Writer's Block

[zevie]

It's been over a week since I've written anything. I decided that today was the day, so, at 10 pm, I wrote three sentences. It's now 11:26 and I have four.

I can't remember if there has been a post for this already, but this site is too big to sift through and find out, lol. So, here's a place to discuss that evil mind-disease: Writer's Block.

The funny thing about writer's block, for me at least, is that it's doesn't seem to be a complete inability to write things down. I'm babbling here just fine. But, writing anything to do with a story? BLANK. I even *want* to write, I just can't.

So, heh, does anyone have a cure? What do you do when you're staring at a blank page, and the only thing that pops up are incoherent sentences?

Since I'm asking for it, I'll share some of my (questionable) advice. The "cure" I've used in the past is to leave the plot behind completely, and just deal with the scene at hand in the genre in which I write the strongest (stupid humour). It usually gets me laughing (or crying or whatever for other genres) and distracted from the Block, and after awhile, the flow of jokes starts to turn into plot. Then I edit out all the earlier crap. It's definitely not fail safe though. This time, I just ended up with a whole chapter of dumb humour unrelated to the plot and I'm still stuck.

[maxiekat]

I've been having problems with it, too. I think for me the problem is that I've been so focused on Harry Potter for the last month at work that I couldn't concentrate once I got home. I'm hoping that once I get finished with reading the book, I can finally get back to my story.

I know what I want to write, but when I try to write it, it doesn't come out right. I think I may have to reread the book or watch the movie to get my head back in the right place and out of a world inhabited by wizards and vampires (I've also been reading the Stephanie Meyer's books - Twilight and New Moon - these past couple of weeks).

[samanthamae]

Hmm...I hit a simular issue. I always want to work on something else, so I'm constantly working on several stories at once. Not a good habbit...

Try writing a one-shot containing a completely different storyline. That worked for me once. I was uninterested in my chapter stories, and afterwards I went back to them. Also, one time there was this story I hadn't touched in months, then I recieved a supporting review. That worked, too.

I'd say try the one-shot thing. There must be some small idea waiting to happen

[queenjaneapprxmtly]

Oh, writer's block ... God, how I have been cursed for the last few months, lol. I'd love to travel back to last summer because I got through thirty-two chapters of my novel in about three months, lol. (But I am now re-writing it ... heh, go figure.)

I haven't updated my story since May, which is so sad. Try as I may, I just cannot get the right words to come. And I'm becoming so frustrated that I am currently trying to force it, lol. Like, as we speak. It's definitely going to be one of the longer chapters, but hopefully, whenever I do finish it, it'll make up for my prolonged absence. People probably thought I died, which is just fantastic ...

The really sad part is that I wrote like ... a couple of pages of this chapter (before I knew it would become a part of this chapter) last summer, to add in later, and now I'm ready to add it in and I just can't get to that point. I'm so frustrated.

Even my novel is not going anywhere. I started chapter one again, and it sounds fab, if I do say so myself, but I can't get past a certain point. It's just bad.

But great topic, by the way. :)

(P.S. Sorry I don't have any advice to offer. I have NO idea how to get over it whatsoever, lol. Just wait it out and hope for the best, I suppose.)

[Tensleep]

Well, this is going to sound bratty, but I never get writers block for more than a few minutes. It's annoying when that happens.

I know, those of you who know what a horrible updater I am are sitting there with raised eyebrows, but I blame that on some weird form of ADD, work, and the tendency to forget when I finish something and find it months later. But I have a beta now, so hopefully no more of that...

But I was talking about those few minutes when I am completely and frustratingly stuck.

See, I was given a great piece of advice once that has kept me going every day of my writing life:

Don't think. Just write.

So I pick a character/story/scene and let it go. Sometimes I skip the first part and just let it go. I come up with some awesome stuff doing that. It works, try it some time.

My only other suggestion is to pull a Tolkien. That man would get stuck and toss the whole story, starting over again from scratch. Now, maybe a whole story is harsh, but try trashing the chapter and starting over again. Might just help.

[fosterchild]

I like the one-shot idea posted above. Something totally unrelated to what you're working on. And music. It seems once I get a song in my head that I want to write a story because of I listen to it over and over until the story flows out of me.

You know, I really hope something works soon. I'm feeling neglected here! And it IS all about me!

[zevie]

FC, if that was directed at me at all, I think I may pull a bit of a Tolkien, as Tens put it, lol. No scrapping, but I think I might try a rewrite of the story.

I've been planning massive rewrite in my head, just from all the things that are wrong with the story that I can see. But, the story's not finished yet. Any of you rewriters - do you wait until you've posted everything before going back and editing? I don't mean typos and forgotten words, I mean seriously rewriting. I imagine that it would be really frustrating from the readers' POV, lol, if one of the stories you were reading suddenly stopped, and the writer went back and started changing things so you had to reread it. Is that too ridiculous a thing to pull when you're posting a story online? Would it be better to finish the story, knowing that it won't be as well written or supported by the previous chapters, and then go back and rewrite the whole thing?

...This would be a big argument for writing the whole thing before posting, lol (or at least, for not posting the chapters as soon as you've finished them).

[fosterchild]

*GASP* Of course, that was directed at you. Oh my, rewriting the whole thing and leaving me hanging here?!

Ok well, all joking aside, I've actually finished a couple original things THEN went back and edited, re-wrote and what not. The feeling for me is that you have the basic framework then you go back and correct what you don't like or made mistakes on.

If a story isn't working for you halfway through, though, then I suppose going back and starting over isn't such a bad idea. At least you have a better idea of where you want to go with it.

Either way, you'll figure it out. Good that one-shot, though!! Did it help?

[zevie]

Haha, I don't think I will pull a Tolkien after all! *squeals ecstatically*

Thanks you guys for the suggestions! If anyone else has problems with writer's block, I tried almost all of the suggestions here in the last three days, lol, and they were all helpful. I watched the movie to get back into "the mood" (and read snippets from the book), wrote two unrelated one-shots, outlined a bunch more, and finally scrapped the chapter, jumped to a later scene in my outline, turned off my brain and just friggin *wrote*. It was glorious, and produced some, well, mediocre writing, but at least it's a useable jump-off place, and that was the point.

The one thing I didn't do was the big Tolkienesque rewrite, which is good cuz that would have taken way too long, lol. Although, in a slightly twisted way, I was really looking forward to going back and correcting my mistakes and working out the kinks and editing out the crap and all that.

[hahukumkonn]

What I do is if I get writer's block is to just put up with it. Often if I have more than one fic on the go, I'll "switch gears" and work on a different one, whcih usually helps.