Forcing away writers block

So far, what works for me is just to sit down and write ANYTHING. When the story as at some point, some cross roads, I just think of anything at all that could happen next and begin writing.

When I am stuck like that, I don't even care how much I write. I just go until the natural flow stops. The most important point, though, is to at least establish some sort of action. That way, if I do stop, the story is in the middle of something that has momentum or is ready to tip over into something else, so picking up the story from that moment is much easier.

Of course, stopping mid-action might not be necessary. If I am fortunate, I will have enough of a flow going that what comes next after the action sequence is complete will become obvious - the creative block will have resolved itself well enough that I can pick up a whole new sequence the next time I sit down.

What stops me up is when I let the story sit where some minor action sequence is completely done, some idea has been completed and I don't know what the follow up is. I then let the story sit for a long time (I have one book I am 2/3 of the way through that has been sitting for over 2 years now) as I let my imagination stew on what is supposed to happen next. I worry about the big picture issues, the larger direction of the plot flow and how to resolve the points that quite work out. Resolving those issues takes a lot of time, and the loss of momentum just makes it worse. The solution, therefore, is just to get momentum from anything, even if its a passage you completely re-write or remove later.

Just went through a bit of that tonight. By the time my first paragraph was done, I had burst the dam and I cranked out 8 pages AND set up the action for the next chapter.

Makes me realize that once I am done with Millicent's sequel I need to do the same thing with the other book...