Writer’s block is one of those things we hear a lot about but can’t quite put our fingers on. I have never seen a definition of it anywhere because everyone assumes they know what it  means.

So, my assumption is that writer’s block is a condition kind of like FOOS disorder.

What is FOOS disorder you may ask?

I went to my family doctor a few years ago with a variety of physical complaints.  He examined me and said, “Steve, you have FOOS disorder.”

“What’s that, Doc?” I asked.

“Fat, old and out of shape,” he said.  I paid him $50 and went home.

Writer’s block is a  lot like that, I think, except it has two sure-fire cures.

The first of these remedies is from Caleb Pirtle, my friend and mentor. Early in our writing relationship, Caleb told me, “Nothing cures writer’s block like an empty refrigerator.”

If a person hopes to make a living or bring in a good supplemental income to his day job by writing, he doesn’t have time for writer’s block.  It is a luxury he can’t afford.

There is no way to whitewash this.  Writing is just plain old hard work, day in and day out. Indie writers who are trying to figure out the new world of digital publishing know this oh so well. They work all day at one job, half the night at social media promotion and the other half of the night writing. Sleep is overrated.

I left out the part about meditating on their navels while they consider the meaning of life. I left it out because there isn’t any time for it.  Just like writer’s block.

But I promised you two cures.

The second is a good one. Your books start selling.

What? Who ever heard of such a thing?

That’s right, you look up one day and your hard work laboring in obscurity begins to pay off. Your book rises in the Kindle rankings. You check your reports on Kindle Direct Publishing, and either there is an error in the system or people are buying your books.

Euphoria seizes you for a second, then you freeze. You consider the implications. Strangers are invading your secret world, the world you thought you had to yourself.  You go to your desk and sit down at the keyboard.

“I have to write some more books,” you say.

What writer’s block?