That's a tough one. How exactly does your work mirror the masters? It might look too close to you, but other might think you're just writing in the same tradition, and that's completely valid. One thing you might try is a drastic change of genre. Try science fiction or fantasy, or maybe a historical piece about Alexander the Great conquering somebody. Challenge yourself with something outside your comfort zone. I'm not saying you should build your career doing this, because it's clearly not the kind of fiction you want to write, but just try a short story or three this way as an experiment, just to break yourself of some habits. Once you've found a voice of your own, you can go back to your hard-boiled stories and write confidently as yourself, not as an imitator of Chandler or anyone else.
Are you using the exact phrases and sentences they're using? Having the same idea (i.e., the same action scene) or writing in the same style isn't plagiarism. You may want to look up plagiarism and see how it applies to creative writing to make sure you understand the nuances.
@minstrel ~ Yes, I've tried writing in the fantasy fiction genre to see what would happen and sadly it all looked like a bad rendition of Tolkien. The words were different, but the imagery and descriptions were straight from Middle Eart (and I read the LotR series decades ago). Maybe something else next time! @thirdwind ~ At times I've written out an almost verbatim copy of something that I had read before and forgotten about, and I just sit there feeling like an idiot who played a joke on himself. I should explain, though, that I have no illusions of becoming a published writer any time soon (if ever); my poor efforts have seen more of the inside of a desk drawer than they have the light. I'm just wanting to be able to write decent stories for my own enjoyment of the process, and for a very small circle of friends should they be interested. All the same, though, I'd like to think that what I *do* write are my own inventions!
This may be way off base given it's a shot in the dark, but have you considered fan fiction, not as an ultimate goal, but as a writing prompt to find your own voice? Take a piece you like or find yourself mirroring, and see what you'd do with it differently if it was your piece. If you start with the original and change it, maybe you won't find yourself ending with the original.
Based on what you've written here, I'm still not convinced it's plagiarism. Can you post a short example (a paragraph perhaps) of your work and then of the similar passage in LoTR?
From last December, I've had a lot of personal difficulties with friends and family. One of my relatives passed away two months ago. For about a year, I haven't been able to write anything I would personally call significant. I've kept myself going by forcing myself to write a short poem everyday, but I can't find the creativity I used to have (most probably because I haven't felt positive in a long time). I've tried forcing myself to read in the meantime with various levels of success.
"(The short-piece writer) is aware that billions of dollars are stolen every year by bankers and politicians, and that thousands of people are out of work, but these conditions do not worry him a tenth as much as the conviction that he has wasted three months on a stupid psychoanalyst or the suspicion that a piece he has been working on for two long days was done much better and probably more quickly by Robert Benchley in 1924." - James Thurber, "Preface to a Life", 1933. So, your problem is not new. I think we all mirror writers who have made an impression on us. I think it's impossible not to. It's probably a necessary part of the process of finding your own voice. Moreover, the very elements that draw one to writing in the first place - the compelling characters, the irresistible stories, the gut-wrenching dilemmas - stay with us. There are certain stories I read in my youth that produced images that stay with me to this day, and even if I have reread those stories, the images I see are the first ones. Those of us with a long held desire to write probably cleave to those images even more. We could not leave the fingerprints of those things out of our writings if we tried. Likewise, there are only so many kinds of story, only so many types of conflict, that can be written (I've heard the number as low as three, but it depends on how finely one wants to slice it). So, in a sense, everything you write is like something that has been written before. But we keep writing them because there are so many different ways in which to express the same elemental truths. Right now, you are looking for yours. Only by writing and critiquing do we learn to differentiate our own voice from the voices we admire. So, I'm going to respectfully disagree with minstrel's suggestion that you try sci fi or fantasy, because you will spend an inordinate amount of time seeking to create worlds and conflicts that are original and if you don't have a passion for the genre, you are likely to grow more frustrated and probably veer into duplicating what has been done before. I'm also going to respectfully disagree with GingerCoffee's fan fic suggestion because your scope of originality is already constricted when you do that. Pick something from the news - world news, local news, politics, entertainment, sports, even the weather - doesn't matter. Pick something on which you have a lot of information readily at hand. Invent a simple character and thrust him/her into the middle of it. And then write. If you find yourself channeling certain writers you've read in the past, don't worry about it. Finish the story, and then go back and change what you think is not yours. Then, pick another topic, create some more characters, and keep writing. At this point, you're not looking to publish, you're searching for your voice. It takes time. And you never really completely finish. Good luck.
Ray Bradbury had a lot to say about writer's block in one of his interviews. I can't find the text (dratitude!) but in summation he said that if you're experiencing writer's block it's because your chosen story probably doesn't mean much to you anymore on a personal level. He also theorized that a writer suffering from writer's block has produced a work that is fundamentally flawed in some way--and the writer's subconscious is rebelling against continuing an imperfect story. It's not that you're suffering from some mystical mental barrier. You're just writing about the wrong thing. When you write about the right thing the words will come more easily (not easily--just more easily, because writing is never an easy task even at the best of times). I personally believe writer's block is a personal euphemism for insecurity, doubt, and other excuses that serve to keep oneself from writing. I had a roommate who claimed she'd been suffering for writer's block for five years. As a creative writing major you can imagine all of the pitying looks she garnered. However, she never had problems meeting deadlines for writing assignments in her classes. She always warned her readers before they read her stories that the work she produced was horrible and that once she was over her writer's block her prose would improve. She never, ever did any personal writing but she'd speak at length of all the prose she wanted to pen "once my block has passed." To me it seemed like a massive excuse to not write and a cover story for why her required writing might not be as good as her peers', like she's trying to lower their expectations so her work appears better when they finally read it. I never read any of her stuff (she only let her classmates see her work) so I don't know for certain how good she actually was, but using writer's block as an at-the-ready excuse for potentially shoddy work didn't impress me whatsoever.
I still need a strategy sames. However, there is a good note of "just flow out the writes" as could be called and it is effective enough to make wells if that's YOUR style. Nothing more. Next is, we see too many problems in writer's block and may need us not be lazy enough to not find a solution to the problem. I will go by, perhaps write poetry. For, that will "get out" thoughts aloud and influence better poetics to your mind in usages if wants.
I had a really good answer to solve all your problems, but now I'm drawing a total blank... You know sometimes the answer is to quit thinking about it. Sometimes the harder you try to do something, the harder it is to do, especially if your mind really isn't into it at the moment. Unless you are getting paid to write, or you are on some kind of deadline, just step away and do something else for awhile and come back when your ready!
I envy anyone who has the luxury of writer's block. I'm not allowed to have writer's block. I have deadlines and release dates that are set in stone. No matter what is going on in my life, I have to write. Abusive marriage and nasty divorce, but I still have to write. Three family members die within four months, but I still have to write. Both of my children have recently had surgeries, and I myself had major surgery last year, but none of that changes my deadlines. There are days when I would like nothing more than to throw up my hands and yell, "Writer's block!" Unfortunately, that is not an option. My hand still works, the pen still has ink, so I have to write anyway. I can't even walk away and come back to it later because deadlines don't go away. Books have to be finished, and they have to be finished on schedule.
recently, I'm finding that if I write one bad sentence it ruins the entire session, and the entire piece and I have to delete it. It's kind of frustrating, because now I always feel on edge, like there are verbal bombs that I have to dodge. xD
In my oppinion the best way to unblock our writer`s mind is to write more. Great welcome bonus, ountstanding service and games in best uk casinos. It doesn`t matter if what you are writing is good or not (possibly it is not) but the act of writing start the chain that leads to the good ideas and good writing. To not to write is like to accept we can´t do it. Write, write and write more and you will see that you will become into a state of creativity and productivity. Best luck!!
I write based on the video games I play. I find that it's easier to write a short story instead of starting on a novel. Whenever I feel a good idea pop into my head I'm like. "Alright, let's get it down on something!" Inspiration works best, in my opinion
Ideas, dont have to be story ideas or plot points, they can be characters bits of dialoge, settings language.. anything. if you have writers block you need to step back for a moment, and get some ideas. for me writing is like filling in the gaps. something is always there to begin with.
I'm sorry to hear of your problem. What I do is force myself to write every day, even knowing what I'm writing may be junk. Something about forcing my fingers to move over the keyboard helps me to get the creative juices flowing and overcome the writer's block. Now if only I had a similar cure for procrastination.
Lately I’ve been writing a lot. But I’m not happy with any of it. I’m happy with the fact that I’m writing, but I know that everything I’ve written in the last week or two is going to need a big rewrite if it’s ever going to go anywhere. I know what you’re thinking. But this is not normal for me. Editing and rewriting is obviously always part of a writer’s job, so I’m no stranger to it, but I’ve noticed a serious decline in the quality of my drafts. My heart just isn’t truly in any of the projects that I’ve conceived, even the ones I’ve worked on the most. I don’t connect to any of my characters and the plot doesn’t really excite me at all. That’s the core of my problem and the reason for my creative slump. I used to be able to create stories I related to, with detail, even though it was still a sloppy first draft. Again, I’m not trying to indicate a loss of proficiency, but a loss of the interest that makes stories interesting in turn. It's not so much a case of writer's block as it is writer's slump. I'm sure others here have experienced this before. It may even be naturally recurring for any writer. At any rate, I'd like to know: What have you done, if anything, other than "just keep writing" to climb back out of a slump?
Oh hey! I know this feeling! (I don't know why I'm excited though... ) Anyway, I cannot propose a cure, but I can suggest a couple things that might help. My primary suggestion is taking a bit of a break from writing. When we write a lot, we start to lose a little bit of the thrill that entices us to it. We disconnect with that thing that inspired in the first place. (I say us, but I really mean me, and I speak from my own experience). What I've found is that, taking some time aways from writing and expressing my creativity in other ways has helped me distance myself far enough from a project to re-discover my initial inspiration. Without it, even though I want to write, and try very hard to do so, nothing comes out right and I just can't feel the "heart" or "soul" of the work. It can be good or bad, but it's not alive for me. It doesn't move me. So I step away and experience the world until I am stirred again. I cook, I clean, I draw, I exercise, and I go places. I know my writing will still be there. When it's time for me to write again, I'll know by the little word games that start happening in my head and the fun ideas, and scenes that come up. I get moved in my spirit by the idea of something unfolding and that's when I set out to write. Another suggestion might be just to try a different form of writing, something that challenges you or that you haven't tried yet. You may just need a break-away from the day-to-day writing. Hope that helps a bit!
Go out and about... Adventure, spectate and put yourself in different spaces.... Also listening to classical scores can help push you out of a slump.... Mozart... Bach.... Brainfood
Well, there you go. You've identified the problem, because if you're not turned on by the stories, no reader will be. Without seeing some of the writing I can't make any specific suggestions, but based on what I've seen, most of the time, what you're running into is caused when the writer, in looking back over the work they've done, sees that it's not what they hoped it would be, but doesn't know why, or how to fix it. The characters don't live for them, for unknown reason. And if that's the problem it's the first thing to address. If your scenes aren't working as they should, ask a few questions about the writing: 1. Is every scene written so that before the end of the first page the reader knows whose skin they're wearing, where they are in time and space, and what's going on? 2. Is the reader made aware of the protagonist's short term scene goal quickly so as to orient them? 3. Is your protagonist using/experiencing more then sound and vision? 4. Does your protagonist have their scene goal disrupted quickly, so as to cause tension to enter and give a reader a feeling of uncertainty and a reason to worry. 5. Does that tension continue to escalate as the protagonist tries to get things back on track? 6. Does the scene end in some sort of disaster, in that the protagonist has to abandon the goal and research, rethink, retrench before beginning the next scene? 7. Are we with the protagonist in real time, or with the storyteller (even is the storyteller is, nominally the character at some later time). 8. Are there times when the story stops so the narrator can explain, via an info dump or through backstory? If the answer to everything but seven and eight is anything but yes, there's part of the problem. For number seven, you want the reader to experience the adventure, not hear someone talking about a slide show they can't see. For number eight, every time you talk about anything the protagonist isn't personally, and actively focused on you have a POV break. It might be that it's necessary. It sometimes is. but never forget that a reader is, first, seeking to be entertained not informed. Any time you stop the action to tell the reader anything they're not actively hoping you'll tell them—right then—you just killed all momentum the story may have had. So, maybe some things to work on? Hope this helps.
I say take some time off of your project and then just free write. Write about whatever comes to your mind and have fun with it, even if it is complete nonsense, as long as you are enjoying yourself and getting that desire back that's what matters.
This is another great, informative, and humble response by Jay, and a good opportunity for me to say that your all posts are much much more helpful than those by the self claimed "writing gurus" on this site, and without a trace of ego or arrogance. Thanks, man
