Generating story ideas, for me, is rarely a problem. In fact, I have so many every day, that I'll neglect writing them down. My blocks, when I have them, inevitably come somewhere in the transition between the first and second act. What to do when you hit a patch of quicksand? I'll forge ahead writing garbage, knowing that I can rewrite later. Or I'll skip ahead to another scene, or backtrack and rewrite an earlier passage. Taking a short walk can't hurt, unless you're prone, like I am, to stumble into traffic. On occasion, I'll ask myself for a solution before I go to sleep-- more times than not I'll wake up with a plan. But in those times when all else fails, why not turn to music pioneer Brian Eno for help?

In 1975, Peter Schmidt and Eno created a system to fight creative roadblocks in the form of a deck of cards they called Oblique Strategies. Each card contains a simple creative nudge that can help you approach your dilemma in a novel way. For example, Destroy nothing. Destroy the most important thing. or What to increase? What to reduce? What to maintain?

You can purchase a handsome edition of Oblique Stratagies directly from Brian Eno's website, but they're a little pricey. They'd sure make a meaningful holiday gift for that destitute writer in your life, hint hint. Some online versions exist, including this fine one from Minimal Design.

What do you do to combat writers block? Are you immune?

PS. While I'm on my Brian Eno kick, I should mention that this sublime album is my absolute favorite to write to.