Perhaps nothing is more dreaded among writers than writer's block. Oh sure, we've all read the Sunday Times' interviews of famous authors who express surprise that anyone suffers from writer's block when, for these gods of literature, the words simply come tumbling out, elbowing each other in their haste to get to the screen. And, who knows, maybe these writers never have to deal with writer's block, but the rest of us, mere mortals that we are, must occasionally battle this particular demon.

To know one's enemy is to have a leg up on one's enemy, so let's take a look at three common causes of writer's block—and a few strategies you can use to beat it into submission.

Cause number one: You've got nothing to say

This malady in itself exists for at least three reasons. One is lack of passion for what you are writing about. How can you wax elegant about something if you have no real interest in it?

Clear this hurdle by changing subjects when possible or, when not, by looking for an angle on the subject in which you can get interested. Find you need 500 words on golf, but hate the sport? Write about why you hate it. Maybe it's distasteful to you because every time you and your husband take a weekend vacation, he deserts you to play a five-hour round. In this case, you might write about how you and other golf widows fill these lonely hours, offering positive strategies such as visiting a day-spa or museum hopping.

Another reason you might have nothing to say is because you don't have enough information on the topic. This becomes apparent when you find yourself trying to pad whatever it is you're writing just to get the word count up. The cure here is to go back to the library or the Internet and do more research. When you have plenty of information, there will be plenty to write.

This works with fiction too. Need to provide background on a 90-year-old character's tendency to hoard? Pull out Marc McCutcheon's authoritative Writer's Guide to Everyday Life from Prohibition Through World War II (Writer's Digest Books) and research the Great Depression for ideas on what this fellow may have lived through while he was raising his family.

A third reason writers find themselves with nothing to say is that they have no plan for what they are going to write. Even if only in your head, you have to have some idea of the structure of what it is you intend to write. Make a simple outline by jotting down the key concepts you want to get across and then rearrange them until they form a logical order. Pick one concept and write what it is you want to say about it, then go on to the next. Pretty soon, the piece will have written itself.

Cause number two: Perfectionism

If you allow your internal editor—probably in the voice of your high school English teacher—to interfere with comments like, "Does a comma really belong there?" or "That's not how you spell ‘liaison,' " you'll never get anything written. Allow yourself to write a flawed first draft—then go back and edit what you wrote.

Cause number three: Self-doubt

Entertaining negative thoughts such as "I'm never going to get this published" or "My writing stinks," drains your creativity and sets you up for failure. If you can't banish such thoughts outright, build up your confidence in stages. Obtain objective opinions on your writing by joining a critique group or taking a writing class. Write and publish short pieces in lesser-known periodicals—nothing increases confidence like seeing your own byline, no matter what the venue.

Next time this demon visits you, put these strategies to work and send it scurrying back into it's barren lair.

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Stephen Blake Mettee, publisher, Quill Driver Books/Word Dancer Press, Inc. is the editor of The Portable Writers’ Conference, a Writer’s Digest Book Club Selection, and the author of The Fast-Track Course on How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal.