Usually I put it off for a while, than go back to it. Or I listen to music and gives me ideas to help continue it along. Sorry I'm not much help XD
Fellow writers: how do you get past your writer's block?
- Thread starter Battleaxx90
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Yup. I read that's what Ray Bradbury used to do.Mxthe said:
He made sure to write for at least an hour a day, on any topic - sometimes just pure stream of consciousness type stuff .
Then he'd come back, look over the ideas, concepts or scenes and organize them later.
That's what I try to do. "Get 'em down first...edit and organize later".
I don't.
Never had, really. I just wait. I do write, but it's just my thoughts, fantasies, words that fascinate...
Never had, really. I just wait. I do write, but it's just my thoughts, fantasies, words that fascinate...
The #1 key is the have the entire plot laid out in post, then the only issue you have is how to pace it out, and make each chapter interesting with it's own sense of a beginning > climax > closure. Look at it as each chapter being an episode in the season that is your book.
Anyone that sits down and tries to write something from scratch is doomed to failure. Shows a serious lack of forethought.
~Now as for me, I tend to get a sweet idea - let it bloom - then make sure I have a good way to end it. Then I just fill up the middle and make sure the beginning has a good hook and doesn't steamroll people into the setting and characters (or conversely, expect them to know these things offhand). Basically, I work backwards, but with a general idea of what I want in the first place.
I never get writers block because a single idea turns into a fucking thesis within hours. The only trouble I get is in the filler elements, because sometimes it can pan out way to quickly from beginning to end. Pacing is key.
The one time I actually sat down and said "ok, I'm gonna come up with something new", without some spark of inspiration to begin with it fucking WORKED. Haven't been able to do it again since, though, it may be because I haven't tried again since. I remember being very, very drunk - and lying down in my bed and pondering the opening scene in the milk bar of Clockwork Orange. From there it went into really weird places, and became a kind of Stein's:Gate type story based around sightjacking and possessing people remotely. It's a trip, and I'm very proud of it... but haven't been able to do anything like that since.
Most times it involves a single flush of inspiration that rolls out like a carpet. I saw the intro to Persona 3 a long, long time ago, and the scene where the kids put guns to their heads spawned a really dark story about resetting one's daily events via suicide - but according to a set of rules determined by fictional rituals of a fake aboriginal tribe (based on their concept of 'the dreamtime'). Don't ask how I got to point B from A, because that is the difference between you, I, and any other writer out there.
~Also, prolly the best advice here is to hop between projects so you don't burn out on one. That's likely why I never run out of juice. That, and to always write interesting thoughts down, they could always be put to use later. Shit, I've had weird-ass dreams that work within the context of many of my existing works. Write those down too.
Anyone that sits down and tries to write something from scratch is doomed to failure. Shows a serious lack of forethought.
~Now as for me, I tend to get a sweet idea - let it bloom - then make sure I have a good way to end it. Then I just fill up the middle and make sure the beginning has a good hook and doesn't steamroll people into the setting and characters (or conversely, expect them to know these things offhand). Basically, I work backwards, but with a general idea of what I want in the first place.
I never get writers block because a single idea turns into a fucking thesis within hours. The only trouble I get is in the filler elements, because sometimes it can pan out way to quickly from beginning to end. Pacing is key.
The one time I actually sat down and said "ok, I'm gonna come up with something new", without some spark of inspiration to begin with it fucking WORKED. Haven't been able to do it again since, though, it may be because I haven't tried again since. I remember being very, very drunk - and lying down in my bed and pondering the opening scene in the milk bar of Clockwork Orange. From there it went into really weird places, and became a kind of Stein's:Gate type story based around sightjacking and possessing people remotely. It's a trip, and I'm very proud of it... but haven't been able to do anything like that since.
Most times it involves a single flush of inspiration that rolls out like a carpet. I saw the intro to Persona 3 a long, long time ago, and the scene where the kids put guns to their heads spawned a really dark story about resetting one's daily events via suicide - but according to a set of rules determined by fictional rituals of a fake aboriginal tribe (based on their concept of 'the dreamtime'). Don't ask how I got to point B from A, because that is the difference between you, I, and any other writer out there.
~Also, prolly the best advice here is to hop between projects so you don't burn out on one. That's likely why I never run out of juice. That, and to always write interesting thoughts down, they could always be put to use later. Shit, I've had weird-ass dreams that work within the context of many of my existing works. Write those down too.
I like to take walks through nature. Even if the topic has nothing to do with nature just being out in the fresh air to clear my head usually brings inspiration.
Either that or I put it to the side and just write random crap and out of it I usually find what I'm looking for.
Either that or I put it to the side and just write random crap and out of it I usually find what I'm looking for.
Go make an account on Fictionpress or any other website that allows you to post your stuff. Put the first chapter up. If it's good and stands out from the deluge of drivel, you'll gather attention, which will feel good. This will motivate you to make a second chapter, and then a third. After that, you'll have a following, one that you'll want to provide new material for, whether because they pressure you, because you enjoy the responses, because of a sense of obligation, or because you've fallen in love with the story itself. More than likely all of the above. And while this won't make you immune to writer's block, it sure will motivate you to conquer it by any means necessary.
I just skip to the next part of the story that I know I'd be able to write. Then I can go back and fill in the connecting parts later. Often, doing this allows me to go back and foreshadow future events more effectively.
Also, caffeine.
Also, caffeine.
Mm, not really my department. Journalism has its moments of 'blockage' but not so much as fiction. However in my religion, poetry (and by encompassing properties, fictional writing) as an ability is a gift meant to realise the world, so more often than not, you can get around a writer's block through observation of the real world and then write as an outward sign of an inward process.
I tend to lay out ideas and where I want to go on sheets of paper or index cards. This generally creates a physical mess that requires that I clean it up. And the only way to do that? Write. My main problem is that I passionately hate everything I have ever written. I don't know if it's because I suck or I'm just filled with self loathing. If anyone know how to get past that obstacle, let me know.
To get past a writer block is to plan out your story before you write it. I always think of my story first then write it.
Google Stumbleupon and use that with TVTropes. That works for me. I also just take a break and try to visualize my scenes in my book while I'm listening to music (ATM, it's going with Welcome Home Sanitarium and Paris; weird combo, but that's what works for me).Battleaxx90 said:
I don't really have a writer's block. Not trying to brag, but unless it's a stupid premise, it all fits, even plot twists and complex character arcs. Just think of highlights for the story and connect the dots.
Do something else. I interchange between working in my hobby game programming project, and writing short fiction. When I hit a roadblock in one, it's usually because my mind is stuck in a more creative mode(or a more engineering mode if I'm stuck while writing stories). So I just work on another project.
An alternate strategy I use, when I still want to make progress, is to just keep writing directly in the document, but in psudocode. I do this with both of my works, this allows you to continue thinking about where the story is going(or how everything else is going to fit together for programming) even if you can't find a good way to write the paragraph that you got stuck on.
Then go back and fix it later when you are ready.
For a story, psudocode can just be vague descriptions of what you expect the chapter to cover. You can just keep replacing parts with more specific sentences until you are happy with it.
Using psudocode it's easy to cover a short paragraph or an entire chapter worth of story, just do enough to skip over whatever block you're having and write what comes after. And you can always go back and add more psudocode if you decide that paragraph or chapter will need to establish any important points.
An alternate strategy I use, when I still want to make progress, is to just keep writing directly in the document, but in psudocode. I do this with both of my works, this allows you to continue thinking about where the story is going(or how everything else is going to fit together for programming) even if you can't find a good way to write the paragraph that you got stuck on.
Then go back and fix it later when you are ready.
For a story, psudocode can just be vague descriptions of what you expect the chapter to cover. You can just keep replacing parts with more specific sentences until you are happy with it.
Using psudocode it's easy to cover a short paragraph or an entire chapter worth of story, just do enough to skip over whatever block you're having and write what comes after. And you can always go back and add more psudocode if you decide that paragraph or chapter will need to establish any important points.
I listen to music and listen to the possinbilities the character brings to me.
"You know, that song works really well for me. It's both exciting and dramatic. You know what else is dramatic? If at the point between reality and dreams, between my friends and the girl I love, I apologize to my friends and follow her."
"You know, that song works really well for me. It's both exciting and dramatic. You know what else is dramatic? If at the point between reality and dreams, between my friends and the girl I love, I apologize to my friends and follow her."
I think it's important to write something every day, even if it's not related. If you can't write your current project, try free writing. Just don't stop writing when you take a break from something.Battleaxx90 said:
Identify why you have writer's block.
The first reason is because you have no idea what the fuck comes next. If that's the case, something has gone wrong, and you should probably go back and change what just happened and/or start laying out an actual structure.
The second reason is that you just don't want to write what comes next. Tragically common, and there's no real trick to it. The only way to get past that is to write.
Sorry.
Maybe this will help [http://writtenkitten.net/]?
The first reason is because you have no idea what the fuck comes next. If that's the case, something has gone wrong, and you should probably go back and change what just happened and/or start laying out an actual structure.
The second reason is that you just don't want to write what comes next. Tragically common, and there's no real trick to it. The only way to get past that is to write.
Sorry.
Maybe this will help [http://writtenkitten.net/]?
Personally what I do when I get writers block is I stop writing and I go out and do something that has nothing to do with writing. Reality is pretty much the best cure I found to writers block. Theres so much interesting things, situations, characters, music, and people that can aspire. It took me two years to realize this method worked, and actually helped me write a 3 season cartoon series so yeah, thats how I roll.