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Help with writer's block?



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Sun Jun 19, 2011 8:00 pm
SkyeDreamer says...



I've had writer's block since... I don't know, November? I get lots of ideas for stories and poems, but can't for the life of me make them flow. They end up dull and feeling uninspired and just... not at all my best work. I need help with this; I'm at my wit's end and I just need to write something even mildly good! I've tried to write, even writing a story about writer's block, but nothing works. Can you help me?
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Mon Jun 20, 2011 3:39 pm
tigershark17 says...



Wow, that is a long time. Okay, well, the first thing I would recommend is to get out of the house. Really. Take a walk, get some fresh air, and pay attention to each of the five senses as you do. What do hear, what does the air taste like, what do smell, etc... Feed your senses. Take some time for yourself and let loose. Go dance, get a manicure, walk the dog, go for a swim, paint. But this time, THINK LIKE A WRITER while you do so! Always be aware of your surroundings. Ok, enough about the senses. Next thing I recommend is to get a book called The Writer's Idea Workshop. You don't have to buy it, you can get it from the library or whatever. This will help you both with creating ideas, and with developing and organizing them. Next, don't force the writing. If you're blocked, sometimes the best thing to do is freewrite. But don't try to sit down and write a novel while you're blocked and frustrated. Finally, if possible, do what you want your characters to do. If they are in a scene where they are going swimming, do take a dip in the lake or pool, then come back and write the scene. Or better yet, do it while you are in the water. You can apply this example to almost anything your characters will do, depending on where you live and what is available around you. Anyway, good luck! Hope this helps. (:

TS
Behind every impossible achievement is a dreamer of impossible dreams.
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Mon Jun 20, 2011 3:55 pm
SkyeDreamer says...



Thank you! I'm definitely going to try this. :)
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Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:09 pm
kjr5horses says...



Stop thinking and focusing on the writers block and quite thinking about writing in general. Or it will stay LONGER.

Go about you day, take a walk, hang out with family and friends. Let the real story that you want to write find you! The best way to find something is to stop looking for it. Let it find you !

Kyli
"Me I'm dishonest but a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly its the honest ones you have to watch out for because you can never tell when they are going to do something incredibly...stupid." ~Capt. Jack Sparrow
  





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Tue Jun 21, 2011 1:32 pm
Dynamo says...



I posted a list of things writers should do, or at least think about, when starting to write, and already I can think of a few things I mentioned in that list that you might find useful for this situation. Check it out: topic82592.html

Other than what's in that list, the best thing I can suggest is not to stress about it too hard. If you buckle down and apply yourself you'll find your muse again. If all else fails, find a book to read.
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Tue Jun 21, 2011 1:44 pm
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Rosendorn says...



Depends on my type of writer's block.

It mostly sounds like you want to write something good so badly that it's blocking you. Focus more on writing something fun and interesting than something "good" and see what happens. I've found that one of the things that defines "good" for me is how much fun I had writing it. If writing starts to feel like a chore, then I lose interest. So I either don't focus on making it "good" or find something so fun you just write it and don't care.

The second thing I do is just wait it out. I think about various ideas and think up this really cool idea/concept/scene/story arc, and just keep thinking about them in my spare time. Eventually, these ideas start keeping me up at night. Once they do that, then they are ready to be written and usually you want to get the idea out so bad that quality doesn't matter as much, and your passion for the idea is back.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Tue Jun 21, 2011 4:47 pm
SkyeDreamer says...



Thank you so much for your tips, everyone!
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Sun Jun 26, 2011 8:52 am
MeganWeaver says...



My advice to you would be follow tigershark17's advice xD also, while you are doing that stuff try saying the story out loud that forms from something random. Like how you're stepping for example. Just start talking, the words will come to you. Things you never knew you could write and the structure you never knew existed just flows from your mouth. The only thing then is remembering it after, so whilst you're on your walk take a voice recorder. You can get them on your phone or you can just buy one so that when you do start talking then you can re-listen to it later on. Hope this helps :D x
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Sun Jul 24, 2011 3:42 am
DrunkOnWriting says...



I had this same problem! It took me a while to get over it, but here's how I did it:

Distractions. Yupp, that's right. Every time I got stuck on writers block, or all the ideas in my head decided to have a cage match, I went for a walk, listened to music (loudly) or took a bike ride.

I'm not sure about you, but this did wonders for me. Hope it helps!
  





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Fri Aug 05, 2011 2:53 pm
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glassesarechic says...



Don't give writer's block the ability to be an entity--writer's block is negative space. Writer's block is your inner editor in overdrive. (Don't get me wrong: You need an inner editor. But not until you have something to edit, some positive space. It's a yin/yang sort of thing.)

Your goal, then, is to banish that inner editor by focusing on creation, editing-free. Grab a legal pad or a notebook, plop yourself, and churn out one hundred story ideas. That's right--one hundred. It'll be easier than you think when you scribble down anything that comes to mind without judgment.

And when you pick one of those ideas to write about (using, yes, your inner editor), write with abandon. Write using only your inner creative, not your editor. No judgment. Editing is a separate stage and should be treated as such.
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Mon Sep 19, 2011 9:42 am
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UrbanNomad says...



Well...I have recently come out of a bad spell of intense creative block. Consider these points:

1. No one else has to read anything you write until you decide to release that material
2. Literature has no objective 'wrong' or 'right'
3. Whatever your soul feels is correct to put down on the page is what is best
4. Once you have something written down then you can edit it
5. Trust yourself that whatever you write is honest, original and not just somebody elses work reformatted
6. Listen to inspiration music and spoken word poetry etc that will assist you in all your writing endeavours (whatever it may be). I would personally suggest buying some Gil Scott Heron CD's and become inspired by his voice
7. Put productivity into context. When I got 'writers block' I chose to be lazy and unproductive. I really kicked back into gear when I was hungry to create something. For example, watching documentaries about the struggle of life for people in third world countries made me compelled to push forward and create literal beauty whatever the barriers I was faced with.

-Hope this inspires you with some alternative tips. Remember that life is very short and creativity is what defines a person, so battle through all the clouds to find your words.
  





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Thu Oct 06, 2011 3:15 pm
youngwolf1105 says...



Revising old storys helps, as does reading similar or other storys. My fav would have to be....... takign a cold shower. I don't konw how it helps, it just does. Somehow.
We were made to corageous,
We're taking back the fight.
We were made to be corageous,
And it starts with us tonight.

And the only way we'll stand,
Is on our knees with lifted hands.
Make us corageous,
Lord make us corageous. - Casting Crowns
  








The idea that a poem was a made thing stayed with me, and I decided then that I wanted to be an artist, not just a diarist. So I put myself through a kind of apprenticeship in writing poetry, and I understood even then that my practice as a poet was deeply related to my reading.
— Edward Hirsch