best way of dealing with block is to...

[Guy Delphine]

... write through it. Here I am, just spent the last 3 days miserably depressed because I can't write anything, and today i just said "fuck it", and got on with it. So I implore all yea people, when your body says "nea", just say "yea", and write, write, write. Just write.

 

[Liar]

... write through it. Here I am, just spent the last 3 days miserably depressed because I can't write anything, and today i just said "fuck it", and got on with it. So I implore all yea people, when your body says "nea", just say "yea", and write, write, write. Just write.

Epiphany is 1% inspiration and 99% transpiration.

...or however that saying goes.

 

[Softouch911]

... write through it. Here I am, just spent the last 3 days miserably depressed because I can't write anything, and today i just said "fuck it", and got on with it. So I implore all yea people, when your body says "nea", just say "yea", and write, write, write. Just write.

I found a trick many years ago in Hemingway that has served me well time after time. Don't know if it will help anyone else, but ....

When you finish writing for the day, know where you're going next. Not as in at the end of a scene and you know what you want to happen next .... But in the middle of a sentence and in the middle of a scene so you know what words and sentences will immediately follow.

This makes it so I don't have to "start" in the morning but can just pick up where I left off.

Works for me.

Softouch

 

[carsonshepherd]

I found a trick many years ago in Hemingway that has served me well time after time. Don't know if it will help anyone else, but ....

When you finish writing for the day, know where you're going next. Not as in at the end of a scene and you know what you want to happen next .... But in the middle of a sentence and in the middle of a scene so you know what words and sentences will immediately follow.

This makes it so I don't have to "start" in the morning but can just pick up where I left off.

Works for me.

Softouch

In this novel(?) I'm working on right now, I don't have writer's block, but I do get roadblocks - scenes that don't want to be written for some reason. It takes me days of staring at the screen and whimpering to myself to just get past some simple action or group of actions. Sometimes it's just one sentence. I do sometimes leave off in the middle of a sentence, literally. Then I get up and do something (taking a shower is a great mind-clearer) then come back and write the thing.

I'm trying something new, what do you think of it? I used to draft and revise at the same time, I'd go back every time I sat down to write and revise what came before. This time I'm trying to resist that urge, and just sit down and write the thing. My previous chapters are riddled with continuity errors that are killing me not to go back and fix... but if I ever finish this thing, I can fix them then. I'm getting more comfortable with it, but it's still rough on me, because it's a totally new way of doing what I've done for so long... but something must be working because I've written almost 6 chapters in as many weeks.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I'm trying something new, what do you think of it? I used to draft and revise at the same time, I'd go back every time I sat down to write and revise what came before. This time I'm trying to resist that urge, and just sit down and write the thing. My previous chapters are riddled with continuity errors that are killing me not to go back and fix... but if I ever finish this thing, I can fix them then. I'm getting more comfortable with it, but it's still rough on me, because it's a totally new way of doing what I've done for so long... but something must be working because I've written almost 6 chapters in as many weeks.

That's the NaNo way: write. Write shit, write stream of consciousness, write errors and mistakes, but just write and don't look back. Get to the end and then you can back and straighten everything out.

I've done that too, because I think it's easier to edit and revise than it is to write it in the first place. Sometimes it's terrifying though, because you feel like you're on a bridge and there's no road ahead and the road back can't be trusted.

 

[BlackShanglan]

That's the NaNo way: write. Write shit, write stream of consciousness, write errors and mistakes, but just write and don't look back. Get to the end and then you can back and straighten everything out.

I've done that too, because I think it's easier to edit and revise than it is to write it in the first place. Sometimes it's terrifying though, because you feel like you're on a bridge and there's no road ahead and the road back can't be trusted.

Agreed, but I also think it the best way. All of the real work, for me, is done in revision anyway - and all of the interesting work at that. I'm always eager to just get the words out and get moving on the real work.

I think it was George Sands who wrote 1,000 words a day come hell or high water. It was a good plan. Doesn't matter if it's 1,000 words of crap - just write it.

Perhaps it has something to do with drilling into your mind that you *are* a writer? That you write in part to say "yes, I write - and I will have the courage to keep doing it"?

Shanglan

 

[NoJo]

As any DIY person will tell you, wiring is rewiring.

 

[carsonshepherd]

It's hard to let go of my need for perfection, though... it literally hurts to see those glaring continuity errors and holes in the plot. *shudder*

 

[yui]

It's hard to let go of my need for perfection, though... it literally hurts to see those glaring continuity errors and holes in the plot. *shudder*

Keep going. What you're doing is working beautifully. It's brilliant.