By Lindsey Brackett, @lindsbrac

We all have those days. The ones where fingers seem stiff or the keyboard is too sticky to deal with. Days when plots are stuck and characters stale and ideas elusive.

I wouldn’t call it writer block exactly. More like writer delay.

These days I work from home while my kids are in school. I need to meet the word count before the bus pulls into the subdivision, but sometimes, the work-in-progress is a struggle. I could binge out on Netflix under the guise of inspiration… or I could do something that might help me over the speed bump, limbering up my fingers and creativity.

1. Schedule social media. Audience engagement is a viable part of my work. By taking a thirty-minute break from my manuscript to schedule posts, join in conversations, or catch up on my friends and fellow writers progress, I’m actually doing something that is needful to growing my business. I use Hootsuite to preschedule posts, although I’m playing around with Facebook’s new features as well. My social media of choice right now, however, is Instagram. Did you know it’s the fastest growing platform? Plus, it’s fun.
2. Answer interview questions. Since I recently launched my debut novel, I participated in a lot of online interviews. The bloggers sent me questions well ahead of my scheduled appearance, so I had plenty of time to answer. Spending time with these questions was both thought provoking and interesting. Remembering why I wrote this book—and what I enjoyed about the story and the setting—helped me get excited about it all over again. Which is needed after long months of revision and marketing and proofreading until my eyes crossed.
   Even if you don’t have any interviews scheduled, troll the web for some of your favorite author interviews and pretend you need to answer the questions for yourself. You’ll be getting a jumpstart for the time you’re the featured author, as well as giving your brain a break from strategizing.

3. Go for a walk—without your ear buds. Sometimes we just need to be silent. A walk, especially on a beautiful day, can clear your senses and reinvigorate your soul. Without the distraction of music or audiobooks or podcasts, you can revel in the world around you. Which all writers need to do from time to time. Keeps our voices authentic and relevant. Chances are, after this short break, you’ll be ready to dive back in to your work.
4. Listen to a podcast. Of course if leaving your ear buds home didn’t work, you can also turn up the volume to a podcast that inspires you. Find ones on writing craft that specifically address an area in which you feel weak. If you need encouragement in your endeavor to use writing as a ministry, try one like Write from the Deep hosted by Karan Ball and Erin Young. When I’m looking for some spiritual refreshment, Matthew Brough’s Spirituality for Normal People makes me laugh and ponder. (He interviewed me here.) Or indulge in one of my personal favorites—Modern Mrs. Darcy’s What Should I Read Next not only muscles up my TBR list, it inspires me to make others’ list myself, someday.
5. Help another writer. When I sit down on my back porch to edit someone else’s manuscript or when I use Hangouts to coach another writer, I benefit myself every bit as much. Working through someone else’s words and plot helps me see the weaknesses and strengths in my own work, which always inspires me to pick it up and try again. Talking through book proposals and character motivations and sellable titles with my coaching clients reminds me that I have many gifts in this industry, and many ways in which I can be successful. Which always, at the end of the day, sends me back to my own WIP for just a few more words.

What do you do that grows your writing—even when you’re not writing?

Award-winning writer Lindsey P. Brackett once taught middle grades literature, but now she writes her own works in the midst of motherhood. Her debut novel, Still Waters, influenced by her family ties to the South Carolina Lowcountry, is a story about the power of family and forgiveness. Called “a brilliant debut” with “exquisite writing,” Still Waters also received 4-stars from Romantic Times.

A blogger since 2010, Lindsey has published articles and short stories in a variety of print and online publications including Southern Writers Magazine Best Short Fiction (2015 and 2017).  Her popular column appears in local North Georgia newspapers weekly. Currently, Lindsey is a general editor with Firefly Southern Fiction, an imprint of LPC Books, and she freelances as a writing coach. Previously, Lindsey served as Editor of Web Content for the Splickety Publishing Group where she wrote and edited flash fiction.

A Georgia native, Lindsey makes her home—full of wet towels, lost library books, and strong coffee—at the foothills of Appalachia with her patient husband and their four rowdy children. Connect with her at www.lindseypbrackett.com or on Facebook: Lindsey P. Brackett, Instagram: @lindseypbrackett, or Twitter: @lindsbrac.