Writers Block: Up Against The Wall

[Em Keli 2003]

So we all run into the wall from time to time. We hit a dry spell and find ourselves in the middle of an empty hot dessert unable to find a dew drop of respite to quench our thirst. We all deal with it in our own ways, or some do not deal with it particularly well. Some are driven to the edge of madness. Some perhaps beyond even there.

Im curious if any of you could contribute here to some ideas on how to get over, around or through the wall of writers block when you run up against it.
Any and all ideas to help the rest of us tackle and conquer the beast that derprives us of our peace of mind and holds us back from our love of writing.

I wrote a piece called about writers block The Wall: I Cannot Write. I am curious to hear methods or ideas from any of you that have a trick which works for you. What works for one may not necessarily work for another but it may stimulate an idea that will work.

So please share your experiences up against the wall and how you overcame with the rest of us here.







==================
There's not much I can tell you......

 

[sanchopanza]

I let time heal that wound. Consequently I get little work done. Oh well maybe some body will suggest something for me.

 

[Gary Chambers]

Em,
Closest thing I ever found to a cure was this:

Write one sentence. Don't even think about another, just write one. Then write another that has some relationship to the first one. Even with writer's block you can write two sentences. The trick then is to write a third sentence that goes between the first two. It gets to be like a game. After you have three sentences write a sentence to go between the first and second, and one to go between the second and third. Then add a sentence at the top and then the bottom, and write sentences to go between them all again. This way you end up with a para in no time.

You can repeat the process over and over building paragraphs. People have written entire novels this way, although I think that would get tedious.

It's not perfect, but the closest thing I've found to a cure for the big 'B'. Hope it works for you.

GaryBob2

 

[gauchecritic]

The most popular advice I've heard on the boards about writer's block is to stop.

Like when you dig yourself into a conversational hole. Stop digging.

Don't stop writing (you can do that if you like), but stop writing what you're blocked on. Write something else. Anything. A humourous account of a mis-hap with a ten-shilling note. Describe the watch on your wrist in intimate detail. recount a meeting with your least favourite aunt. Anything. Sooner or later you'll want, need or be inspired to go back.

The other popular thing is not to write. Do something else altogether for as long as it takes.

Gauche

 

[Colleen Thomas]

I get it frequently. One thing I do is keep several stories going at once. Often, if I hit a wall on one I can flip to another and after reading a bit of it to refresh my memory, go with that one. As a biproduct, if I cannot get past the block I can do revisions, corrections, spell checking or research for one of the others and try to keep the story I am blocked on out of my head. This allows me to feel like I am being productive with my writing time, even when the words just won't come and really helps alleviate the frustration.

On the down side I have about 15 stories in various states of completion, some for which the orginal idea has long faded. These stories tend to meander along and you can pretty much tell where I left off and where I picked back up.

On the upside, on days like today when no words will come I have plenty of revision to do on something.

-Colly

 

[Em Keli 2003]

Colleen

Thanks for your valued input here....yes going back and editing is a pass time that I resort to as well. And revision is always something that is put off. So there is certainly plenty to occupy my time.

I also have several books in the works and each with a different flavor or bent that allows me to flow with moods and if none of those seem to work I do shorts, and poems.



Gauche

Thanks also for your insight. I have not tried to just simply write about a particular item like a watch or some such. I certainly will give that a shot I might also be able to simply go into a descriptive narrative about a scene, a house, a garden, that can be used / inserted into a story in some way at a later time. Thus I would not feel like I was simply spinning wheels on meanigless writing excercises.

 

[Em Keli 2003]

Sanchopanza


Ah but for youth and the hours to fritter away endlessly under a warm sun on a sandy beach, day dreaming about bouncing flesh and stretched seams on skimpy bikinis.

But it seems after I have passed the half dollar mark time chews on me like a school of piranna, nipping away endlessly, tick... tick...tick...time is no longer my luxury but instead my nemisis. My "to read" list only grows no matter how much I read and I have stacks of yellow legal pads to be tapped into the electric box on my desk.

Time does indeed help, I'm just seeking methods of staying on task and staying productive.

I do a minimum of one hour every day, writing. If I do more that is fine. If I do less the next day I owe two hours. I can never get ahead but I can get behind. It is a discipline I have had to beat into myself and I have not been more than seven hours due in the past five years. It is amazing what you can accomplish with a steady drip, drip, drip. I have one book finished, three in the works and probably sufficient poetry to cram into a few poetry books.

Ah now if I could only get published.....lol

 

[MartinConteggio]

I recommend stimulant abuse. I swear I'm not being a smart ass. As any speed freak will tell you, you never get writers block when you're gakked.

But you don't need to resort to amphetamines (in fact I would discourage this, your writing... while prolific, will drastically decrease in quality as you lose sleep). There are much less harmful stimulants. I personally love nicotine. Chocolate is a good one too.

Stay away from caffeine though, that'll kill ya.

 

[Guest]

I recommend stimulant abuse. I swear I'm not being a smart ass. As any speed freak will tell you, you never get writers block when you're gakked.

But you don't need to resort to amphetamines (in fact I would discourage this, your writing... while prolific, will drastically decrease in quality as you lose sleep). There are much less harmful stimulants. I personally love nicotine. Chocolate is a good one too.

Stay away from caffeine though, that'll kill ya.

Are you for real? Don't get me wrong, while I love your attitude and way of expressing yourself, I couldn't help but laugh at the last line.

You were saying it's ok to take speed, or other amphetamines, but don't drink coffee because it could be... wait for it... shock, horror... adverse to your health! Ha ha!

I drink Lucozade Sport Hydro-Active, that's all the kick I need.

Lou, still laughing!

 

[Em Keli 2003]

MARTIN

Stay away from caffeine though, that'll kill ya

Well for me I gave up on coffee... bought myself a home machine.
Now its a four banger of espresso. If that does not wake you then you might already be deceased. But I found no true relationship between drug inducements and the ability to get beyond the block. They are just pacifiers. Or worse. Distractions.

 

[Icingsugar]

Write one sentence. Don't even think about another, just write one. Then write another that has some relationship to the first one. Even with writer's block you can write two sentences. The trick then is to write a third sentence that goes between the first two. It gets to be like a game. After you have three sentences write a sentence to go between the first and second, and one to go between the second and third. Then add a sentence at the top and then the bottom, and write sentences to go between them all again. This way you end up with a para in no time.

You can repeat the process over and over building paragraphs. People have written entire novels this way, although I think that would get tedious.

It's not perfect, but the closest thing I've found to a cure for the big 'B'. Hope it works for you.

Yikes. It did. Thanks!

/Ice - writing away...

 

[Em Keli 2003]

GARYBOB

I agree with ICINSUGAR. I tackled a piece this morning that has given me fits for several months using your method. I actually made some headway. Whooo HOOOOO.....thanks.

 

[the brothers cum]

If faced with 'Writers Block' with one story, I just regard it as story blocked and put that story on hold and start another one. If there is a deadline however and that story must be finished I suggest using other creative ways to get into the story: do a free write on one of the characters, try making a pencil drawing the final scene of the story, write a scene one hour before the first scene of the story.

The other kind of 'Writer's Block' people face is the 'I have no ideas for stories' kind and I am always sceptical about that one. The world is full of stories to tell and there are actually too many stories. This kind of 'Writer's Block' is usually the result of the writer deciding they want to write one kind of thing. E.g. Writer 1 just wants to write a murder mystery. Writer 2 just wants to write science fiction.

Try something else. If all else fails, draw on personal life or history. If you can't think of any murder mystery idea, try writing a children's story.

Again, the only key impediment is if you have been contracted to write a murder mystery. In these cases, I think the best advice is do not want every idea to be 'brilliant'. Don't be afraid of bad stories. Many writers who say they have writers block actually have a million ideas but don't write them because 'it's been done'. Nonsense. On the one hand, everything has been done: when did you last see something totally original on the idea level. On the other hand, nothings been done. No-one would write it quite like you. It's how it's written that makes the book good. Consider '1984' and 'Brave New World'. A lot of similarities on the idea level, but they are also totally unique when it comes to how they are carried out.

Just write something. You can always edit it later.

 

[Quasimodem]

My cure for Writer's Block is almost the exact opposite of Gauche's.

Not to be difficult, but because that's what worked for me.

Twenty-five years ago I was the only copywriter at a little thousand watt radio station. My job was to write all the local commercial copy. I had a regular bunch of daily, weekly and monthly accounts to write, more short term accounts, and an occasional screamer that HAD to be written toot sweatily!

That said, I wrote my copy every day, and handled the occasional emergency copy fast. If not, there would be dead air (a MAJOR no-no in radio) and they would have to give the sponsor back his money. Five frozen seconds later, my ass would have hit the pavement outside the employee entrance.

Under these conditions, you write. Sometimes it comes out poop, sometimes it comes out pearls. The important thing is that it comes out, and gets on-air.

Batting out dreck, suddenly you find a good chunk. Pull it out, wipe it off, and start adding to it. You have to keep punching keys until you find something to hang the copy/article/speech/story on.

This has become infinitely easier, these last fifteen - twenty years, with the substitution of word processors for typewriters and paper.

That's my cure, and it has kept my ass employed for a quarter of a century. Course, my problem is overwriting and verbal diarrhoea.

But that's another story.

 

[Dirty Slut]

When I get writer's block...

I just stop writing, and go do something else. Life is full of stories that are just waiting to be found, so I just go looking for them.

DS

 

[MartinConteggio]

Are you for real? Don't get me wrong, while I love your attitude and way of expressing yourself, I couldn't help but laugh at the last line.

You were saying it's ok to take speed, or other amphetamines, but don't drink coffee because it could be... wait for it... shock, horror... adverse to your health! Ha ha!

I drink Lucozade Sport Hydro-Active, that's all the kick I need.

Lou, still laughing!

No, I don't think it's okay to take amphetamines... but I know seveal people (myself included) who have been able to quit. I only know 2 people (myself included) who have been able to quit caffeine. But I'm really not that preechy, and it's obviously your call.

For me though it's a sure thing for writters block. To Paraphrase William Gibson's Neuromancer; "No Coffee, no amphetamines... but up. Definetly up." I find as long as I'm getting elivated I can keep writting untill it hurts.

 

[Em Keli 2003]

Martin:

What ever works for you is fine by me. We each have to find our way through the woods. Being as we are writers here I suspect few, if any of us, stick to the well worn path, instead blazing our own trails.

I know Hemingway and Poe and Bukowski managed quite nicely with imbibing in liquids to excess, to unleash their creativity. For me, upon sober reflections following a stupor induced writing session, I have only added to my load to cart off to the trash bin the next day.

I do appreciate any and all input.