Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. I have taken to keeping a small notebook in which I scribble whatever I have on my mind. I make it a point not to stay in the lines and to fully let go of all restraint. I express raw emotion there. Even when it doesn't make sense. That is the one place I am able to write without problem. If I could learn to let go like that with everything else I write, then I'd be fine.
I was the same way at first and was for long time. I had cool ideas and I was too hard on myself and didn't think it conformed. However I had a breakthrough while watching the movie The Sixth Sense. It was a scene where Bruce Willis' (Malcolm) character was talking to Cole (the young boy) about free association writing. And the message was that in order to truly dig down in your psyche or your mind, is to at first not think about what you are writing but just keep writing (or typing). The words will start to flow and you will develop something. You can go back and edit later. Never think your work isn't good enough..and that is pretty much based on the fact that no matter what you'll do..some will like it..some will hate it; you will always appeal to some sort of audience.
it sounds as though your mind has woken up to the possibility that you might actually be ready to look into the depths of self and start really exploring your preoccupations, fears, hopes... and of course this makes the mind freeze; so you are frozen for the moment.. in which case, like many writers, you should take long hot baths, and make sure you can note things down while you're having your bath - ideally have a dictophone running somewhere which you can talk aloud to..you will find, I am certain, you will find what it is you really want to write about as the body relaxes and gives up the information it is holding and can't yet let go of. good luck rl ps the fact you find what you write 'crappy' is a very good sign - not just of developing skill but of greater personal courage and readiness as a writer, the readiness to do something worthwhile.
Don't delete. Brainstorm an idea. Take the Short Story Contest Theme idea - any of them, pick one - and make it work. Don't second guess yourself, don't quit. I wrote a story recently that I really wasn't feeling. It felt empty to me, and it showed in how I was writing. My writing was crap - it felt dead. What did I do? I forged on anyway. I thought more, I thought deeper about the characters and their motivations. I thought about the feeling behind their motives, and through the editing process I was able to push more feeling into the work, and in so doing, better developed the plot to the story I was creating. In essence, I breathed life into what was previously a dead manuscript. It was dead for me, anyway. You can make it fun again. Just think a little deeper about how things might go, get more involved in the story, immerse yourself, and don't give yourself the option to quit. Quitting is not an option. Even if you have a dead manuscript once you are done, it will at least be a finished one, and you will be more immersed into the story than you were previously. You can still add twists after the fact - like, it would be better if he did it this way, or said this instead, or whatever - but it will be finished, and that is something to be proud of. Personally, I think you can breathe life into your own work and make it interesting for you, you just need to stop holding back. If even some little part of your subconscious mind has doubts, it will show in your work. Immerse yourself. Don't quit.
It's odd, I go through the same thing. Not sure if you have this problem either, but if I don't write I feel like a massive weight is weighing me down. My entire attitude in life changes negatively and suddenly I'm exceedingly apathetic. Then, after a week or two of this, I realize that it is self induced. No, I'm not trying to say you have a masochistic mind. I know for myself, however, I had to deal with low self esteem in my teen years and only just got over it about two years ago. I always second guessed myself, it was a way of survival. Even now I find myself second guessing little things which would otherwise be meaningless. It seems, every now and again, I go through a weird phase where I lose all my personal faith and suddenly I believe I am unable to write. I'm sure you probably don't have all of that lol, but I do think you might want to look inwards to figure out your issue.
I can recommend two things First- It sounds like you are writing without planning ANYTHING. It sounds like you have been doing so for a while with no results, so maybe you are one who needs to know where he/she is going before setting down to write. Try a rough plan out and try again. Second- Nobody's first draft is amazing, so relax. Most people know their first draft sucks, but they don't care because they are still so far from finishing. My advice to you is to write without turning back, because that is how you start. Eventually, you will like what you have written, and when you are done, no matter how bad or short or whatever it is, you can go back and start another draft, and this time you will know what you are writing about and you have a nice outline to go with it.
You'd think as a psychology major, it would be easier for me to open up and let go. lol This is great advice, guys, thank you so much. I will definitely take some time to take all this into account.
Try writing a story about searching out and finding your muse. Give us an idea what she (or he) looks like, how she behaves (does she have an "attitude"?), and where you find her hiding. Play with words instead of trying to accomplish something with them, and see where it takes you. Sounds like you're "trying" too hard to me.
Alright, I've been through what you mean. Back when I first started writing the one novel I was working on, for the longest time I could never come up with a believable plot. I could always see the characters, but never the climax or any real scene to it. My best advice is to simply take what you have (NEVER DELETE) and save it for a while. Look back on it sometimes and see what you like(d) about the idea and what you didn't/don't. Also, a good warm up is to just take a random object in the room and give it a story. Put it into a scene. Build a plot around the scene. Or just think of something that would be a good scene to you and build it around that. Other than that, there's not much I can say. I'm not sure if you tried this, but music always help me start thinking about ideas. I hope this helped.
NerdyGothChick, You're a psych major! You have a plethora of character building information at your disposal...use it. Craft an interesting character/s and then work them into interesting situations in whatever genre you want to write in. The characters are generally the meat and potatoes of the story. The characters have to be interesting and have one or two relate-able traits for the readers to identify with. After that it's all icing on the cake. The situations you throw these interesting characters into will take on a life of it's own. Their strange little habits or issues bring more life to the situations that they are put into and bring the story to a new level of entertainment. If you're blocked, you're thinking too hard. Let go of the thinking aspect of writing a story and use the creative feeling side of your brain. To me the only place thinking should be in writing is non-fiction. Fiction should flow from the creative side, not the logical side. Granted editing a first draft becomes a logical brain activity, but the first draft isn't going to ever be perfect. I know how you feel when you say what you are writing is crap. You're on the cusp of getting to a point where you read back over what you wrote and say "Wow, did I really write that?! It's freaking awesome!" You just have to let go of trying to be perfect, then perfection comes. I know I spent most of 2008 writing crap. lol This year, I've written some stuff that amazed me. It's just part of the learning process. Don't let it get you stressed out. If you find you're getting frustrated, buy a new fiction book in the genre you are aiming for and read. Then try your hand at writing something, but don't write while you read the book. Just read it. then write something. Try critiquing some short stories on here too. Learning how to spot things wrong helps you write better. Then post a short story on here and see how others react. Take their critiques and learn from them and try again. If you let it, this site will help you improve and move past feeling stressed and blocked. Try the short story contests too, they also help with coming up with random creativity.
Its really hard to get rid of but what is fun if you have a writers block is having someone start a story idea like write a chapter or two and you start writing from there it usually wears off after a while and when you are not having a writers block write down every idea you get into your mind for a story or book i carry what is called an idea book with me and it has a writing idea page and i illustrate my books so if i make up a cartoon then i draw it in there it is also good for reminders and other things hope your write block goes away good luck
You get ideas though? You know you have something to say but when it come to writing everything freezes? So just say it out loud. Get a tape recorder and say what you want to say, worry about putting it on paper later. I've used this before, but I was walking through a park (dancing through a park, I like acting out what I'm saying.) I got a bunch of incredible looks, but also three pages of incredible writing. Hope it helps!!
Desti, I think you need to wake up and develop a little respect for your fellow writers. Sorry, but I have always detested that attitude phrase that "Writer's block is not real. It's just an excuse to not write." I've seen and heard it from many people since before you were born! Where do you suppose the term came from? Someone just decided they didn't want to write today and said, "Hmm, what kind of an excuse can I use not to write? I know! I'll say I have a writer's block!" If you don't believe writer's block is a genuine phenomenon, you haven't been writing long enough. And I mean truly serious, eyes-on-the-prize creative writing. And to insult other writers, calling the malady laziness or madness or whatever is beyond rude! I hope you never fall into such doldrums that you simply cannot write but I've been there and I've seen others who, likewise, have suffered through the inability to produce so much as a grocery list or a letter to a child's teacher. It starts small. You're dissatisfied with a passage, or even a whole day's work on a ms. The next day, you find you can't come up with any good replacement for that passage you disliked so much the day before. Like depression, after a while, it becomes systemic. It alters the chemical balance in your body and, like depression, you lose control of it. THAT, my dear friend, is writers block. For some it lasts a day or a week. For others, even some of the greatest writers, it may last months, or even years. There may be static moments when you can sit down at a keyboard and produce a few pages of usable writing. But it can linger for inestimable periods and, with each day's failed effort, the writer feels like a failure, too. And the single brick piles on to many other's until you are faced with what looks like an insurmountable brick wall. Since you, our spiritual wanderer, seem to have never confronted even the slightest bit of hesitation in your writing, good fortune has smiled on you so far. When I was your age, I never gave a thought to writer's block, either. But now, with a few more years behind me, I'm more likely to believe I simply wasn't seriously enough invested in my writing back then. My younger self, of course, would have angrily and vehemently denied that assertion. There are people who also don't believe ADD/ADHD is real, or schizophrenia/MPD is real. Some people still deny human beings ever set foot on the moon and, once upon a time, few could have even imagined a time when we could see pictures on a screen right in our own homes! Or connect a typewriter to an electrical system and a tv and be able to communicate with people all around the world in a matter of seconds! Or take a telephone, disconnect the wires encumbering it to our homes, and be able to walk around just about anywhere and be able to talk to people with it, type messages, send pictures ... So, is it at all possible that your inability to conceive of the reality of writer's block is rooted in your own lack of imagination? Hopefully, the longer you live, the more life experiences you have, you will be able to muster a bit more compassion for others' troubles. Until then, I think you owe ShadowedMoon and apology! Now, as far as ShadowedMoon's dilemma: People deal with writer's block in different ways... and it seems everyone has a sure fire 'cure' that works for them, but, of course, there is no guarantee it will work for you! Sometimes, changing from computer to pen and paper can help get you in closer touch with your writing, slow down your mind and essentially take you back to square one, where you began and first discovered your love of, and need for, writing. Others take the masochistic, albeit successful for some, to just to sit your asterisk down in a chair in front of the computer and force yourself to put words on the page whether they end up worth keeping or not. The idea is just to force yourself to write. For some, they simply try avoidance by wasting days, weeks, months on writers' forums instead of writing the stuff that really matters to them. And still, for others, they try getting ivolved in other endeavors; try not to think about writing; put all of their energies into something totally unrelated to writing but filling up on experiences that will, in turn, feed their writing in the future. Then, when they find themselves constantly thinking about new ideas and storylines and how to move this or that character plot along, they return to their writing fully refreshed. And then there are those who simply get tired of the fight, give up, and go on to some other pursuit, living with the thought, "I used to be a writer." (Of course, they never really were! Being a writer is sort of like being hispanic or British or German or American. If you were born hispanic, you will always be hispanic and so on. And, if you were a writer, it is systemic. You will always be a writer.) The bottom line is, no one has a magic panacea for curing writer's block. Friends and writers groups and forums can give you support and encouragement but, you are, ultimately, the only one who can dispel the negative environment. You have to find your own road to the other side. Good luck. And, if you need some back up, you know there are plenty of people here willing to help. Write to me if you'd like. Sometimes, even the simple act of writing anything - even just a message to someone who understands - can be a big step to 'recovery'. Yoiks! Didn't mean to run so long! Sorry.
Speaking of respect, wordsmith, there are many members here, including very experienced writers, who feel that writer's block is not a failure of inspiration, and that it is a motivational issue. You may disagree, but please do so with respect, in accordance with the site rules.
I was not meaning to be disrespectful, and fully acknowledge and respect the skills and opinions of the group. However, destinationless' suggestion that ShadowedMoon was imagining her inability to be productive as a writer or somehow her issue was one of laziness or madness struck me as being unconscionably rude. Thus, I felt compelled to take her to task for her lack of at least compromising on the idea that what ShadowMoon was experiencing was genuine. My words were intended solely to educate and encourage one writer to try to be more understanding of the problems confronted by another. Furthermore, I don't believe I suggested that writer's block was a failure of inspiration. Nor did I disagree with or in any way impugn the experience or opinions of the group as a whole. Quite the opposite. I believe my comments were in support of, and wholly in line with, those writers "who feel that writer's block is not a failure of inspiration, and that it is a motivational issue." I will concede, however; that, regardless of intent, my words may have come off sounding harsher than intended. For that, I will apologize. And I will try to be more controlled in the future. But, if my words were perceived as being disrespectful, I apologize.
You know I've found that writing block goes away if you just relax. I know it's horrible thinking you'll never write again. I've been there many times with everything I've ever worked on. I've found that if I just walk away and come back to it later I'll have something to write about. Inspiration comes at the strangest times.
It's In The Planning I have been browsing thorugh this thread with amusement. I have read causes of writer's block ranging from laziness, lack of talent or simply no ideas. None of these are true. Writer's block is caused by a lack of planning. Does a builder get builder's block half way through building your home (now, where do I put the bathroom ... here... or over here)? Or do they start with a plan? Here is how to get over writer's block. 1. Start with a mind map. Use it to let ideas flow. There are some great sites on how to use mind maps on the net if you Google it. 2. Expand the mind map to have a time axis. Get a long sheet of paper (or tape some sheets together) and map out how the ideas or characters interact with each other and the locations you are wrting about. Now draw vertical lines on the mind map --- woot! Chapters and subchapters are born! The chapters dont't have to run consecutively. You might start with a flash forward subchapter that smack in the middle of this time mind map. 3. Free write. Now that you have chunked your book down into bite size pieces. Free write each chapter. Forget spelling ... forget punction. Just let the overall chapter flow for 20 or so minutes. Pin those together and you have your outline. Read it through and really start writing or assign it to the shredder if it is rubbish.
Usually when I sit down to write, I find that there's about a 15-20 minute period where I can't really write anything. I have all these ideas in my head, but when I try to get them out it just come out wrong. After a while something just clicks, and then I'm fine. If I get distracted, and it's often me distracting myself by throwing on some music or surfing the Internet, during that magic quarter of an hour nothing will get done.
I went through a long spree of block myself. Here's what I do: - Have several stories going at one time. If you can't work on one you can usually work on another. If you can't work on any of them, write out anything on paper, even if it's "I can't write!" - Get to the bottom of why you can't write. Is it because of a faulty plot? Is it because your character has taken on a mind of his own? Is it because you have too many busy hours in your day and not enough caffine? - Read. Reading is the best teacher. - Ask for critques on your work. Hopefuly sharing your work and getting useful ideas from others will give you a good ideas. - Look at any object on your desk or nearby and jot down its description. For example, "Mug. Object is red, round, with a handle on it. It has NEW YORK, NEW YORK written on it with bold letters." - Look for websites with writer's promts. These are great to help you get your words flowing, even if it isn't on your other work. Wikipedia defines writer's block as an inability to produce new work. So don't worry, you're not alone. We've all been there a time or two. Hope this post helped.
This might be a little outside-the-norm, but I find that being really undisciplined and hedonistic does the trick for writer's block. Do something you enjoy, but if inspiration strikes, write it down. I wrote about 4 pages in my notebook today just through sudden bursts of inspiration that occurred to me while doing something else. Let it flow freely; if it's hard work, it's not inspired, is it? For example, I came up with a pretty neat concept for a sci-fi novel while reading about renewable energy, a pretty good short story while looking at the sun setting, and a psychological thriller while painting the wallpaper. I mean, I doubt any of them will ever be finished, but frankly I've produced dozens of concepts for various types of media completely by accident while performing mundane tasks. Basically: don't try so hard! Do something else, and blend those wonderful little bursts of inspiration into your writing when you get the chance.
I find that the place in which i write is the most influential factor...i can't write in an untidy room, and i can't write too near books otherwise i get distracted. i can't write in a room where mum and dad are watching tele or listening to their music, i can only listen to my music. I've been reading a book called Home Office Solutions and starting to use its points to clean up my act.
I find Writer's Block is any one of the usual suspects of laziness, lack of preparation, loss of direction and simply losing self-esteem. The last in particular gets me a lot, especially after writing something I think is particularly good. That might sound strange, but it reminds me that it is good and therefore I might not do as good the next time. So I try to ease my concerns by writing scenes of the story that I won't ever publish but at least flesh out the background, giving me more ideas for what I'm truly working on. I also tend to do more outlining if I find I'm stuck somewhere when I'm writing. Sometimes all that's needed is just to do something different, like walk in a park I haven't before or sing a new song. Just something to get the sluggish old brain to work.
I've been trying to work on this story for a long while. I have all these ideas and know exactly what i want, but lately I've run into this weird rut that I can't seem to get out of. I sit down to write with all my idea in my head, but when I try to get them down it just feels all I'm writing is crap, and doesn't sound like what i was thinking at all. And after two or three hours I only have like one page that I'm still not sure about. Then when I step back from it for a long while I feel really unaccomplished and lazy. Yet when I try again I run into the above problem. I've tried reading my favorite books, watching my favorite movies, walking, basically anything to get my creative flair back, but I keep running into the first problem. Any suggestions cause it's really starting to piss me off.
Try looking at the work from a different view. Different point of view, perhaps start in the middle of action, ect. Stab at it from different perspectives, you'll eventually crack it.
