Knowing the trap

[DeMont]

Good evening my dear colleagues,
Just sitting here this afternoon listening to one of my favourite albums (1982's Blade Runner soundtrack) an extraordinary question popped into my mind. For some reason the line from Frank Herbert's "Dune" (2000) dropped into the l'il D-Brain...

"Knowing where the trap is—that's the first step in evading it". (This is spoken by Duke Leto Atreides to his son, Paul, just before their departure to Arrakis). I thought to myself we ALL know of the trap of "Writer's Block", we know "where" the trap is, it's where we try writing something. So, that, theoretically makes us aware of the location of the trap so why can't we avoid it rather than battle with it?

Knowing the trap is there is the first step, so what's the second, third and fourth? What gives you writers block? What, as a writer, gets you into that "blocked" position?
I wondered to myself, if we can somehow come to a list of suggestions of what causes writer's block perhaps we can go someway to teaching ourselves how to avoid it. We all have our own ways of dealing with it, we have all offered advice to our colleagues who are stuck.

What if we could minimise the "stuck" before even starting?
Most respectfully,
D.

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

Getting overwhelmed with too many ideas that it paralyzes me. What helps is writing things down, even as scattered notes--the masturbatory release, you could say.

 

[AlinaX]

My first question is: What do you actually mean by writer’s block?

I go through periods where I don’t write at all, and even start feeling like I’ve used up all the ideas and there’s nothing original left to write. And then a whimsical idea will strike and the words will pour out.

I get readers begging me for sequels, and that’s actually difficult. It’s usually possible to follow the characters for a while, but without an actual story to tell it lacks a compelling heart. But if some idea for a plot grabs me, then the words flow.

If I’m writing something longer, then I need to have some idea of what the overall story structure is. Not in detail, but enough to know where my characters need to be at different points. Writing then becomes like a jigsaw, filling in scenes as the muse strikes.

In all three cases, what matters is having a central idea that I believe in. It’s not enough to have interesting characters or to build a detailed world for them, you need to have a story you want to tell.

And if you do have a story you want to tell, but the telling feels dry to the point you’re boring yourself, sit back and ask:
- Do I need to change tense, POV, something?
- Do I need to introduce a new character?
- Do I need to tell the story in a different order?
In other words, don’t force yourself to write what clearly isn’t working. Take a breath and be willing to start again, adapting what you can, discarding the rest.

 

[Rob_Royale]

For me it's over-analyzing my story ideas before I start writing. Getting them too fleshed out in my head has been detrimental to holding my interest. Now I create my characters, give them names and appearances, and come up with the opening scene, but I leave the rest very unfocused. The pendulum between planner and pantser is shifting as I evolve as a writer.

 

[iwatchus]

For me it's over-analyzing my story ideas before I start writing. Getting them too fleshed out in my head has been detrimental to holding my interest. Now I create my characters, give them names and appearances, and come up with the opening scene, but I leave the rest very unfocused. The pendulum between planner and pantser is shifting as I evolve as a writer.

Pretty soon, you will be writing clowns in sewers. Although teddy bears with horns seems close already.

 

[Erozetta]

Good evening my dear colleagues,
Just sitting here this afternoon listening to one of my favourite albums (1982's Blade Runner soundtrack) an extraordinary question popped into my mind. For some reason the line from Frank Herbert's "Dune" (2000) dropped into the l'il D-Brain...

"Knowing where the trap is—that's the first step in evading it". (This is spoken by Duke Leto Atreides to his son, Paul, just before their departure to Arrakis). I thought to myself we ALL know of the trap of "Writer's Block", we know "where" the trap is, it's where we try writing something. So, that, theoretically makes us aware of the location of the trap so why can't we avoid it rather than battle with it?

Knowing the trap is there is the first step, so what's the second, third and fourth? What gives you writers block? What, as a writer, gets you into that "blocked" position?
I wondered to myself, if we can somehow come to a list of suggestions of what causes writer's block perhaps we can go someway to teaching ourselves how to avoid it. We all have our own ways of dealing with it, we have all offered advice to our colleagues who are stuck.

What if we could minimise the "stuck" before even starting?
Most respectfully,
D.

Ermm...

I was doing pretty good until I went off my meds at the beginning of the year. I now have the attention span of a goldfish and can't focus for shit unless I completely cut out any distractions including eating and sleeping. But then I finish three in a single week!

 

[Jorunn]

My stories stall after I write the exciting parts. I am left with uninspiring but still essential connecting chapters. Then the daunting grammar cleanup. Like @Erozetta, any distraction becomes almost welcome.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I don't know that I suffer from writers block in the way most people define it. My methodology of doing significant amounts of plotting before any actual writing allows me to just move to a different part of the story if I am feeling bogged down.

When I run into difficulty is when life is too interruptive, with family issues or, more often, work demands overwhelming my writing opportunities. I find when that has happened, and I return to writing, I'm like an old car trying to get up a steep hill. The going is slow but if I keep my foot on the pedal I can keep moving and eventually top the grade and kick it up to full speed.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

I was doing pretty good until I went off my meds at the beginning of the year. I now have the attention span of a goldfish and can't focus for shit unless I completely cut out any distractions including eating and sleeping. But then I finish three in a single week!

I'm not your doctor, but please don't go an entire week without eating or sleeping.

--Annie

 

[iwatchus]

For me, it's mostly my emotional state. If I am too anxious or too depressed, both too common, I usually can't write. I one bout, I did manage to find I could write a 750, which largely got me out of the funk and let me write something meatier.

 

[Erozetta]

I'm not your doctor, but please don't go an entire week without eating or sleeping.

--Annie

I typically pass out after two days without sleep, all's good.

 

[AG31]

For me it's over-thinking. When I find myself stuck, I try to relax and let the fantasy blossom on its own. Where there are empty spots in the story I find I'm hiding from something. It's always better to let them fill in.

 

[SkyBubble]

Getting overwhelmed with too many ideas that it paralyzes me. What helps is writing things down, even as scattered notes--the masturbatory release, you could say.

Yes, I was about to say jsut a short phrase or two, enough that you can more or less recreate the idea when you pick it up later.

 

[SkyBubble]

I'm not your doctor,

But do you play one on TV?

 

[DeMont]

Ermm...

I was doing pretty good until I went off my meds at the beginning of the year. I now have the attention span of a goldfish and can't focus for shit unless I completely cut out any distractions including eating and sleeping. But then I finish three in a single week!

@Erozetta,
My dear colleague, I don't pretend to be a doctor, nor yet a representative for a pharmaceutical conglomerate however, do you think that letting go of the "meds" was a good move in hindsight? Either health-wise or physiologically? I don't know about anyone else but I would think that doing "stuff" like eating, sleeping etc. are a most central point to maintaining good health. Have you considering putting everything back the way it was and finding that "doing pretty good" workaround again?
Respectfully concerned, your colleague,
D.

 

[DeMont]

Good morning, just,
For me it usually takes one of three forms my dear colleagues.

1) The character (MC) dries up and becomes a cardboard cutout rather than a real, three dimensional, thinking, feeling, conscious being. Kills everything.
2) The plotting becomes too cumbersome for the nature of the story. A point when all of a sudden you find it becomes necessary to "spoon feed" your readers so they can stay with it. That just blows the spontaneity out of the water.
3) The sex becomes formulaic... how can I describe that? Ah, yes, "Insert tab A into slot A, B or C repeatedly and rapidly".

The only other thing I can point to is that if I have a "great" idea, start to write it and suddenly discover the whole idea wasn't so "great" after all. (Shoulda thought about it a bit more!)
Respectfully,
D.

 

[Erozetta]

@Erozetta,
My dear colleague, I don't pretend to be a doctor, nor yet a representative for a pharmaceutical conglomerate however, do you think that letting go of the "meds" was a good move in hindsight? Either health-wise or physiologically? I don't know about anyone else but I would think that doing "stuff" like eating, sleeping etc. are a most central point to maintaining good health. Have you considering putting everything back the way it was and finding that "doing pretty good" workaround again?
Respectfully concerned, your colleague,
D.

It was a deal I made with someone last year. At the end of the year if I haven't adjusted, I can go back on them.