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The Uber Writer's Block Thread



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Thu Apr 18, 2013 5:18 pm
EloquentDragon says...



I feel like a rat for cutting off norm's post but I think Rosey mostly covered it so...

HELP.

I started NaNo two years ago, fully intending to finish it, and fully failing. That's not the problem. The problem is that I overhauled the plot to my story last year and tried again... and failed again. I thought I would give up, but something keeps grabbing me about this book and won't let me go.

I've been (trying) to work on it continiously through these two years, but I realize now that I am utterly and completely, overwhelmingly stuck. Up a creek without a paddle.

Usually, I beat the block by working on other stuff, but now I'm getting desperate. I spent some time working out a plot, but I am generally unsatisfied with it. (It's not what I want it to be)

I keep having moments of "this is so boring, I quit" and moments of "wow, this could be so awesome"

There is an inkling of something truly great, ebbing on the corners of my conscioussness, but whenever I try to put something down (plot or prose-wise) it fades.

ALL THAT being said, I suppose my real problem is that I can't identify with the heart of my story. I know it should be tied closely to the heart of the protagonist somehow... but I can't find it.

How do you find the heart, or "core" of your stories.

I can't write without a purpose. It's meaningless and unsatisfying.
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Fri Apr 19, 2013 2:34 am
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Rosendorn says...



Toss a stick of dynamite into your plot. Forget absolutely everything you had planned. Focus exclusively on the protagonist and what they want.

Sometimes, to have a story succeed, you need to explode it. Strip it down to the bare bones, and sometimes remake the skeleton. Or pick out the bones you like to go make a new one, finding more bones along the way.

Focus on the character and what you, in particular, want to write. That is where the potential lies, the character themselves. How the character interacts with the world can provide a wealth of information and conflict.

Start from scratch. Keep the characters, keep the world, but forget the plot you have already. It's obviously not doing it for you. Make a new one. A brand new one.
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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Fri Apr 19, 2013 4:23 am
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joshuapaul says...



"If you haven't written your story in three-six months, give up and start again from scratch" - Stephen King. I'm paraphrasing a little but you get the gist. It all depends how you write a story and why. If you don't plot a story and you just create a premise/ask a question then spawn the story as you go writing 1000-3000 words per day you will do well, this is how most popular novelists write. Self-conscious and timid writers plot every detail and shoe-horn characters into a plot that is artificial and forced.

King firmly advocates the natural approach. He get's to know his character's as he writes and watches them react to their environment. He confessed that he is often disappointed with the choices they make but he wouldn't have it any other way.

I've heard that James Joyce would sit at his desk all day and write only a few words. I've also heard Kerouac wrote On the Road in a week (other versions of this story grant him a realistic time frame of two weeks) in any case most stories such as these are anomalies or bullshit.

A lot of writers block stems from fear and that's why free writing exercises are powerful tools for overcoming writers block. It's not a lack of ideas, though it may seem like it, it's a lack of confidence in your innate ability to weave a story. Just write what you know and trust your characters. Learn to move the story along and forget about 'plot bunnies' and 'plotting' the story. It's weak practice for weak writers and you are better than that. Don't misunderstand me. Catch an idea before it slips, so jot down ideas in a notebook, on a napkin, hell text yourself if you have to, I've done it before. But don't sit there and think "I have to have more ideas and more action" because you will force your characters to do things outside of their character just in the sake of forcing the narrative forward. It's not typical of world class novelists to fill notebooks with plots, character development and so on, it's typical of fearful unambitious writers. Do research and write what you know, trust your imagination. Get it written, despite how bad it is at first, it will always take a handful of drafts to get it perfect readable anyway.
Read my latest
  





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Tue Sep 03, 2013 12:20 am
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deleted17 says...



I make stuff up as I go. That way, I never have writers block.
Well, I do have it, but that's another story
Have your chin up, and speak up.Otherwise, nothing will get done.And what you need to say, will never be heard.Just be confident in what you say, and stand by it
  





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Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:31 pm
deleted5 says...



I have been planning for months for my story and now, on chapter 1, I have major writers block after writing
"It was raining"
AGHHH!
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Wed Nov 13, 2013 8:36 pm
Rosendorn says...



Ask yourself what if. Don't worry so much about perfectly hitting your planning, and instead ask yourself what could happen next. What if the rain made them late? What if they get drenched and cold and therefore got sick? What if the rain made it more difficult for enemies to sneak up? What if somebody offered an umbrella to the character, or the character saw somebody in need of one and offered?

Just ask yourself what if, and things should get moving.
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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Wed Dec 11, 2013 8:08 pm
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Holysocks says...



I believe that the best way to cure writers block, is to just write. After you force yourself to continue - no matter how bad the last sentence sounds - writers block becomes irrelevant to you. And don't worry, you're going to be editing anyway.
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Thu Jan 02, 2014 2:14 am
booklover124 says...



Jasmine Hart, I would try just writing junk. Then the writing part of your brain might come out of its shell. Write anything you are thinking like: I hate writing junk, my ear is itchy, etc.

Hope it helps!!
  





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Fri Jan 24, 2014 5:24 pm
horrendous says...



deleted17 wrote:I make stuff up as I go. That way, I never have writers block.
Well, I do have it, but that's another story


this. on every story i've written, i've winged it. the absolute most that i plan ahead on is where my character will end up at the end of the scene, and small pieces of dialogue and action that i might be able to squeeze in somewhere. other than that, everything is ad hoc, and like you mentioned, deleted, this technique is the bane of writer's block. it also helps to work on two pieces at once. if i get stuck on one, i switch over. this technique has been criticized but it works really well for me.

so, my advice is to try to keep your plans for a chapter as loose and malleable as possible. give your character a goal for the chapter and that's about it. if you have a strong character, their actions and dialogue will write themselves as you go.

this works very, very well for me.
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adjective: shockingly dreadful; horrible
synonyms: appalling, frightful, hideous

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Sat Mar 08, 2014 9:55 pm
Bumpeh says...



I had a huge bout of writer's block after last year's NANOWRIMO. I got to 43k words then I sort of went ka-putz. It took me a while to get back on the horse, but I think one thing that helped me was writing in a different environment. I used to think I couldn't get my creativity flowing unless I was looking at a computer screen and typing my stories. But when I walked away, and decided to write a few stories on paper, I instantly got the flow back. It takes persistence to get through writer's block, and there are countless tips on the internet about how to handle it. I have two tips for people who have severe writer's block and are desperate to write. One, take a break, try to write in a different environment. And two, keep more than one project going at once, so you can shift your creative focus every once in awhile. For example, I like to work on one novel, and a few select short stories at a time, most of the time with varying genres, so I can exercise my creativity in other areas.
  





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Thu Mar 13, 2014 4:54 pm
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Dreamer84 says...



HC wrote:I am a constant sufferer. :P So I've decided to design a mind-wall on my ceiling. Basically, lots of prompts, inspiring pictures, random thoughts, lyrics etc. on huge sheets on my ceiling so that I can just lie down on my bed when I'm stuck, and see if anything inspires me.

I also have a folder full of interesting articles that might spark something. I'm forward-planning for summer so I can write like the wind (?), and so I don't reach a block. I need to have a productive time. :P
I have writers block terribly and can't seem to write anything but this sounds like the best idea ever HC I'll be sure to give it a try :smt023
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Sat May 10, 2014 11:27 pm
Apricity says...



I have a massive Writer's block at the moment of how to write things down, I have the idea down but everything that comes out on the page is like this gobble of nonsense. I'm getting headaches over this, I've tried writing about writers block. Jogging, and yes I have a massive folder of random ideas and writings.

But it won't go away....
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Tue May 13, 2014 3:56 am
GoldFlame says...



SubtleSanity wrote:I have a massive Writer's block at the moment of how to write things down, I have the idea down but everything that comes out on the page is like this gobble of nonsense. I'm getting headaches over this, I've tried writing about writers block. Jogging, and yes I have a massive folder of random ideas and writings.

But it won't go away....


I totally get you. :(

Writing about writer's block is eighteen times more difficult than it looks, especially when you have writer's block. Now I spend my time browsing the forums, hoping for inspiration.
“He leant tensely against the wall and frowned like a man trying to unbend a corkscrew by telekinesis.” – Douglas Adams
  





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Tue May 27, 2014 7:00 am
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Apricity says...



That is exactly what I do, that or WordPress. Is actually a surprising great site if you know the right people to follow and right articles to read. But yeah, my head feels so I don't know, so empty yet it hurts all the time. And guess what, my English teacher like,

A true writer should not have writer's block.

Me: Huh, well, thanks.

I love him, I do is just that, he may have threw my life down the drain with that sentence.
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Sat May 31, 2014 12:16 am
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Rosendorn says...



@SubtleSanity Hah. Wow that's an English teacher who's either so absorbed in the business of writing he's forgotten what it's like to write for fun, or he has no clue how to write.

What I mean by "the business of writing" is, when you have deadlines and pressures and are generally trying to make writing your job, you can't afford writer's block. You get stuff on the page regardless of what ideas you have because a deadline is looming and you need to get paid. That's how their lives work.

But writer's block can be a very real thing and when you write to make yourself happy, it can be pretty devastating to have. I've had long stretches where words are simply not there, and I can't make myself write them.

What I do is take a break. I stop forcing the words out, stop thinking about it. I find other things. I read, I play video games, I watch tv, I talk to people. I do everything but write. Sometimes for months.

The words come back. They do eventually come back. Maybe not exactly the same, and your voice might be a little different, but that's okay. Your voice changes as you grow up, anyway, so a little time off means you've grown up and you notice the change more drastically.

There is no "real writer". There's no one model for how to write. Yes, certain types of writers follow certain models (like, those who make their living off writing write almost all the time through basically everything), but you don't have to fit in them. You can be a novelist, published, even, and still have writer's block. You can be the type of writer who works two jobs to pay the rent and keep life moving. You can be the one who never stops.

It doesn't matter.

You have stories to tell, and you write them down sometimes. You have people living inside your head and observe the world around you to simply study interaction. You think in narrative and keep trying to improve yourself, improve your craft, even when you feel like you can't write.

That is what makes you a writer.
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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