__It's not everyday you have the opportunity to restart an old project or breathe new life into it. (Though, looking at the current trend on TV, it's commonplace to "reboot" a series by jumping a couple of years into the future.) Over the last month, I have been revisiting the episodes from season 1, fixing a few issues that I missed during the original filming and editing. As I went through all those episodes, the back story details I added onto the website were in the back of my mind. I couldn't help but smile at myself for the little bits of information scattered throughout the back story and season 1. Some have paid off already, while others have laid the groundwork for what's to come in future seasons.

I'm a sucker for cliffhangers and Family Secrets was no different. I was pleasantly surprised by how few episodes did not end on a cliffhanger. The season finale was no exception. In true TV drama style, the audience was left hanging, wondering who was responsible for everything. As the series is on extended hiatus for 2012, a special "revelation" episode is scheduled for release on the 12th of February, revealing the truth of that fateful night.

"This is a blog about writing," I hear you groan. In my defense; Family Secrets was the longest writing project I have worked on. I do feel a little sadness now that season 1 is finished but am looking forward to the day when work starts on season 2. In the mean time, while the series is on hiatus, I can concentrate on my other writing. Specifically the science-fiction series I'm working on. I'm still no further in the major rewrite the second book needs but now the time has come for me to put "shoulder to the wheel" (if you'll pardon the cliche) and put all my efforts into it.

In the mean time, if you haven't already, head over to the official Family Secrets website and find out what caused all this hype.

I was talking to a friend of mine late last year and how I was struggling with book two as a particular plot line didn't flow. After going back and forth over the various aspects of the plot, I made a startling discovery - there was no particular character in that plot line the reader could identify with. Serious mistake on the part of myself as the writer. As I realised this, I felt a heavy weight fall on my shoulders. The only way to correct this, would be one of the words many writers cringe at. Rewrite!

So, printed copy and my favourite felt tip pen in hand, I set out to restructure. As I worked through the thirty-seven-thousand-odd words written thus far, I soon realised that in order to fix the problem plot, I will need to reshuffle some of the main plot as well. The sequence of events need to change, characters need to change. One whole subplot is going to fall by the wayside because it will no longer fit. No, wait. Hold that thought for a moment... (Just had an idea. That sub plot can still be used. With a few changes, such as the time, place and character, I can still use it.)

Now, where were I? Ah, yes. The dreaded rewrite. After finishing editing what I have written thus far, I'm setting about to make those changes. It's a slow progress as I'm also correcting little inconsistencies I noticed while editing. Once they are done, I can set about moving things around. Once that is done, it's back to the printed copy and pen to work through a second round of changes to fix the (now) inconsistencies.

As I'm doing this, I'm also finalising the last few changes for the update to my other website. Once that is done, I can fully concentrate on book two. Watch this space for progress updates!

Competing for readers' attention in the vast blogosphere is much tougher than it appears. There are hundreds, if not more, blogs by published authors, literary agents, publishing houses. I'm not foolish enough to think that mine would have the content or insight to compete with them. I do, however, endeavour to provide those just starting out on their journey to learn from my mistakes and the knowledge I've accumulated over the years. Together, we shall hopefully one day join the ranks of those names such as Sue Grafton, Simon Haynes, JK Rowling. So maybe my aspirations are set a little high, but it's a goal to strive towards. So, let us join together and start our journey afresh for 2012!

For one, we (my partner and I) have finally settled into the sunny Gold Coast, located in the most southern part of Queensland, Australia. Only 5 minutes' drive from beautiful beaches and warm, sunny days (how does 20 degrees Celsius sound in the middle of winter?). We've even been bitten by the water bug and bought ourselves a sit-in kayak each. Just imagine paddling down a quiet river, enjoying the warm sun. Living the life of luxury does have its drawbacks - an hour and twenty minute commute twice a day to and from work, which makes for very long days. Then again, reading a book for about an hour and a half beats sitting in traffic for two.

But it's not all bad. In that time, I have released two episodes of my machinima series, Family Secrets. I'm also working with some colleagues on a short film for a competition at work. It's quite satisfying being identified as the industry guru thanks to my machinima series.

Though I have done some work on the first draft of my next sci-fi novel, work on it is progressing slow as I only tend to work on it when I'm sitting on a plane, travelling somewhere for work. It's not ideal as it doesn't provide me with sufficient time really get stuck into it, but I am admittedly struggling with the storyline. I have a very good outline for the story, but it just seem to be dragging on. After a few action-packed first chapters, the story seems to have slowed down to a snail's pace. I need to kick-start it with some action somewhere before it decides to blow itself out of an airlock!

To top it all off, I have just taken on a new role, which offers some exciting challenges, but also require that I push my knowledge boundaries. Fortunately, I have a two-week holiday to look forward to in October, visiting family and friends back in South Africa.

In the mean time, I can't promise that life won't interfere with my writing.

Over the course of my 21 years of writing, I have been fortunate enough to only suffer from this dreaded affliction three times. The first lasted six months and the last case lasted two months. The second time, however, it lasted for close to 2 years. I did write during that time, but none of that was ever fortunate enough to exist for longer than what it took to press the delete key. Fortunately I was not dependant on my writing for a living. How did I get through those dreaded times?

1. Perseverance.
A common piece of advice given to new writers is to write every day; To set time aside every day to spend writing. No matter what you write, as long as you write.

When starting out, that could be a very daunting task for a new writer. What do you write about? That pressure of having to produce every day can mount until the pressure to write overshadows the want to write. The result: Writer's Block.

How do you not give in to that pressure? Don't give up. From personal experience I found that reading something I wrote previously (preferably quite a while ago), helps me to relax and forget about the pressure to write. Usually by the time I've finished reading I find myself doing some form of rewrite, which takes us to the next tip:

2. Rewrites
Take something you have written and rewrite it. Preferably something you didn't write recently that's still fresh in your mind. By reading something 'old', you quite often look at it from a new perspective, see things you didn't see before, spot mistakes you missed when you wrote it. There is no pressure to create something new because you have already done it. By rewriting you are still practising and improving your skill.

3. Read
It may seem a strange way to beat Writer's Block. As writers, we must study our subject. Reading the works of other writers can help to get the creative juices flowing again. I can't recall the number of times I read a book and thought to myself: "It would make an interesting story if this happened instead." Or "It would make for an interesting character if this was their motive." A single thought like that can sometimes be all you need to break the hold of Writer's Block.

4. Word Games
This tip I share is one of those silly games you can even teach your children to play. Grab any book. Don't be selective. Just reach into your book shelve and take a book. Randomly turn to a page and take the first word on the page. Sometimes you strike out and get a word such as 'is' or 'a'. Other times you strike the jackpot with a word like "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".

The game is to start a sentence with the first letter from that word. The next sentence starts with the next letter and so on until you've used all the letters. With a word like "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" you will end up with 34 sentences. There is no pressure to write a coherent story. Simply concentrate on starting each sentence with the next letter in the word.

5. Write whatever comes to mind
Lastly, forget about writing something worthwhile. Simply write down whatever comes to mind. Words, phrases, ideas. Don't worry if they don't make sense. The exercise is not to write something meaningful. The exercise is to simply restart your thinking patters.

"All good ideas", you say, "but do they actually work?" Earlier I mentioned that my last bout of writer's block lasted for two months. I've been struggling with the second book in my sci-fi series. The story wasn't going where I wanted to and the pace was too slow. I was beginning to fear that the story was just not going to work. Soon that fear turned into writer's block. After following these 5 tips, I'm back on track and is steadily working on the first draft.

Next time you sit in front of your computer/typewriter with a blank stare, try these 5 tips to help you kick start your writing again.

(P.S. Click here if you want to read my attempt at "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious")