How do you fight writer's block?

[Johnny Novgorod]

Just wondering. I have to right practically an entire screenplay for tomorrow when I had the whole Summer (yes it's Summer here) to do it. I'm not asking anyone to bail me out with a magic trick but hey, this is my go-to place when I'm blocked. How do you get over writer's block?

 

[Axolotl]

Just sit down and start writing. Ignore it if it sucks and just keep writing. It's far easier to go back rewrite something to be good once you already have the skeleton written out even if you end up throwing out everything you initially wrote.

 

[Vault101]

I probably couldnt say..I dont write enough to get writers block, I tend to write random scenes with a very loose overall arc/idea tieng them in

think about what you want to happen and how you'll get there?

 

[yeti585]

A long walk can do it. I usually try to stay away from mid-morning to midday, though. Something about a walk in the afternoon can really free up the mind.

It's definitely something you have to experiment with though. Too long of a walk and you become tired and it is taxing--Too short of a walk and you haven't given yourself enough time.

 

[lRookiel]

I don't fight it.

I just do something else for a while because I know anything I try to write will be utter shite.

 

[thesilentman]

I'd say take a break, clear your mind out of any literature for a while, and return when you feel ready, not out of obligation to finish. It should help clear your mind and hopefully refresh you before coming back to it.

 

[PsychicTaco115]

If we can ask, what exactly do you have to make this screenplay on?

But yeah, just taking a walk or people watching can do wonders with an overactive imagination!

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

I find that reading some of my previous works tend to help.

Seeing my old work, having memories about certain parts and stirring up emotions on other parts gets me in a good mood. It is the easiest way to break my writers block.

 

[The Goat Tsar]

I take a fifteen minute break and I go outside if I can. If I'm stuck inside, I'll try to watch a video that makes me laugh. Just something to unwind and loosen up, so I can go back to writing more relaxed. Generally during this break, since I'm less stressed, the idea I need will come to me naturally.

 

[Little Woodsman]

If there were a definitive answer to this question we'd have more books in the Myth series.....
Different things work for different people, but I think you may have left it too late....asking the night before the day you have to have it finished? I don't mean to be discouraging but most of the real suggestions you get here will
take some time if they work for you at all.....
Anyway, what works for me is a sort of free-association thing...I tuck what I want to write about in a corner of my consciousness, and then watch/read/play something tangentially related to it....for example if I wanted to write a coming of age quest/story I might watch some pokemon, or Avatar TLA. If I wanted to write a story about a journey of discovery,
I might watch Haibane Renmei, or read some Jules Verne or 3x3 Eyes. In the middle of watching/reading, sometimes something will click, and I'll be inspired to write something different from, but related to what I watched.
Break a leg...

 

[SomeLameStuff]

I have ten quotes printed on large pieces of paper tacked around my computer for occasions such as this:

1. Writer's block? I've heard of this. This is when a writer cannot write, yes? Then that person isn't a writer anymore. I'm sorry, but the job is getting up in the fucking morning and writing for a living. ~Warren Ellis

2. I learned to produce whether I wanted to or not. It would be easy to say oh, I have writer's block, oh, I have to wait for my muse. I don't. Chain that muse to your desk and get the job done. ~Barbara Kingsolver

3. All writing is difficult. The most you can hope for is a day when it goes reasonably easily. Plumbers don't get plumber's block, and doctors don't get doctor's block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working, and then expects sympathy for it? ~Philip Pullman

4. I've often said that there's no such thing as writer's block; the problem is idea block. When I find myself frozen?whether I'm working on a brief passage in a novel or brainstorming about an entire book?it's usually because I'm trying to shoehorn an idea into the passage or story where it has no place. ~Jeffery Deaver

5. You can't think yourself out of a writing block; you have to write yourself out of a thinking block. ~John Rogers

6. There's no such thing as writer's block. That was invented by people in California who couldn't write. ~Terry Pratchett

7. I haven't had trouble with writer's block. I think it's because my process involves writing very badly. My first drafts are filled with lurching, clichéd writing, outright flailing around. Writing that doesn't have a good voice or any voice. But then there will be good moments. It seems writer's block is often a dislike of writing badly and waiting for writing better to happen. ~Jennifer Egan

8.Writer's block doesn't exist?lack of imagination does. ~Cyrese Covelli

9. Writer's Block is just an excuse by people who don't write for not writing. ~Giando Sigurani

10. Discipline allows magic. To be a writer is to be the very best of assassins. You do not sit down and write every day to force the Muse to show up. You get into the habit of writing every day so that when she shows up, you have the maximum chance of catching her, bashing her on the head, and squeezing every last drop out of that *****. ~Lili St. Crow

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I go walk my dog with a notepad in my pocket. Every time an idea comes to me I write it down. By the time I get home I have at least a couple of paragraphs outlined.

 

[NightmareExpress]

Take a break, do things that you enjoy, read what you put down and then revise + proceed.
That's my typical method. If you want to capture a "mood", be sure to listen to music related to it or watch something related to it.

The worst things you could do is muscle on without substance or put it off for too long.
If you're writing on a time limit, you gotta do it. You just need to find a way that makes your work good and gives you some breathing space in between bursts of writing. Kind of like exercising in the morning, then at the evening. You do hard work but get a nice break in which to reflect on things and avoid complete exhaustion...

 

[Dimitriov]

Just write. Anything. Write "she sells sea shells by the sea shore" over and over until you're so tired of it you start writing something else.

The solution to not writing is to write.

 

[Fluffythepoo]

Usually say fuck it and start some other homework, or play a game, or drink... though writing programs is a different beast

Also drawing out exactly what supposed to happen in an easily readable chart, lay out the entire plot in chart form (preff with each scene being a bubble of whatever). now writing is simply making the dialogue necessary to move the plot to the next bubble

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

It depends on how you write. Maybe for you taking a break would just be wasting time. It certainly can be for a lot of people. What you should really be doing is questioning why you aren't making progress. If it's because you have no idea what comes next, take a break to think about the plot as a whole, your points ABC(etc), where you are right now, and where you need to get. Maybe take a walk while doing so, that always helps me. If your problem is you're writing shit, well, write shit for now. You can fix it later.

 

[the_hessian]

"Here, kill him with this."
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_liw1rb3Lzj1qbolbn.jpg
Works surprisingly well for staying awake to work... as for writer's block...
I just stare at the screen and gradually bash my way through it with regular rewards to keep myself motivated.
Honestly though, best of luck... you really need the Gods on your side for this one.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

If we can ask, what exactly do you have to make this screenplay on?

But yeah, just taking a walk or people watching can do wonders with an overactive imagination!

I'm not ready to spill the synopsis just yet but it's one of those cases where you agree to do a screenplay on an idea tha you have and then you spend a year developing that idea. At some point you just feel trapped by your commitment to this original idea and pretty much ANYTHING else seems more interesting. Anyway I just grobbled my way into an extension, so I have today to finish, like, half of the script. Considering I took all night to write the other half I think I'll be able to make it.

 

[Genocidicles]

Go have a shower or take a lengthy dump.

All my best inspiration happens to me on the toilet or in the shower.