I take ungodly amounts of caffeine, doesn't have to be coffee, and spend all night listening to music and writing when everybody is silent.
While I'm at work, I send myself anywhere from 5 to 10 emails a day with little bits of the story I'm working on, insight into characters, etc. Also, when I write, I lean my head back and write with my eyes closed, so I'm not tempted to constantly redo the same sentences and paragraphs over and over. It also keeps me from getting frustrated, reading my inevitably bad first draft.
None really. I like having a glass of tea, a marble front composition book and a pilot razor point pen, but if those things are not available I'll write on whatever I need to with whatever I have. My husband has an interesting one though. For the first draft of anything for his fantasy novel he must write it on graph paper -- one letter, space or punctuation mark to a square -- with a Pentel RSVP fine point. I don't get it, but if it works for him, who am I to judge.
I have to go for a walk or to the gym before I write. Because I know that once I get started I will be sitting for a very long time...
For some reason before i begin writing i have a 30 minute soak in the bath. I just lay and relax, think about nothing but how lovely ieverything is, then get up and get ready to write. Day in, day out.
Stop whining and just do it. ^Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that advice has been given to me many times in my life (in various situations) and it's pretty much the best advice there is. You feel in your heart and soul you have a story to tell. So stop making excuses, stalling, or doing whatever else you do to get out of it and just do it. DO IT. Write. Who cares if it sucks or you feel it's boring at first. My first draft of my book was seriously the stupidest s*it on the planet. lol I've been working on my novel 1.5 years now. And I'm still not even done! But the draft I'm working on now I feel proud of, even though it's far from done. Your skills improve as you go and find your own style and voice. And if you are worried about it sucking or being boring, find some people you trust to be honest with you and have them tell you what they think. It is true that friends aren't the BEST of judges and no matter what they have some bias, but I have quite a few friends who have given me their honest opinions on ways my story could be improved and it's helped me a lot. The review forums on this board helped me too. Seriously. Just stfu and do it already(and I'm saying that with the most loving tone possible) If you really wanted to quit you wouldn't have bothered making this post, you would have just stopped and gone about your life. Get to work.
Watching artistic or deep movies, like The Shining or Ghost In The Shell, does a lot for me. And night gives me better ideas than day.
As in...right now? Anyway, I write when on the boat in the middle of the Atlantic...well, between here and Stornoway.
I tend to just put on some music to get myself comfortable. Something to snack on is always nice too, I just try to avoid too much.
I've been reading up on 'writer's block' in the past couple of days, and here are a few ideas. Someone mentioned something similar to this: It could be fun to write the idea, but as you keep going, it can become monotonous and a little dull. It takes work to end up finishing a piece. I also found this, I completely forget who wrote it though: "If you are writing [a novel] finish it. It doesn't matter how poorly written it is. It could be the worst book ever written; finish writing it. The worst book ever written can be fixed, that is why we workshop and re-write. You cannot fix what you never finish. The biggest difference between a would-be-novelist and an author is that the author finished his/her work." I know it was someone on this board but I forget the name. I've found it to work well. You cannot fix something you never write . If you're lost, as mentioned in this thread, by Cogito, there's been a lot of discussion about this and there's plenty of info out there.
Don't quit. I've been working on a story/script for decades. I also get bored with it. As a result, I rewrite and change various concepts. I may put it on the back burner and work on something else, but I don't intend to give up on it. The thing about writing is one idea may really be a big hit with one reader, yet a dud to others. As the writer, you are the one who has to be satisfied. That may take dozens of rewrites and changes until you are satisfied. If writing is an obsession, then you must enjoy it. If so, don't quit. Write something else. A hodpodge of stories could provide that little spark you are looking for. A little bit of this tale, something taken from another, could provide you with that tad of extra umph to make you happy with your story. Good luck and I hope I helped.
I don't think I write consistently enough to have a concrete writing "ritual." I always have music on, but what type of music varies from day to day. I like to get all my distractions out of my system beforehand as well - I'll go online and check the webcomics I read, check my e-mail, etc. Just so I don't do that halfway through writing a paragraph. Avoiding distraction while writing is my biggest problem ~Christian
It depends on what mood I'm in, however I always turn off the wireless adapter so I'm not tempted to surf when I get stuck on something. Sometimes music works, sometimes it doesn't. It's nice to have that silence to hear the thoughts and character voices in your head clearly. Exercise is another good one, it clears the mind and seems to detox my entire body, getting rid of all the clutter so I can concentrate on the writing.
This quote comes to mind: Unless a writer is extremely old when he dies, in which case he has probably become a neglected institution, his death must always be seen as untimely. This is because a real writer is always shifting and changing and searching. The world has many labels for him, of which the most treacherous is the label of Success. - James Baldwin As others have said, keep going for it even if it's complete rubbish. Just as an athletic has a bad race, writers have bad spells. I'm sure you'll come out the other side stronger and better.
You know, I think I might experience a different kind of writer's block then most people. Whenever the subject is brought up, I always hear things like: "I don't know what to write", and whenever I ask for advice to deal with my own block people tend to suggest ways of coming up with new ideas. Thing is, I always know what to write, and I always have ideas. That's not what writer's block is even about to me. When I have writer's block, I literally can't write. As in, I pretty much know what I need to write but the moment I pick up a pencil or sit down by the keyboard my mind goes completely blank. I seriously experience that my ability to write is blocked.
have you ever considered the possibility that you may just lack the ability [talent/skill] to write?... it does take talent and skill, so rather than your ability being blocked, it may need to be acquired...
While I'm not one to dismiss any possibility without consideration, I highly doubt that. Pretty much everyone who's ever read anything I've written has assured me I'm pretty darn talented indeed. See, when I do write, I'm totally awesome. It's not like I have writer's block all the time. Just often enough for it to be a problem with my productivity.
I often experience something similar. Do you find that it comes from a reluctance to put this free, flexible, open idea onto finite, physical paper? That's what it is for me. It's like, as soon as it manifests from my mind into the world, it loses its magic. It's like I'm killing it. I've kept stuff in my head for years for that reason.
I couldn't have said it better myself. I feel exactly the same. More than often I get ideas that I want to to turn into a story, but it just won't happen. I'll sit and stare at a blank computer screen, trying to get the thoughts onto 'paper', but it just won't work.
I was/am suffering from something similar. I have the idea of my story, I have the general idea of my characters, I got a general idea for an ending, hell I even have a title for this piece. Yet I can't seem to write it. I started with a simple enough sentence 'Amy spun the dial on her locker' But I just hated it. So i deleted it. I started new by writing a paragraph explaining and describing why the antagonist seemed perfect, but it fell just wrong. Maybe its not the same thing, or even similar. But I for the life of me couldn't write the story I had in my mind. I always have ideas. I have a number of them always floating around. But I just can never seem to actually write them. That is when I am suffering from this Writers Block. Well if you are suffering from this now, I hope you quickly over come it
I must admit, i also have this difficulty in starting. I can sit for hours and plan, i can also sit for hours staring at a blank page and think..well where do i start (when i KNOW ewhere to start). Having had a handful of short stories published in a magazine or two, i couldnt say its for lack of ability (though i guess if you have never finished anything than it probably is) Its all about dicipline in my opinion and knowing where one stands. I know i want to write, i want to go further and have larger stories published.... Writing is my life right now, so for me its do it and nothing else.
I read somewhere to write anything that comes to mind and eventually you will be able to expand it into an idea. I am not that good at giving advice only receiving it from others.
I don't really have a writing ritual, but to be productive I can't be disturbed. If I'm logged onto MSN I always start chatting with some friend, and then it's all ruined.
