Steve Berry

Steve BerrySteve Berry is the author of thrillers such as The Columbus Affair and The Admiral's Mark.

What is your method for overcoming writer’s block?

There's really no such thing. All writers get stuck. I do everyday, several times a day. My method for unsticking is to go do something else. Tinker around the house. Yard work. Walk nine holes of golf. A diversion. Your mind relaxes and the problem works itself out. The real writer's block, the one to fear, is when the little voice in your head—the one that every writer has—the one that drives us forward and keeps us writing—goes silent. That means you're done. It's over. No more. Hopefully, that will never happen to any of us.

What are your favorite or most helpful writing prompts?

I don't really have any prompts. Writing is a discipline. Every writer has to develop a discipline that works for them—then stick to it. No amount of prompts can make that happen.

What is the most valuable advice you received as a young writer?

Keep writing. Never stop. Just write. It's the best advice anyone can ever give you. There's only one way to learn how to write and that is to write. I learned that early on from my writers groups and a wise man named Frank Green.