The Writers Block Thread

I suppose if you think of it like that, it does make sense. I think I understand.

 

One of my favorite Buffy fanfic authors went on to become one hell of a prolific writer of original works.

 

Getting started is extremely heard. More often than not, I find myself staring at a blank screen for minutes before giving up and opening my browser or re-reading parts of my favorite novels. I've never wrote any fanfiction, but as someone has already pointed out, your mind can come up with thousand of different excuses only to prevent you from writing. One of my favorite ones is: 'I'm kind of tired now, I'll get into it more seriously tomorrow'. For the most part, it's just outright laziness that gets the better of me, and the fear of bad writing.
Still, that's something we all need to deal with.
I'd recommend you make a clear decision and commit to your work and abandon fanfiction. It's clearly not helping your writing at this stage, and it's only taking away your creative energy.
And also, don't try to write anything in your head, just put in on paper (or screen). I've had the most brilliant ideas unraveling in my head, but almost none made it into my novel.

 

I'm sure this isn't anything new to many of you, but oftentimes I find myself with a terrible case of writer's block, even when I know exactly how i want my story to go. It's most likely the reason why the vast majority of my ideas have yet to be written down...

Any tips on how to combat this issue?

 

Knowing exactly how you want your story to go sometimes means you know exactly how you want it to end, but can't figure out how to get there. I occasionally find myself in that position, especially now that I'm writing crime fiction. One way through that is to start with your desired ending and work backward. Another, more analytical way is to know your starting point and ending point and identifying what elements of your story have to change in order to get from A to B. That means considering how your characters have to change and how your setting has to change. Once you know that you can start devising the events that occur to bring about the changes.

Sometimes, I find that the ending I'd planned on doesn't work because of subtle changes that have occurred in my character over the course of the story, or the way the story has changed as I've developed my characters more completely. Think of your characters in the same way you think of a friend. When you first meet a new friend, you don't know everything about him or her; it takes time and experience. Same with a character. So, you need to be open to potential changes in your story.

 

There are two kinds of writer's block: empty plate, spaghetti plate. Empty plate is when we have no clue what to write. Spaghetti plate is when we have too many ideas.
When I have an empty plate, I take in someone else's story or I just do random research on wikipedia, etc. It's like when kids watch TV to find something to play. When I have a spaghetti plate, I work on another story. Somehow, that miraculously narrows my possibilities for my previous story. Either way, writers are meant to be both playful kids and productive adults. I suspect writer's block happens when we are either too much kid or too much adult.

 

Writers block for me starts when I sit there looking at a blank canvas for ten minutes. Then after much deliberation on where to start I write a sentence, sometimes not even a complete one and think 'No that doesn't sound right.' So I delete that, spend a few more minutes thinking before I write another one. 'Nope, don't like that either. That would sound better If I jumbled the words up differently. Actually before I do that I'll make a nice cup of tea and some biscuits then straighten the stuff on the desk.'

When I finally get to writing fluidly, I still don't like that first sentence and I feel bloated only to be shouted at by the kids when they look in the biscuit barrel. Bottom line for me is don't look back at what you've just wrote, just keep writing. At some point during that session they'll be moments when your hand doesn't move fast enough for your imagination. Just get the story down, it doesn't matter about readability, grammar or punctuation at this point. And don't listen to that little gremlin between your ears saying you cant do this. Remember he's a schizophrenic so just politely ignore the abuse.

Keep on writing

 

Best writing advice, ever. Thank you!

 

Yes. And until you get published (or foolishly decide to self-publish too soon) nothing is set in stone. You can correct any mistake. You can rewrite any bits you don't like. You can change the story's structure, add or eliminate characters, get rid of events that don't move the story forward. Nothing is set in stone.

What you can't do is publish a story that hasn't been finished, though. So don't worry about mistakes. Get the story down as best as you can, flaws and all. Once you've finished that first draft, then the real work begins.

Until you become incredibly proficient and experienced as a writer and know exactly what you're doing at all times, I wouldn't expect perfection at the end of a first draft. Getting stuck on the first couple of chapters, working endlessly to 'perfect' them before moving on is the biggest stumbling block to writing success that I can think of. However, the SECOND biggest stumbling block is rushing to self-publish or to submit a story to agents before it IS perfect. You need to hit a happy medium.

Aim to create perfection, but not till after the whole story is in place. Fine to change a few things or tinker with a few word choices before you start writing the next day, to keep yourself on the right track. But if you find that months have gone by and you're still tinkering your first chapter and haven't written the second one yet, then I'd say you're stuck, and you need to get unstuck if you're ever going to get finished. Accept the imperfections (for now) and move on.

 

I agree completely with @jannert. Just keep on writing and edit later. Sometimes it kills me (retired Language Arts teacher that I am) to not go back and fix grammar mistakes. Be brave - you can do that later!
Sometimes, when I feel blocked I make myself get inside the head of the protagonist for a bit. Even if she is just sitting on the porch staring at the woods, it helps get me going.

 

What tips and tricks pull you out of it quickly? I’m not talking about the kind where it’s like, “gah, I can’t figure out how to finish this story”, mind you. What I’m referring to is that ever-too-common excuse of “not having the time” and just not putting pen-to-paper for way too long.

Help. My writer’s block has me emotionally constipated and paralyzed and I’m not sure how to overcome this one!

 

My beloved -I don't like the word girlfriend- tummy punches me -And it hurts because she boxes- every time I write a love scene she doesn't like, or I don't finish my stories when I told her I'd have them done by.

My methods are not for everyone.

 

Hey, I think I’ve been in familiar scenarios, but typically I’M the “beloved”, if you catch my drift ...

 

I won't lie, when she told me she was taking up boxing and would be fighting other women and wanted me to come and watch, I'm sure I had the same expression of a Fat kid walking into a Candy Shop: pure, unadulterated joy.

 

Someone posted a video about writer's block, and I have bad news for you. There is no cure. You'll just have to suffer until it comes back naturally.

 

THANKS A LOT BUZZKILL!

 

(Jk, that’s kinda’ what I figured, but it can’t hurt to ask. I just also hate that answer because it’s absolutely not what I want to hear.)

 

Fear not, I'm talking utter bollocks. It was an in-joke from the other thread where the aforementioned video was posted.

If you want a serious answer, I don't have one. And I'm not sure there is one. Rest assured, writer's block (whatever that might be) can be beaten. I find it easier to let it win, let my brain have its silly little tantrum where it makes me cut off my nose to spite my face. When it's ready to write again (usually after a period of about 7-8 months) it'll let me know.

What was the question again?

 

I’m super glad you said this because I now feel less like an all-alone-failure biding time.

 

Brandon Sanderson suggested free writing the character discussing their feelings and motivations with the camera, or just writing the bad scene, maybe with something weird or different to shake it up, and not expect it to be in the book. He said that with a revision pass, that his sections he wrote uninspired and crappy turned out as good as the rest of his stuff.

I don't like writing, KNOWING, that it isn't going to be in the book, but I don't mind taking a stab at a dumb chapter and seeing what happens.

Two days ago I was feeling some writers block but I still ground out 500 words. Tonight I wrote one of the chapters I'm most happy with, ever.

 

I think anyone would have told you you're far from alone in going through periods where you're not able to write. We all handle it in our own way, and if your way is to sit back and wait for it to come to you, then stand up, be proud and don't let anyone else tell you your method is wrong.

 

You’re just my favorite.

 

I haven’t written much of ANYTHING in many, many months. I’m not working on a story at all, just ... stuck in time.

 

Got any ideas for a story?