Check-Ins – A Technique for Combating Writer’s Block

I call my anti-writer’s block technique the “Check-In.”

Check-Ins are deep-breath, full pauses where you directly evaluate why you’re stuck at a certain point in your story. That evaluation is a set of simple, introspective questions that help you gain some distance from your work, identify what’s causing the writer’s block, and move past it.

With these questions in my back pocket, it’s been literal years since I’ve experienced writer’s block–I swear. I honestly do not remember the last time I was seriously stumped about where a story should go. But, even better than that, these Check-Ins have made me more honest with myself and more consistent with my creativity; worldbuilding and outlining go way, way faster for me now because I can get quick final answers for potential story beats instead of casually blue skying them for months (like I used to when I was younger).

With all of that said…

Disclaimer: I cooked up this technique because I used to bulldoze straight through bouts of Writer’s Block and it never worked out well. I didn’t intentionally design this technique though–it was the solution that developed organically when I realized I couldn’t just write past problem areas and hope everything worked out. As such, this tool requires you to at least consider killing your darlings. If you aren’t comfortable with that or if you’re 100% certain everything you’ve written so far works and needs to stay, this tool might not help you.

What a Check-In Looks Like

Questions. As I mentioned above, Check-Ins are just a set of questions that you answer when you’re stuck. Easy.

The only remotely complicated part of the process, in my experience, is the need to use a pen. I don’t know why, but, for me, answering these questions aloud or just ruminating on them does not work as well as answering them on paper or a computer; either way, writing out these answers really helps me pace myself and brainstorm, so the solution to the block just clicks into place mid-scrawl, every time. You might be different, but just because it works so consistently for me, I recommend writing out your answers.

Anyway, on to the questions.

1. Where does the block start?

In my experience, a block doesn’t just come out of thin air. Most times, there’s some idea or event in your story that isn’t working, but you aren’t quite aware of it. Maybe you’re too focused on hitting word goals or you’re determined to keep following an outline that felt perfect. Either way, your plot hits a Block. A dead end that doesn’t give you enough fuel or present enough options for you to continue writing plot events that you’re excited about.

To figure out where the turn toward that dead end starts, consider the most recent events in your plot and ask yourself if any of them feel weird or ill-fitting for your story.

If the answer is yes, try to roll back to the last point where you were really confident about your plot.

If the answer is no, that’s fine. Consider the next items on your outline to find the upcoming event that feels weird or ill-fitting.

When you have that problematic moment in mind, move on to question 2.

Example: I’ve hit a snag in my story where Gwin and Elise enter a town. The idea is to have them get in an altercation with the town guard due to being framed by a thief. However, I keep getting stuck after the altercation. I’m just not sure how they escape. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out if they escape through the sewers or over the rooftops, but the second I start trying to write the scene, I just can’t.

2. What don’t I like about this part of the story? Why does it feel weird?

It feels like an obvious question, but it really isn’t when you’re close to your story, as we usually are.

Stepping back and taking the roll of editor for a moment makes it a bit easier to identify when and why a story element feels strange, so try your best to pull back and cast an outsider’s critical eye on the block.

Example: It just doesn’t feel like what I meant for this story to be? I dunno. A fun, Fantasy-style tussle with guards just doesn’t feel right for this story. Like, somehow, it doesn’t even feel realistic?

3. Is there a good reason to keep this part of the story?

A question that I’ve gotten extremely comfortable with over time but still don’t ask myself often enough. Does the problem part of the plot need to happen, or am I just defaulting to saving my darlings?

Sometimes, the answer is a clean no, in which case, you have the heart of your block and you know what to change with the following questions.

Other times it’s a confident yes, or an exhausting maybe? In either case, you need to consider the elements around the problem part to find the aspect of it that really doesn’t work. When you find it, you’ve found the heart of the writer’s block.

Example: There is a good reason to keep the altercation. It highlights the kind of complications that Gwin faces as an Avian/animal-person. But there is something wrong here. Maybe it’s that they escape? Maybe they shouldn’t get away? I think that bit of it just feels too unlikely and easy?

4. What are some alternatives to the problematic part of the story?

These last three questions are my favorite part and the real meat of the technique. List all the possible alternatives to the problematic part of the story, calling on every relevant trope you can.

Also, have fun; open your writer’s eye and peer into alternate realities for your story like the omniscient freak you are.

Example:

1. Gwin and Elise get caught and arrested.

2. Gwin and Elise are saved by a character.

3. Gwin and Elise just surrender instead of fighting.

4. One of them sacrifices themselves to help the other get away.

5. Going down the list, what are the pros and cons of each option?

Keying into the themes, goals, and heart of your WIP, consider how each of the options you cooked up works with your story.

Remember that none of these potential plot threads exist yet, so you don’t have to feel committed to any of them; the goal is always to find the one that works best for the story you want to write, not the one that’s the coolest (unless you’re going for Rule of Cool, I guess).

Example:

1. Gwin and Elise get caught and arrested.

2. Gwin and Elise are saved by a character.

3. Gwin and Elise just surrender instead of fighting.

4. One of them sacrifices themselves to help the other escape.

6. Which set of pros and cons work best for your story–and provides the most intrigue and fuel–without weighing it down too much?

This is a call that only you can make, because no one will ever know your story as well as you do.

Again, remember that the goal is to choose an option that suits your story best, not an option that’s going to be the most fun or outwardly impressive. In the examples above, I marked two as “dry,” but one of those (option 3) was a top contender for where I’d take the story. Because, yes, you would expect someone to surrender when being falsely accused of a crime, but there’s real potential there in seeing how the story’s Fantasy setting would handle an animal-man it’s predisposed to think of as less-than-human. In the same light, placing “Realistic” under “Pros” like I did above might be the worst choice for your story; you might be writing a bombastic Sci-Fi/Fantasy epic that intentionally uses outlandish imagery, where “Realistic” is the lamest shit in the world. Always remember that the best choice here is the one that suits your themes and goals.

Example: I’m definitely most excited about option 4. It has a ton of potential but doesn’t add a horrible amount of baggage. I will need to plan how to smooth it out (maybe by transitioning to the next part after the original escape [saving the planned recovery in the woods for later]).

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And that’s it. With your answer in hand, that bout of writer’s block should be over. At least it would be for me, which means that this is as far as the technique goes for me. I hope that it helped you or at least inspired you to create your own process for defeating writer’s block.

In the future, these questions will be on the Resources page with shortened instructions for quick reference.

Thanks for reading, and if you’d like to check out some of my fiction . . .

“Aixa the Hexcaster” was published at Mirror Dance Fantasy in 2016: http://www.mirrordancefantasy.com/2016/09/aixa-hexcaster.html.

“A Facet of That Faceless Death” is available to read, for free, on this site: https://louissantiago-author.com/short-fiction/a-facet-of-that-faceless-death/. However, it was initially performed on the NoSleep Podcast in 2024 (be advised, my story is one of the two on the pay-walled, members-only section of the episode; to hear it, you would have to get a $5 membership to NoSleep): https://www.thenosleeppodcast.com/episodes/s21/21×11.

Until next time, happy writing.