Writers block.

[Down4fun91]

Not a worthwhile inquiry

[ No longer Here ]

 

[MagicaPractica]

Make a list of ten things that could happen.
Free write about it.
Talk about it out loud, to someone or a digital recorder.

In effect, put one word in front of the other even when you don't feel like it. Many good writers have said that if they show up and work hard, eventually the muse believes them and shows up too. I have found this to be true.

Good luck.

 

[Down4fun91]

[ No longer Here ]

 

[GeraldG]

You might want to provide us a little tiny bit of the story line, so that we can remark on it or give suggestions That might get your juices going.

 

[SusanJillParker]

How can I get past this drought of creative juices? I started a great story and now it's a desert with one hell of a base. Any advice??

I never stare at a blank page because I only write when inspired. One way to force inspiration is to take your story to bed with you.

When you sit on your bed, the last thing to think about is your story and what to write next.

Trust me, as you sleep, with the story implanted in your mind, your brain will percolate the story.

Whenever I do this, when I awaken I can't type fast enough before forgetting everything.

Being that I've been doing this for years, it may take you a few attempts.

Good luck.

 

[Down4fun91]

[ No longer Here ]

 

[SweetWitch]

How can I get past this drought of creative juices? I started a great story and now it's a desert with one hell of a base. Any advice??

Whenever I get blocked, I do something physical. My father usually cringes. The last time it happened, I showed up at his farm with my new chainsaw and cut down some storm-damaged trees. Several storm-damaged trees. I believe he was ready to knock me in the head for the mess I made.

When I got back home, the story started to flow--and I had a lot of firewood.

 

[curiouschattycouple]

When I have writer's block, I usually begin a flurry of activity on the other honey-do list until I am doing something boring and an idea pops into my head. Then back to writing.

 

[Nezhul]

Advice for the future - plan. Before even beginning to write the story, make an outline of it -a list of chapters. For each chapter describe what's going to happen, what action scenes you will include and what character growth/worldbuilding will you concentrate on in this chapter

If you can't think of a coherent plot line - don't write it. Let it rest in your head and develop over time, and little by little you will find all the plot points that you like.,

This way you always have what to write about. Some things may change - that's fine, but you will never be stuck.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

If I get blocked on one story, I move to another, if I'm also blocked on that one, then there are at least a dozen others to reread and then pound the keys on. If all else fails, I watch do the last thing I would ever do, I watch TV. I soon get sick and go back to pounding the keyboard.

 

[SamScribble]

A ‘trick’ that I sometimes use on the rare occasion that I find myself ‘stuck’ is to write a short sentence that has nothing to do with whatever I’m working on.

For example: ‘Fred had never intended to buy the red Ferrari.’

What? Who’s Fred? Does he have something against Ferraris? Or is it just the red ones? And if he didn’t intend to buy a red Ferrari, what did he intend to buy? A loaf of bread?

And, maybe 500 words later, my brain is back in writing mode. And, funnily enough, the ‘nonsense’ often ends up in another story. Two for the price of one! That’s a deal that’s hard to refuse.

 

[My I]

A ‘trick’ that I sometimes use on the rare occasion that I find myself ‘stuck’ is to write a short sentence that has nothing to do with whatever I’m working on.

For example: ‘Fred had never intended to buy the red Ferrari.’

What? Who’s Fred? Does he have something against Ferraris? Or is it just the red ones? And if he didn’t intend to buy a red Ferrari, what did he intend to buy? A loaf of bread?

And, maybe 500 words later, my brain is back in writing mode. And, funnily enough, the ‘nonsense’ often ends up in another story. Two for the price of one! That’s a deal that’s hard to refuse.

Being as red is the only color for a REAL Ferrari, I think something is wrong with Fred.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

A ‘trick’ that I sometimes use on the rare occasion that I find myself ‘stuck’ is to write a short sentence that has nothing to do with whatever I’m working on.

For example: ‘Fred had never intended to buy the red Ferrari.’

What? Who’s Fred? Does he have something against Ferraris? Or is it just the red ones? And if he didn’t intend to buy a red Ferrari, what did he intend to buy? A loaf of bread?

And, maybe 500 words later, my brain is back in writing mode. And, funnily enough, the ‘nonsense’ often ends up in another story. Two for the price of one! That’s a deal that’s hard to refuse.

My whole life I'm never been at a loss for words. I do impromptu with no problem at all. I cant have writers block any more than I can be 10 feet tall. I always have something to contribute.

 

[SimonDoom]

Advice for the future - plan. Before even beginning to write the story, make an outline of it -a list of chapters. For each chapter describe what's going to happen, what action scenes you will include and what character growth/worldbuilding will you concentrate on in this chapter

If you can't think of a coherent plot line - don't write it. Let it rest in your head and develop over time, and little by little you will find all the plot points that you like.,

This way you always have what to write about. Some things may change - that's fine, but you will never be stuck.

This is what I do. I outline. When I get stuck in a part of a story I jump to another part of the story and write that. Or I jump to another story. I find I am rarely stuck everywhere.

 

[Nezhul]

When I get stuck on a part of the story, but I know what should happen in it (because I have my draft) - I still write it. Sometimes it turns out shit, and I re-write it later, when I have finished the entire story. Most of the times, while writing it, I become inspired and it turns out fixable, so I rewrite only a couple of paragraphs.

 

[SimonDoom]

When I get stuck on a part of the story, but I know what should happen in it (because I have my draft) - I still write it. Sometimes it turns out shit, and I re-write it later, when I have finished the entire story. Most of the times, while writing it, I become inspired and it turns out fixable, so I rewrite only a couple of paragraphs.

I do this too, sometimes, but other times I get impatient with the slow pace of progress and turn to another story or another part of the same story, and sometimes I'm startled at how quickly I can write merely by writing something else. The pace at which I write varies to an extreme degree -- I can slog for days over a short passage, or I can churn out 10 pages in a couple of hours. I've noticed, too, that I tend to like what I'm writing more when I'm writing quickly, so when I get the bug to write a particular section I tend to follow it even if it means shifting attention away from something else I'm working on that's going more slowly.

The downside of my approach is I have many partly-written stories, with unfinished sections waiting to be filled in before they can be published. I like to tell myself that the downside will become an upside when I have a large pool of mostly-written stories that will need just a little push to finish and publish.

 

[Nezhul]

I can slog for days over a short passage, or I can churn out 10 pages in a couple of hours.

I started writing on a daily basis. It's always hard to make myself sit down to write, but I set up a daily "norm" for myself of 3k words. And when I start writing it's easy to just go on for an hour or two.

I only skip it when I feel depressed or angry or otherwise in a very bad mood so I know that I wouldn't write anythign good that day. But I try to write every day.

I also plan to increase the daily norm little by little over time.

 

[Haulover]

Advice for the future - plan. Before even beginning to write the story, make an outline of it -a list of chapters. For each chapter describe what's going to happen, what action scenes you will include and what character growth/worldbuilding will you concentrate on in this chapter

If you can't think of a coherent plot line - don't write it. Let it rest in your head and develop over time, and little by little you will find all the plot points that you like.,

This way you always have what to write about. Some things may change - that's fine, but you will never be stuck.

^^This

When I get stuck on a part of the story, but I know what should happen in it (because I have my draft) - I still write it. Sometimes it turns out shit, and I re-write it later, when I have finished the entire story. Most of the times, while writing it, I become inspired and it turns out fixable, so I rewrite only a couple of paragraphs.

And ^^ this!



I write the plot's outline, and often flesh out the characters' backgrounds, before I write word-one. And if the plot outline doesn't work, I won't write the story.

And if the plot is good, there's no writer's block - I know exactly what I have to do next and just write it.

The plot might change as the story progresses and as the characters develop - but then I'll re-work the whole outline before continuing to write.

The cool thing is that writing an outline can take as little as an hour or two - so it's a HELL of a lot easier to trash a plot than a half-written story!

 

[Hypoxia]

My block is at about the one-year mark. Many stories are in my notes and consciousness. I need merely allot adequate time and space allowing the tales to write themselves. The voices in my head haven't yet commanded me to get off my lazy / distracted ass. When they do, I will. 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration, that's the formula.

 

[Nezhul]

The plot might change as the story progresses and as the characters develop - but then I'll re-work the whole outline before continuing to write.

If the plot changes this much, I prefer developing it into an entirely different story and finishing the one I'm making as it was originally planned.

I get a lot of hot ideas that I may feel inclined to cram into the story I'm currently writing, but sometimes it's better to let them rest and develop.
With the planning approach, I already have enough of action, plot and characters for a story. Putting any more in midway would be putting all your eggs into a single basket.

I very rarely find myself wanting to change the story completely.

 

[SamScribble]

Being as red is the only color for a REAL Ferrari, I think something is wrong with Fred.

See how easy it is?

 

[BuckyDuckman]

When I stumble across a bit of writer's block, it's often because my muse is rejecting what I've written. I've taken a wrong turn somewhere. So I'll go back to the last turn and head off in a new direction to see if that fixes the problem. Good writing is often discovered through effective re-writing.

 

[ElectricBlue]

If I lose interest in a piece I'm writing, it's coz I'm bored with it, my writing, the characters, wherever it's not going.

If I'm bored, readers are sure as Monday follows Sunday always going to spot that if I tried to turn it into Lazarus.

Seems like most people around here keep their precious words, hoping for a better day - I take the view, if the words aren't shining now, they're never going to shine.

 

[_Lynn_]

If I lose interest in a piece I'm writing, it's coz I'm bored with it, my writing, the characters, wherever it's not going.

If I'm bored, readers are sure as Monday follows Sunday always going to spot that if I tried to turn it into Lazarus.

Seems like most people around here keep their precious words, hoping for a better day - I take the view, if the words aren't shining now, they're never going to shine.

I agree. If a piece isn't working, let it go. Take a break, clean the house, forget whatever wasn't working, and when you feel like writing again, find something new.

 

[SweetWitch]

I think we've all missed the obvious answer: get laid.

Get fucked.

Have sex.

Get your freak on.

Do the deed.

Get nasty.

Have fucking sex.