Overcoming Writer's Block

"Thinking without writing is not thinking"
"Thinking about writing without writing is not writing"
"Writing is not the artifact of thinking, it is thinking"

- Quotes by people smarter than me on the internet

Writer's block for me is where I cannot figure out what to write next. Usually it's for one of two reasons...

1) There are too many things in my head while thinking
2) There is nothing in my head while thinking

In either case, I've recently begun applying a technique that solves both of these issues. It's writing's equivalent of pose-to-pose from animation.

Here's a real example of a storyboard I was struggling to build, but later scrapped and how I went about thinking of it.

- MC is hanging out with heroine who he has a crush on
- ??

From here I think of where I want the story to end up. I want to build up tension to have a romantic moment.

- MC is hanging out with heroine who he has a crush on
- ??
- MC and heroine touch hands accidentally

I realize there needs to be some interaction that puts there two characters in close proximity.

- MC is hanging out with heroine who he has a crush on
- ??
- They play a video game together
- ??
- MC and heroine touch hands accidentally

Now I fill in the gaps.

- MC meets heroine and has a crush on her
- Heroine asks MC to teach her how to play games
- They play a video game together
- MC tries to help heroine
- MC and heroine touch hands accidentally

From here I usually write the dialogue straight through, knowing that I won't run into plot hiccups since I already have the outline.