Writers Block- Is it real? HI there, I personally don't think that there is such thing as writers block, its just a term that people use when they are out of ideas. What does everyone else think?
I get writers block - I have never had an extended period but only been writing since last february one advantage of writing not caring about a first draft is I can just write filler rubbish until the idea comes - I am doing that right now - it isn;t I don't know the story but working out how to tell it can be rough sometimes. There are also the days when I don't connect well with my characters and those are the days for me to take a walk along a beach and forget about them for a time. On one memorable occasion following a row about him learning to sew one of my characters decided to go out for a walk by himself lol He came back next day and we got to work.
I believe in writer's block. I would write but I'm just stuck on what to do, or how to do it. It's so annoying.
there is always something to write about so just write whatever comes to mind, then chop and change in the editing process
I'm already writing three stories, I'll lose track if I write anymore.. I just get stuck, if I want to write but can't I make a new story..
I have been trying to work on my novel since April of this year. It has gone from the original story that I began to create, to a story which takes place generations before the original concept. I am not sure where to begin! Should I keep the second story to help the original grow in my own head, or should I begin with the second idea and continue until I catch up to myself? As a reader what opinions do you have about this? To be more specific, I am only displaced by three generations. The second concept I have for this whole story would begin with the creation of my species of creature, which from then on, would become the main creatures in my novel. I am writing in the fantasy/fiction genre. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Write whichever you are most interested in. Don't think in terms of which one you need to write first to explain the other; after all, any good book should be able to stand on its own, so that applies to whichever of the two stories you choose: you shouldn't depend on the other story to back up the first. The most important thing is to just write it (Cogito the mod will most likely post soon with the "a story concept alone means nothing" template post). One of the biggest barriers of writing is the "Great blank word doc" or staring at the page for a long time because you don't know what to write. Figure out the first scene and write it -- once you've got the story started, allowing it to develop becomes much easier. Good luck!
Yeah, go with what Mallory said. Pick either story and work on it 'til it's finished. Some writers seem to hold on to a single story for a long time; others have something of a "shelf life" -- if they don't get the story written, it changes into a slightly different story, then a very different story, then gets displaced by an entirely different tale. Well, that's sad for the "original" story, which has more or less died unless the author deliberately tries to bring it back to life, but it gives the author another chance, as it were, to write the new stories down. Okay, the first story doesn't hold your interest anymore. Well, fine; it's been six months, after all. Maybe your brain needs something else to play with for awhile. The main point here is that you ought to write something, whether it's the new story or the first one. Otherwise you'll lose them both when yet another neat story idea comes up. So get writing -- after the holidays, if necessary, but sometime soon at least -- and finish a story. Doesn't matter which one, or if it's "good" writing (because we all start out bad, trust me; only the ones who slog through the muck get to the gems on the other side), just get it finished. And good luck.
Hi guys, I took a long break away from writing. Tonight I had the sudden urge to start writing again. I have the plot in my head, I know how it's going to pan out. However the words are scrambled in my head and I can't get it out there. Grrr, me thinks I should work on finishing some other stories I have put away. So I can get back into writing lol.
Try writing an outline of the major events. No speech or description, just a bullet-point outline. Then insert the minor events as sub-bullets. By the time you're done with that you'll probably have hit your stride. If not, break it into one small piece at a time using the outline to define the pieces.
This happened to me a very short time ago. It's horrible - for so long you don't have the motivation, in my case, it was because I didn't think what I wrote was good enough. Then finally I get the urge to write, and what I write IS actually awful, thus validating my stormcloudy mood about it... Unfortunately, the solution I found was to just plough through. Write little bits, and screw them up in frustration, but just practise. If you're like me, stay away from particularly beloved projects, ones that you don't want to sour in your mind, and maybe start a new 'practise' plot. Listen to music, and get back into the cinematic way of thinking - I found I was concentrating too much on the writing part, and not the seeing: you have to be able to see what's going on to describe it well. And, read over what you've written in the past that you're proud of. Deconstruct it, criticise it, and find the style of language and flow of words you feel is the best example of 'your voice'. Bad writers try to emulate the style of another - but if you try and emulate your own best writing, you can feel your way back into things and improve it. Hope this helps, and good luck! It's a long, hard, frustrating path - don't forget, chocolate helps!
Plain and simple: get a pen, get some paper, and just start. It just gets easier from then on. No matter what, you're going to have to go back and edit, so you can make it as confusing and as messy as you want/need in order to just start!
Hi all-- I'm in my sixth draft of a novel, and every time I review it, I find myself becoming less interested in the story. Does this happen to writers or is it only me? I know some writers have scrapped their work because they feel it is sub-par, however, I know my novel is marketable. That's not me being self-conceded, it's the market research and hours of research on the subject at hand. But I've been working on this for a year, interspersed here and there with short stories to try to get my brain away from the story for a new perspective. Is there something else I should be doing? What are your views on the matter?
Have you taken a month or two break from it? If not do that first. Personally I have never got bored with my stories but I do get consumed by them - it is then time to put it away for a time. With my first story I now know the story is great but I am considering maybe I could write it better.
I agree - take some time away from it. I'd arbitrarily suggest taking one break that's double to quadruple your usual breaks - if you usually only take a week off to work on a short story, take a full month off. If it's normally a month, make it a quarter. And after that, do you have a friend who can read the book and give you some thoughts? Maybe a new point of view, combined with your being just a little bit less familiar with the work, would make it feel fresher? ChickenFreak
I get sick of my own stories, especially "Manifestation." I think that's a chaos for me, because it seems that my narration never turns out perfect, or I can't think of other words to write to avoid using repetition words. I'm not sure if I am even capable of writing a third draft, though I take a break for them before I resume proofreading it. I normally suffer analysis paralysis. Other than this, I feel that the idea of the story itself is good, I just can't deliver the story, so I normally read other people's stories to see how they write them, and use the vocabulary to understand it.
The max i've taken off from this is 2 months. And yes, I do have a friend that arbitrarily checks my work, so I have time off while they are reviewing what I have sent them. I don't know how to describe it. It's like I know the story so well, that I gets boring to me. It's like a book you pick up that you love from some bookstore and read it ten times before you look at it and say, why was I ever so involved with that book. It could just be my bi-polar at work too.
Maybe it is time to write your synopsis and covering letter and start trying to sell it or to move on to your next project. However the humour in my stories, the mystery etc still draws me no matter how many times I read them
is it possible that it's time to break off and start the next novel, so that you can productively take several months off from this one? You may just need to wash this one out of your brain altogether for a while, so that when you get back to it you feel fresher. And you may need some time just writing, rather than revising. Getting to the sixth draft represents a _lot_ of time spent revising, which, IMO, is a very different experience from first-draft writing. (I should note that I'm not saying this from the point of view of anyone with any experience to speak of. I'm just suggesting it as a thought that maybe you haven't thought of.) ChickenFreak
You are right Chicken - first draft writing is very different for me for any other stage. I try to have three or four novels at various stages from first draft through to final draft - allows me to work between them.
Try both of these. I recently tried to take part in NaNoWriMo with a story idea I had been playing around with for some time. The words wouldn't come out! I thought about it, trying to figure out why, and realized that I didn't know who in the world my protagonist was, or what was at stake to create a conflict! I had to take a break from writing it to plan it out a little better. Sometimes, even if it's not the actual story, it's best to just freewrite, to get the creativity flowing a bit more smoothly.
I don't think I could stand reading any book as many times as I read through my own drafts, without becoming utterly sick of it. That includes the greatest stories I've ever read. So yes, I become pretty sick of my own stories in the end, but I try my best to ignore that. The biggest traps are: Editing stuff that worked fine, just to hear it differently for once; Thinking that an original idea is stale and cliche, because it's gone through my head so many times.
