I think you're onto something here. I tried your suggestion and got out of here to have some mindless entertainment, and after that, my first words in days came out!
Let me add a bit of perspective. I live and work in the mother of all creative communities: Los Angeles. My friends and neighbors all work in creative fields. It is their profession—no side gigs—and their creative endeavors pay their rent or mortgages, put food on their tables, and pay for their kids’ schooling. I’ve alternated between that environment and writing jobs since age 16. I have interviewed and informally talked with many successful creative pros who make their living at writing (screenwriters, game writers, novelists, songwriters, journalists, set designers, et al.). Many of them have experienced creative blocks. And I can assure you they are not afraid to show their work in public, because they’ve been doing it for years. The goal and reward system you mentioned in your previous post would likely be ineffective for someone who makes their living at it. It certainly wouldn’t do anything for me. It may work for a hobbyist, but if the prospect of losing one’s paycheck, home, or entire livelihood isn’t making someone write, a little treat or a day at the spa for hitting a word count sure as hell won’t do anything. Writer’s block, or creative burnout can happen at any stage in one’s career, and for most of the people I know, it has nothing to do with experience level, lack of discipline, or fear of showing one’s work or fear of performing in public. After talking with so many people who’ve experienced it, including an incredibly disciplined household name rock star who’s experienced writer’s block to the point of complete creative shutdown twice in his career, I’ve come to the opinion that there are different types of writer’s block as well as different levels and stages of it. One common denominator (and the major cause of my own writer’s block)? Stress. A while back in one of his Forum posts @Homer Potvin used the phrase “mental real estate”. I don’t remember the subject of the post (sorry, Homes) but that phrase stuck with me, because it was so perfectly put. Mental real estate, just like real estate if the land variety, is not infinite. You can only crowd it with so much before it reaches capacity and stops working efficiently. Stress is one of the biggest over-crowders. You seem to be unaware that there’s an entire speciality of psychology that focuses on working with creative professionals to help them get their mojo back, just as sports psychologists help professional athletes out of their slumps. Do some googling on creative burnout. Research positive stress vs. negative stress. Read about the effects of negative stress on creativity. Read about what parts of the brain are affected by it. Do some reading about the creative centers of the brain, the chemical processes that fire it up, and what sorts of things can shut it down. While you’re at it, do some reading about which parts of the brain are affected by things like depression, anxiety, ADHD, and PTSD, because they can be a major factor. For people who have them, the added stress of of cracking the whip can be especially counter-active. But most of all, try a little empathy. The tone of your posts had the voice of a cruel label head / head of production/ insert whip-cracker title here demanding why the rock star / screenwriter / whoever doesn’t “just write”. I’ve witnessed that, and it’s ugly as hell.
Okay? At no point was my advice pointed towards anyone in any condescending or demeaning way. What I’m saying is writer block is a lie. It’s not real. The only thing that is real is my fingers and the keyboard. I start by typing a character’s name or simply the word ‘the’. I do this until I have a paragraph, then continue till I either need a break or hit my ‘quota’. Everyone has burnout in some form or another but it’s not like you cant work through it. It’s not some impossible wall. Even if it is, you can break though it in tiny chunks. Steven King was right, writers write, and put in the time. I did more than my ‘thousand words’ today, it wasn’t hard, I had the scenes planned out in my head, and I even discovered something I hadn't thought of before. I already know lots about burnout. Thanks. I take writing seriously, though I have fun at the same time. Writing Evergreen was fun and challenging. It took me over a year of work. If your editor calls and you say you’re blocked. Well that’s no good. My advice might work for me but it doesn’t have to work for you. Though I hope it might help, that’s kinda the point of the thread.
I know all about blocks, but I am a pantser so that works to my disadvantage. Secondly just pounding out words on a story when you aren't feeling it, might not make it go anywhere that you wanted it to go. Sure you can change things, but at what point does it become unrecognizable from where you wanted it to go? On the other hand my success with my first novel would be akin to a fart in the wind. And I have been stuck quite a few times on my sequel to it, but not because it failed, but because I still want to give the story the chance it deserves. So don't be so hard on yourself, not everybody can write like a machine and not have a care in the world. It is an art form when you approach it as such, and just a mindless job when you approach it from that angle. You just have to give yourself some time to find that bit of spark that got you started on it in the first place. One thing that I find can help is to go back and read what you have already written, and see if some of that spark comes back. Good luck, and I hope you get your groove back.
You're saying that. That doesn't make you right. You seem to assume that the creative part of your brain is always obedient to the executive part of your brain. I'm guessing that in your case, it always has been--that whether you create good stuff or not, you can always order your brain to create. That doesn't mean that it always works that way for everyone. How does this map with your insistence that there is no such thing as writer's block? How can you need to "work through" something that doesn't exist? Break through what? It doesn't exist, right? ....and? The fact that YOU don't have a problem doesn't mean that the problem can't exist for someone else. How can you know lots about something that doesn't exist?
Yes, I like this post a lot. That's why I don't (necessarily) advocate sticking to a writing schedule, come what may. That can be a leash and whip. Yes, a writer who grimly writes x words per day, no matter what, will produce lots of words. However, that method doesn't necessarily produce usable work. In fact, it can be counter-productive. Not only does colourless, unfocused writing produce discouragement, it can also lead the writer down blind alleys. These can take ages to edit out of. I'd certainly advocate sitting down to write words every day. It's a thin line between writer's block and simple procrastination. But if trying to write doesn't produce anything worthwhile that day—or anything at all—then stop. The writer needs a carrot at that stage, not a stick. The carrot may well be a new (related) idea, or a new approach to an older one. These eureka moments often spring to life when a writer is doing other things besides writing. Writer's block (a semantic term, meaning a writer has difficulty writing—there is no point in arguing whether it exists or not) can often mean that something is basically wrong with the story, or the route the writer is taking with it. Subconsciously the writer knows this—hence the block—but they still don't know why. Distance can provide the perspective a writer might need to see what their problem actually is. If the writer refuses to give themselves that distance, they are very likely to just keep stubbornly ploughing the wrong furrow. Or quitting altogether, which would be a real shame. .........edit This post also assumes that creativity killers like stress, family crises, bereavements, work overloads, clinical depression, etc, are not a factor in the blockage. I'm only addressing the eager writer who has hit a writing snag and is struggling to produce work as a result.
In addition to reasons for the block that you've listed, I'd like to add that blockage can also arise because something is wrong with the story itself, or the writer's approach to it. Rather than focusing on write write write and it will all come good, sometimes it's a good idea to step back and stop forcing the writing. What underpins the problem is what a writer needs to discover, before they'll break through and start flowing again.
I agree with the general principle that miserable forced writing is a bad idea. But I personally embrace the production of not-usable work. For me, staying inside the world of the story has a lot of value, and I am only thoroughly in the world of the story when I'm producing new writing for the story. So if I don't want to write anything productive, but I can find anything connected to the story that I will enjoy writing, I think it's worth writing it. This is again just me, but I've had several stalls in my WIP, and each one was resolved by going back to the sections written so far and writing more, and often unneeded-in-the-end, scenes. Unneeded, that is, in the group of scenes that will likely make up the novel, but I needed to write them because only by writing them did I come to a new understanding of whatever issue was causing the stall. This may tie to planning versus pantsing. I don't seem to be able to come to a new understanding without actually writing. Thinking, without writing, usually doesn't help.
Yeah, I've done both myself. I certainly wrote a lot of guff that I later discarded, and I learned from that process. (Roughly a third of my original draft got cut!) But then again, I wasn't stuck when I wrote the guff. Oh, no. I loved the guff. I honestly wanted to write those guffy things. It just turned out later on that they weren't needed, or were basically cringeworthy. To tell the truth, I've never experienced writer's block when writing a first draft. In fact, once I start, I can't wait to keep going. Story problem-solving is fun for me. Story problems inspire me, so if I hit a story problem, I work like a beaver to solve it—with a big grin on my face. It's during the edits that I experience depressing blockage. I know something isn't quite right, but I don't know why. That's where endless tinkering is counter-productive for me. I need to wait a while, achieve distance, then try again. That method has never failed me. I always eventually come up with the solution to my problem. (Which often is simply cutting or redirecting the guff, once I recognise it.) I honestly believe that distance is the writer's best friend. Unfortunately, distance also means waiting for the light bulb to go on, and taking a while to finish—which some writers aren't comfortable with.
So you’re blocked? Okay. My first novel, not Evergreen, was a learning process. I gave myself permission to learn and make mistakes, even if I knew where the story was going. No one’s first draft is going to be perfect. Just get the ideas down, don’t censor yourself. Evergreen needed revision. Lots of it. I switched the first draft into third person from first. That was a lot of work. We learn as we create and edit. What your suggesting doesn’t sound like writing. Floundering like a fish out of water, without any plan to move forward. I write 1k every day I can because I know I can do it and stay focused. 1k isn’t that much. If I find myself going down a rabbit hole I embrace it, even if it needs to be cut or edited later. Do not edit and write at the same time. Let the characters drive the story and tell you where to go. I have only been writing for a year and a half. And yet I’ve done a handful of short stories and a completed novel. I put in the time. Some days I’d try but take a break or work on something else. I just write down the ideas in my head. As soon as you think the words writers block you will be blocking yourself. If you have focus and a plan there is no reason to ever be blocked. If you want to, look at either of my progress journals to see my creative process.
No. Again, maybe read my post? Edited to add: At least not writer's block. I suppose it's possible you mean something else. Your “evidence” that writer’s block doesn’t exist seems to be the fact that you don’t have it. It doesn’t really work that way. (Edited to add: And we can resume the argument about whether it exists in some other thread; I should have stopped about two posts ago in this one.)
When I am struggling, I bullet point ideas. From the whole story to the current chapter, to the current paragraph, and eventually I get to a point when it automatically turns into the story. Not sure if that will help. Good luck, may the creative be with you! Rgds Mike
Suuuuure I will. Because you’ve been writing for a whole year and a half (!) and know it ALL. Talk to me when you’ve been at it for five or ten, kid. I’m out.
Now your just flaming me? I never said I know everything, I know what I know, so I’m making the most of what I know. This thread needs to be locked.
This thread is getting a little warm. Maybe a bit smoky. Verging, alas, on flamey. Time for a wet blanket, I think. I'm closing this thread for a few days.
Hi everyone, So I've hit The Wall with basically all of my WIPs - I get a certain way in and I just lose motivation and stop. I'll give it a week or so of trying to get back in, then I start a new story and the same thing happens. I'm off for new year and I'll have a week to just write and what I'd like to do is spend all my time focusing on one story. I've narrowed down all the things I'm working on to four projects that I feel most motivated towards. Which one should I focus on for now? I know if I have the motivation and determination, I can get through The Wall, but I can't decide. Help me! Love to hear your thoughts, I'll whack a poll on this one too and see what happens. Thank you! Also, if anyone has any tips for motivating myself etc etc, feel free! Piper 1. The Archangel (rewrite) Second version of a story I finished earlier this year. Apocalyptic angel/demon horror set in a hotel. Lots of big reveals and twists Big focus on character, lots of negative arcs. Not a happy ending. Current wordcount: 21,014 2. Hide Classic horror - monster, seaside town, voodoo magic. You know, horror stuff. A good project (if I ever finish it) to kickstart a horror writing career. Nice, simple plot but a couple of big twists. Nothing too complex. I really like this one but the problem is that the manuscript plot deviates from the original plot (I wrote it as a screenplay first) so I'll have to have a good shuffle round before I can continue. Current wordcount: 18,381 3. The Other Place Fantasy(ish) horror - set in a version of the afterlife where those too wicked for Hell are sent "somewhere else," a team of the worst human beings (and a couple other beings) go on a fantasy-style adventure through their world to stop it falling apart. Current wordcount: 17,150 4. The Red Weeping Futuristic horror set on a remote island. Population control is achieved through brutal means - the population of the island is never allowed to reach 101. Every time a baby is born, a citizen is chosen at random to be killed. Less paranormal horror than human, very ritualistic etc. This is the latest project and I'm least certain about the potential for this one, but it's freshest to me. Current wordcount: 1,898 Let me know what you think! As a reader, what would you most like to see? Thanks everyone, and happy new year!
"The Other Place" The concept of being too wicked for Hell intrigues me. What sort of evil would make the Devil say, "Oh HELL no!"
Asking others will get you no where; as you see above two people have chosen different ones. I would have aid 'The Red Weeping'. It really needs to be your decision, there must be one you like the best? Or go extreme and find a way to merge them.
How long are you intending these to be ? If there's a novella or shorter project in the bunch pick that one so that you can finish it comparatively quickly - then you will know that you can finish a draft and use that knowledge to motivate you to write another one
Fair points from everyone, you're right I had hoped one would jump out to people but of course everyone's different!! In terms of length, the Archangel is the biggest project, hoping to reach 100K with plans for a sequel and potentially a third, based on how the first draft ended. The rest, standard 80/90K - for Hide and The Other Place, I've a solid plan on how to reach that, for The Red Weeping it's a little more vague. So I think that narrows it down to option 2 and 3 for now. Thanks everyone for the thoughts so far!! Piper
Wait, let me see if I get this right. You already finished the Archangel story, and it ended at 21k words. And now you want to rewrite it, so you can hit 100k words? Why? Isn't the story already done? Why expand it to five times longer, if you have nothing to say? My suggestion? Put the last one on hold for now, and focus on the first three stories. Keep them relatively short (20k - 30k words), and put them all in an anthology. Don't be too blinded by the word count. It really doesn't matter. A book with 60k words can be a lot better than a book with 120k words. It's all about pacing, making the plot interesting, and keeping the reader interested. Basically, think about King Kong. Peter Jackson made a version that's twice as long as the original movie from 1933, but the story is exactly the same. That means literally half the movie is just filler, that could easily have been scrapped. The Hobbit is a very short book, but when he turned it into a movie, he tried to make it the same epic length as the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. The end result was a complete mess that barely resemble the book at all.
This is a hard call as we have no idea of your skills in each genre. Start writing dialog for the main character in ecah and see which one takes off.
Good advice from everyone here, thank you again. I think as you said I'll ditch the latest one for now and focus on the three that are furthest ahead. To clarify, the original version of the Archangel was 100K, the new version is currently at 20K and (as it goes a lot deeper into character, build-up etc) could probably go further than 100 hence the plans for a sequel. I think for now I'll work on Hide, nice and easy once I get past the reshuffle. Again, thank you all!! Piper
Ah, I see. In that case, I think you might want to consider making Archangel a bit longer than 100k, and scrap any plans for a sequel. The reason isn't that I don't think a sequel would work, but that I think every book should be "the last one". Every book should be the best one possible, and that's not going to happen if you focus on a sequel before the first one is done. You only need to look at movies like Amazing Spider-man 2 to see how bad it can get if they focus more on the sequels than the current story. That's a worst case scenario, though. That said, when Frank Herbert wrote Dune, all he wanted was to make the best book he could possible write. But at the same time, he kept notes for a potential sequel. This wasn't because he planned a sequel, but mostly that if there ever was one, he wanted to be sure all the details were accurate. That's why I usually keep a document with all the important stuff in my books, like how old people are, who's married to who, what their jobs are, and so on. I recently finished the first draft of a second book in a potential series, and it takes placxe two years after the first one. It doesn't have a huge cast, but there are minor characters involved, like children, spouses, and so on. If a boy was 9 in the first book, he would be 11 by now, and around 13 in the next one. A 9 year old and 13 year old are quite different in most ways, so it's nice to keep track of stuff like that. But keeping notes doesn't mean I plan a sequel. It just happened. Now I'm working on a third book, and have no intentions of a fourth one. But that doesn't mean there won't be any. We'll have to wait and see if the characters are done with me.
