We talk a lot about writer’s block.
About barriers.
Walls.
Brick-and-mortar barricades that loom in front of us until we either smash through them or give up entirely.
Most of the time?
It’s not a wall you’re facing.
It’s a hump.
A hump is smaller than a wall. It’s awkward. Uncomfortable. Sometimes ugly. But it’s not immovable. You can get over it, around it, or through it—if you keep moving.
The Problem with Calling Everything a “Block”
“Block” sounds dramatic. Something final. Unbreakable without some major act of force.
That language convinces you you’re stuck in something big and insurmountable.
Humps don’t work like that. A hump is just a stretch you have to slog through, something that takes a little bit of care and effort to get over. The middle of a scene where your interest dips. The transition between two strong ideas. The editing pass you’ve been putting off because it’s fiddly and boring. The hard but important conversation you need to write.
You don’t need an epiphany to get over a hump. You need movement.
How to Get Over the Hump
- Change the angle. If you can’t write the scene as it stands, write the scene wrong. Make it absurd. Overdo it. Underdo it. The point is to break the tension between you and the page. Personally? I’ll often introduce Batman. Utterly ridiculous for everything I write, but he does have a way of moving a story forwards.
- Lower the bar. A hump doesn’t need a perfect leap. It just needs forward motion. Write 50 words. Move one paragraph. Fix one sentence. Start on the scene after the hump.
- Bribe yourself. Yes, you’re allowed. “I get coffee after I finish this section.” “I can watch that show once I’ve fixed this chapter.” It’s not childish—it’s training.
- Skip it entirely. Sometimes the fastest way over a hump is around it. Jump ahead to the next scene or section and come back later.
Humps Are Normal
Every project has them. Early ones are exciting. Endings can be exhilarating. Middles? Full of humps.
The key is not to romanticise them into mythical “blocks” that require divine intervention.
A hump isn’t a barrier to your writing life. It is your writing life—these are the moments where you decide whether you’re someone who stops, or someone who keeps going.
Keep going.
Get over your hump.