and Thor? Many did, yes. But “believe” can mean different things. Some people probably took it very seriously as religion. Others may have treated some stories more like meaningful legends. The evidence we have is real, but it’s not a video recording of someone’s thoughts.

What’s the difference between mythology and history?

History is based on evidence about what happened.

Mythology is story-based and explains meaning, values, and fears. Sometimes myths contain hints of real life, like what people ate or what they worried about. But a myth isn’t a diary entry.

What to Remember

Here’s what I’d keep in your pocket. Norse mythology is a set of old stories that are still alive because they’re exciting and strange and honest about fear and bravery. Start with a few characters, don’t stress about perfect versions, and let yourself enjoy the weird parts. That’s usually where the best stories are hiding.

Norse Mythology Book Suggestions

A couple of my favorite Norse Mythology books for kids are that are fun to read and have amazing illustrations:

*Treasury of Norse Mythology: Stories of Intrigue, Trickery, Love, and Revenge (National Geographic Treasuries) by Donna Jo Napoli

*Norse Mythology for Kids: Tales of Gods, Creatures, and Quests by Mathias Nordvig PhD 

If you want more middle grade fantasy and myth-inspired stories from me, you can check out my books

Deb Cushman's Chronicles of Nadavir
Frigg's Journey to Anasgar
Ping's Mystery in Pixiandria
https://debcushman.com

If you want more craft tools from my corner of the fantasy world, this blog is where I’ll share more articles and advice connected to my work as a fantasy author. Check back often or follow me on social media where I will announce new articles.

Website & Social Media:

Website             https://debcushman.com

Facebook          https://www.facebook.com/debcushmanwriter/

Instagram         https://www.instagram.com/cushmandeb

X                           https://x.com/DebCushman

Bluesky              https://bsky.app/profile/debcushman.bsky.social

Threads             https://www.threads.com/@cushma

Inspiration for Writing about Caves

 Inspiration for Writing about Caves

When I was planning to write about dwarves living in caves for FRIGG'S JOURNEY TO ANASGAR, I needed to visit an actual cave to learn about them firsthand. I'd toured local lava tube caves known as the Ape Caves near Mt. St. Helens, but their long tunnel structure hadn't exactly given me the inspiration I needed to imagine the daily lives of a large multi-generational colony of dwarves and refugee magical folk. So, my husband and I headed south to spend some time at the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve, https://www.nps.gov/orca/index.htm

High up in the Siskiyou Mountains, the Oregon Caves have several enormous chambers that gave me so many ideas for the distinctive caverns and grottos inside the mountain of Nadavir in my book, where I could visualize settings for my story. The mining operation of the lower Nadavir caverns, the beauty and silence of the Cathedral Cave where dwarves are honored, and the twists and turns of the puzzling Maze Cave were all imagined during this visit. Although the Oregon Caves did not have the Breathing Cave that I conceived for my book, I was struck by the overwhelming sensation that many of the caves I visited possessed an almost living quality.

I became a bit claustrophobic while inside the caves, but I have to say that the scariest part of the trip was the drive to the Chateau (which is currently closed for repairs) where we stayed near the cave entrance. The road is winding and narrow with many drop-offs and flimsy or no guardrails!

If you are interested in what it’s like inside the caves, here are some videos that you might like:

I really enjoyed this video of the tour by OffRouteExplorers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msot05AE2iI

There are some great videos at the OregonCavesNPS YouTube channel, including this one about the cave tour precautions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sVgAaW2N0I

Website & Social Media:

Website             https://debcushman.com

Facebook          https://www.facebook.com/debcushmanwriter/

Instagram         https://www.instagram.com/cushmandeb

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Bluesky              https://bsky.app/profile/debcushman.bsky.social

Threads             https://www.threads.com/@cushma

  Deb Cushman's Chronicles of Nadavir

Frigg's Journey to Anasgar

Ping's Mystery in Pixiandria

https://debcushman.com