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Stupid Mental Blocks that Get in Your Way

BuckyDuckman

BuckyDuckman

Literotica Guru
Joined
Sep 18, 2011
Posts
3,256
My mom, a voracious reader, once told me, "I hate flashbacks. I don't understand why an author can't just tell the story from beginning to end without flashing back."

As an author, I understand the value of a well executed flashback. And no, I never asked what she had read prior to making that statement.

Still, since that flip comment, I often cringe when writing a flashback and think, "Do I need to do this?"

Bonus BS: In college, I had literature professor claim good literature can only come from the very poor or the very rich. In her world view, the middle class writer was too comfortable to write about pain and too busy to waste time writing.

What gets in the way of your creative process?
 
The middle class is hag ridden by angst and guilt and anything controversial, so they get in the most trouble. White trash and debutantes cant care less if you see them in a bed filled with niggers or Mexicans. Its the teacher or nurse or MD who wants to cut her wrists if anyone finds out.

Scarlett and Connie cant care less who knows.
 
I'm not a fan of flashbacks, a tad too cinematic for me, but really like well constructed prologues - even epilogues at times.

What gets in the way of my creative process? Time!

With a couple of weeks unable to travel, I've enjoyed surfing the boards, finishing a Valentine story and nearly an Earth Day piece.
 
Life. When I finally have the log jam break and the words are spilling out, I write like a fiend. But as I peter along my mind keeps saying, "Hey - what about the laundry? Hey, wouldn't you rather play with your children instead of writing? Hey, take your wife out for a ride? Hey, maybe this story isn't so good and you should stop."

So what I do is balance everything out. After god knows how many years, I know I am most creative in the latter half of the day (with the sweet spot being after dinner) and make sure that I spread myself everywhere else until then. I can be a dad, a boss, a husband, a friend, a responsible adult, fun, serious, and capable - and still have time to write.

Best advice you can ever get is if you are beating your head against the keyboard? Just get the fuck up and walk away for a bit. Hours? Days? Weeks? Just walk away - if you force it, it doesn't come.

-V
 
The day of the week, the time of day, the month, the year, decade, what I'm trying to write about, who I'm trying to write about. Almost anything and everything, lately, has me blocked or cringing in my chair.

At some point in time, could be today or tomorrow, I will sit here and type a couple of thousand words which will spark the mind to want to do it again the next day.

Until that time, I am just a puddle of silly putty waiting for someone to play with me.
 
Yep, just life gets in the way. I'll want to write, but then who will do the dishes, or the laundry, or whatever. And how long do I have until I need to make a meal, pick up the kids, go to the dentist (like today). Part of me knows some of that can wait, and sometimes it does, but other times I feel like I should get it done to reduce the physical and mental clutter, and then I'll be able to write.

It's hard to get into the zone.
 
Fear, of course.

Fear of creating boredom that will be entrenched in words for all eternity.

I am halfway through a story right now. I just sent twenty pages to my editor with the question: Is this boring? I fear the answer will be yes. If so, I will shelve it in a heartbeat.


As for flashbacks, I don't mind short ones that drive the plot forward (one or two paragraphs). I also don't mind if the entire story is a single flashback. As long as I don't get a headache trying to figure out the timeline, I am okay with it. The Princess Bride is a wonderful example (more a flash over). The Kingkiller Chronicles are another excellent example (as I wait impatiently for day 3.)
 
I rarely give the reader a thought. What I contemplate is the effect I want to create.
 
I like to use flashbacks

I like to enter the story in a tight spot for the hero. I think that it is the best way to hook the reader. At some point in the action the hero will have a quite moment and he can think back to how he finds himself in such a spot. In my series called 'Lit World', I used the recorded images on a phone to serve as the flashback.

It might be a shortcut but it seems to work for me.
 
I usually don't have a problem once it starts going, so when a block shows up it is VERY noticeable and distinct. It's always on the cusp of a sex scene. And what results when I FINALLY get through it is extra intense and dirty and perverse. And sizzling hot (at least to me). So I can only think it's some relic of shame. You can't say that! You can't show that to people! It's some form of sexual repression, no doubt.
 
JAMESBJOHNSON said:
I rarely give the reader a thought. What I contemplate is the effect I want to create.
Click to expand...

I write the same way. I try to construct my stories from how I see the story playing out, so I can create the right emotional reactions from the readers. I found I can do pretty well anything in it, as long as I follow the formula I created for it.
What gets in my way is details. If I include anything that needs a detailed explanation, it requires me to stop writing and do research on it to get it right. That in turns stops the creative flow and it takes a bit to get back into it again.
 
As odd as it sounds, pov choice stops me sometimes. I'll get a good bunny, but for some reason get hung up on who's POV would work better. Then I'll decide to go with third person, but sometimes by then I've started to lose interest.
 
RoyceConnors said:
I write the same way. I try to construct my stories from how I see the story playing out, so I can create the right emotional reactions from the readers. I found I can do pretty well anything in it, as long as I follow the formula I created for it.
What gets in my way is details. If I include anything that needs a detailed explanation, it requires me to stop writing and do research on it to get it right. That in turns stops the creative flow and it takes a bit to get back into it again.
Click to expand...

Hemingway had your problem with details so what he said he did was think about what it was he was trying to depict, and within the depiction focus on the critical moments in the depictions. He was right, most events or processes have essential moments....like when they fire a rocket into space. At some distinct point you know its a go or a no-go.

Lemme cite an example: The borderline personality disorder diagnosis makes new shrinks crazy, you can fill a library with books on the subject and know nothing after reading all the books. Yet all you really need to know to get the diagnosis right is this: 15 minutes after you meet the person you wanna stab them thru their hearts with your pencil. They will frustrate you ever way God made.
 
JAMESBJOHNSON said:
Hemingway had your problem with details so what he said he did was think about what it was he was trying to depict, and within the depiction focus on the critical moments in the depictions. He was right, most events or processes have essential moments....like when they fire a rocket into space. At some distinct point you know its a go or a no-go.

Lemme cite an example: The borderline personality disorder diagnosis makes new shrinks crazy, you can fill a library with books on the subject and know nothing after reading all the books. Yet all you really need to know to get the diagnosis right is this: 15 minutes after you meet the person you wanna stab them thru their hearts with your pencil. They will frustrate you ever way God made.
Click to expand...

Did Hemingway learn how to do this from Pilot's father? You know he met him, had his picture taken and everything with him, pilot will tell you all about it.
 
lovecraft68 said:
Did Hemingway learn how to do this from Pilot's father? You know he met him, had his picture taken and everything with him, pilot will tell you all about it.
Click to expand...

I believe Hemingway did hire a tracker to go into the woods. He had heard the question, Does a bear shit in the woods? and had to see for himself. So it could be pilot's dad was that tracker on the hunt for bear shit. ;)
 
RoyceConnors said:
I believe Hemingway did hire a tracker to go into the woods. He had heard the question, Does a bear shit in the woods? and had to see for himself. So it could be pilot's dad was that tracker on the hunt for bear shit. ;)
Click to expand...

If the father was like Pilot, I hope Ernest had his high boots on, because bear shit would be the least of the shit he would be subjected to.
 
JAMESBJOHNSON said:
Hemingway had your problem with details so what he said he did was think about what it was he was trying to depict, and within the depiction focus on the critical moments in the depictions. He was right, most events or processes have essential moments....like when they fire a rocket into space. At some distinct point you know its a go or a no-go.

Lemme cite an example: The borderline personality disorder diagnosis makes new shrinks crazy, you can fill a library with books on the subject and know nothing after reading all the books. Yet all you really need to know to get the diagnosis right is this: 15 minutes after you meet the person you wanna stab them thru their hearts with your pencil. They will frustrate you ever way God made.
Click to expand...

Ironically enough, I did that sampling link and it said I write like Hemingway in one of my stories. I agree with his process on details, I do it quite similar in fashion.
 
Cadences

Not a block, per se but I'm experiencing a novel writing challenge right now. There is a cadence stuck my head, the way a song can get stuck on repeat to the point where it's all you can hear. So every time I write, or worse, proofread, my inner ear is sounding out the words as if they'll fit the cadence. And when they don't, my brain tries to find an edit to make them fit. It's like trying to write smut in iambic pentameter!

My coping mechanism at this point is to read out loud at a whisper. Then I can hear what it sounds like to a normal ear.

It's driving me bonkers (and slowing me down). I'm sure it will disappear in a day or so, but sheesh!

Anyone ever have this problem?
 
lovecraft68 said:
As odd as it sounds, pov choice stops me sometimes. I'll get a good bunny, but for some reason get hung up on who's POV would work better. Then I'll decide to go with third person, but sometimes by then I've started to lose interest.
Click to expand...

Yeah, POV kicks my ass sometimes, but I usually write through it. I've had stories that started in one POV and after a few thousand words, I realize, "Shit, this would work better in first person."

inkyscandal said:
Not a block, per se but I'm experiencing a novel writing challenge right now. There is a cadence stuck my head, the way a song can get stuck on repeat to the point where it's all you can hear. So every time I write, or worse, proofread, my inner ear is sounding out the words as if they'll fit the cadence. And when they don't, my brain tries to find an edit to make them fit. It's like trying to write smut in iambic pentameter!

My coping mechanism at this point is to read out loud at a whisper. Then I can hear what it sounds like to a normal ear.

It's driving me bonkers (and slowing me down). I'm sure it will disappear in a day or so, but sheesh!

Anyone ever have this problem?
Click to expand...

That's a new one on me!
 
lovecraft68 said:
Did Hemingway learn how to do this from Pilot's father? You know he met him, had his picture taken and everything with him, pilot will tell you all about it.
Click to expand...

I was thinking Hemingways daddy died young.
 
Deadlines

Deadlines are my nemesis. When I can write a story at my leisure I maintain consistent production. But when I'm faced with a hard deadline, like a contest, I struggle.

Curiously, deadlines in my work force me to be productive. I make the hard choices that stall production in the early phases of a project, and I find that what I get on paper when I'm under stress is pretty damn good--I don't have time to over think things.
 
BuckyDuckman said:
My mom, a voracious reader, once told me, "I hate flashbacks. I don't understand why an author can't just tell the story from beginning to end without flashing back."

As an author, I understand the value of a well executed flashback. And no, I never asked what she had read prior to making that statement.

Still, since that flip comment, I often cringe when writing a flashback and think, "Do I need to do this?"
Click to expand...

Your mom is not completely wrong. A flash back breaks the narrative flow and should only be used if absolutely needed.

Some authors routinely adds a flashback along the line of "back in highschool when i first met my future wife, blah blah blah...." whether or not it has any relevance for the story. That erodes the reading experience and is a waste of the writers time.



BuckyDuckman said:
What gets in the way of your creative process?
Click to expand...

Life...
 
Today shopping is getting in the way of writing. :p We need various items including a birthday present for my son's friend, and the party is tomorrow.

OTOH, the invitation was Dr-Who-themed and costumes are encouraged. My son is going as an Ood. I crocheted an Ood ski mask and now he gets to wear it, which I don't think I expected would actually happen.
 
PennLady said:
My son is going as an Ood. I crocheted an Ood ski mask and now he gets to wear it, which I don't think I expected would actually happen.
Click to expand...

I love those. Cosy and geeky at the same time.... :)

homemade-goodies-and-treats-1349924507.JPG
 
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