Writer's block. What's your cure?

[MColton84]

This isn't my typical "I need help" thread. I was in the middle of writing out a scene and my mind went completely blank. I spent the next two hours trying to force the wheels to start turning with only two more incomplete sentences to show for it. Writers block. In the past, it has caused me to be unproductive for days on end, loose interest in stories, and abandon them all together. Tonight, however, I went out to the pole barn and spent an hour on my punching bag. After that, I had one more cup of coffee and went to bed. Within minutes of laying down, a barrage of ideas came flooding into my head. This got me thinking about the writing process, and how others handle the same obstacles.

Has this ever happened to you? You get stuck and miraculously break down your wall. If so, what was your cure? How do you contend with Writer's block?

 

[KeithD]

Any time I seem to be stuck on writing, I go off and do something else that's enjoyable and my muse then immediately starts whining about getting back to the computer.

 

[MsNatalie99]

Has this ever happened to you? You get stuck and miraculously break down your wall. If so, what was your cure? How do you contend with Writer's block?

I am glad to see you starting a new thread. Way to not let the trolls win.

To answer your question, when I can’t get my creative juices flowing, I go out for a run. You know, clear my head. I can usually get back to my painting or poetry after the post-run shower.

 

[MColton84]

Any time I seem to be stuck on writing, I go off and do something else that's enjoyable and my muse then immediately starts whining about getting back to the computer.

I can see that. One thing I found was that I can't turn to the TV or video games. That usually eats a ton of time and I am still stuck when I turn it off.

 

[MColton84]

I am glad to see you starting a new thread. Way to not let the trolls win.

Thanks Nat.

 

[RejectReality]

I can see that. One thing I found was that I can't turn to the TV or video games. That usually eats a ton of time and I am still stuck when I turn it off.

I'm the opposite. As often as not, when I hit a prolonged rut, replaying old CRPGs or Dragon Quest is what I turn to. Once I hit a certain low point of motivation, trying just makes it worse. So, I occupy the computer with something else.

 

[MColton84]

I'm the opposite. As often as not, when I hit a prolonged rut, replaying old CRPGs or Dragon Quest is what I turn to. Once I hit a certain low point of motivation, trying just makes it worse. So, I occupy the computer with something else.

That makes sense to me. Usually I have to do something physical to work off my excess stress, and then I get a recharge when I relax after. It's kinda neat how that works.

 

[SamScribble]

I usually change the music - literally - and start working on a non-fiction piece. When I get back to the original piece, things have usually fallen back into place. I'm not sure why it works, but it usually does.

 

[MsNatalie99]

I usually change the music - literally - and start working on a non-fiction piece. When I get back to the original piece, things have usually fallen back into place. I'm not sure why it works, but it usually does.

I have done that as well. Except in my case it was switching from writing to painting and pop to country.

 

[TxRad]

What's your cure?

A double shot of Jack Daniels, three blankets, and a long nap. Oh wait, that might be for the flu but then again....

 

[MColton84]

What's your cure?

A double shot of Jack Daniels, three blankets, and a long nap. Oh wait, that might be for the flu but then again....

I love that answer.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I no longer experience writer's block.

My cure was to have multiple stories in the works at the same time. If the romantic piece hits a snag, I move over to the erotic piece, and if that doesn't do it for me, I might go back to the children's story for a while.

If none of that works, try reading stories from your favorite writers to regain some inspiration.

 

[Omenainen]

No cure, if I don't feel like writing I just don't. There's no need for me to produce anything at all, so it's all the same if I write or don't. This is a hobby for me and I'm not organized and goal oriented enough to try and apply any structure to doing this.

 

[Isabel_Innuende]

I go for a long walk and think about it, or if I'm really stuck, I ring one of my best friends who is a brilliant plotter and script doctor, and I ask his advice on how to play with the mechanics of the scene I'm trying to write.

 

[JuanSeiszFitzHall]

No cure, if I don't feel like writing I just don't. There's no need for me to produce anything at all, so it's all the same if I write or don't. This is a hobby for me and I'm not organized and goal oriented enough to try and apply any structure to doing this.

No ‘cure’ for me either. I do various things to occupy myself while waiting it out, such as real-life stuff that I may have been neglecting. Fortunately, the block eventually departs, with the same lack of apparent reason which caused it to arrive. Late last year I had neither ideas nor motivation. Since then, I’ve finished a contest entry, I’ve cooked up three stories now in the final stages of editing, and I’m slogging through a series that may have five parts, two of which are in full drafts. The block, naturally, will return before the series is finished.

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't have writer's block, exactly. If I open up a story and focus on it I can almost always write something, although the pace of my writing varies greatly. My problem is that I get distracted by other things and do NOT make myself open up the story to write it in the first place. I also have so many unfinished stories that sometimes it's hard for me to concentrate on one and get it done.

A way around writers's block, IMO, is to have other stories to work on. If you are having problems with one story, then work on another. Don't beat your head against the wall.

 

[KeithD]

I don't sit down cold to the computer because it's writing time. When I sit down to write I already have what I'm going to start off writing rumbling around in my head.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I don't have writer's block, exactly. If I open up a story and focus on it I can almost always write something, although the pace of my writing varies greatly. My problem is that I get distracted by other things and do NOT make myself open up the story to write it in the first place. I also have so many unfinished stories that sometimes it's hard for me to concentrate on one and get it done.

You'd never struck me as a "shiny objects" kind of a guy, but Suzie is a Zen master of concentration, by comparison .

 

[DarkWhispers2U]

How do you contend with Writer's block?

For me short term blockages can be dealt with by running a few errands or doing chores. Movement seems to help get ideas flowing generally. Long term blocks usually mean there is something wrong with my story and until I figure out what the problem is, I won't be able to move on.

I did get over a 6-month writer's block once by indulging in a few drinks (not common for me). I already knew what was going to happen next, but I couldn't get myself to write. Just didn't know where to start the chapter. The alcohol kicked me out of hiding, so-to-speak, made me evaluate where I was emotionally (having lost both parents and father-in-law in the same year). That got me thinking about the p.o.v. character's own emotional state after so many challenges and losses. As soon as I keyed into that, I was ready to write.

 

[MColton84]

A way around writers's block, IMO, is to have other stories to work on. If you are having problems with one story, then work on another. Don't beat your head against the wall.

I've never tried to have multiple stories going at once. I find it difficult to juggle the two plots at once. I think that you are the second person to say that in the thread. It sounds like it would definitely be a productive approach when done correctly.

 

[MaxSebastian]

writer's block 'cures'

I would move on to a different scene, or the next part of the story, and know that I can always come back to tie up loose ends. If I'm blocked for the whole story, I'll turn to a different one, or if nothing much takes my fancy, I'll start a new story.

I guess my approach isn't the most efficient -- I have about 250,000 words of unfinished stories of various lengths waiting for me to get back to them -- but better to keep writing regularly in some form than to just stop for long periods at a time, in my view.

Sometimes walking the dog, or doing something else might get me back in the right mood, of course, but personally I've never found alcohol helped me as far as writing goes. Just makes me sleepy!

 

[MColton84]

For me short term blockages can be dealt with by running a few errands or doing chores. Movement seems to help get ideas flowing generally. Long term blocks usually mean there is something wrong with my story and until I figure out what the problem is, I won't be able to move on.

I did get over a 6-month writer's block once by indulging in a few drinks (not common for me). I already knew what was going to happen next, but I couldn't get myself to write. Just didn't know where to start the chapter. The alcohol kicked me out of hiding, so-to-speak, made me evaluate where I was emotionally (having lost both parents and father-in-law in the same year). That got me thinking about the p.o.v. character's own emotional state after so many challenges and losses. As soon as I keyed into that, I was ready to write.

I'm sorry for your losses. I lost my brother last year and it didn't cause a block as much as it kick started my writing. I can relate to putting your real feelings into a fictional work.I would try a Vodka reboot on my writing if I wasn't 100% sure that my wife would kick my ass. For me, it's mostly exercising that clears it up.

 

[yukonnights]

No cure, if I don't feel like writing I just don't. There's no need for me to produce anything at all, so it's all the same if I write or don't. This is a hobby for me and I'm not organized and goal oriented enough to try and apply any structure to doing this.

This is my response too. I don't fret much about these stories, they either unfold or they don't. I would also think that the length and complexity of a story would have some influence on whether one was to get blocked midway through.

On a longer story, I do usually have an outline for the main events and overall direction. This at least points to the next planned parts. The outline sometimes changes as I work through it though. For most of my stories, I'm basically transcribing the movie in my head. If the movie won't run for some reason I'm more likely than not to just abandon it.

All in all, Lit and these stories are such a small piece of my life that it's not of much concern if I have writer's block or not.

 

[KeithD]

I would move on to a different scene, or the next part of the story, and know that I can always come back to tie up loose ends. If I'm blocked for the whole story, I'll turn to a different one, or if nothing much takes my fancy, I'll start a new story.

It's different with me, perhaps because I worked in flash, "No choice but to deliver a finished piece by X time," news analysis. If I reach a blocked point (often because I can't surface the exact word I want to use), I don't go on to another piece of the work. I use the "I need to get to the rest of it" incentive just to bust through, even if I have to write something that doesn't quite get it and tell myself to come back to it later. I don't leave holes. I will fill in more later, but I steam from beginning to end in the first draft.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

What's your cure?

A double shot of Jack Daniels, three blankets, and a long nap. Oh wait, that might be for the flu but then again....

Actually, Tx, that's pretty much the cure for anything that ails. If you ask me, anyway...

No cure, if I don't feel like writing I just don't. There's no need for me to produce anything at all, so it's all the same if I write or don't. This is a hobby for me and I'm not organized and goal oriented enough to try and apply any structure to doing this.

Same here. I write when I feel like it, don't if I don't. There usually seem to be ideas and sketches rattling around in my brain. Whether they get memorialized is a matter of a different kind of motivation.