The Writers Block Thread

Henry Miller once noted that when he couldn't create he could still work.

Some days you write less than others. On those days there's other work that you can do.

Writers block is real. I find most people who don't believe in it are hack writers. Hack writers go at it everyday and never worry about creativity (because they probably don't have any to begin with). If your fully plotted spy thriller or paranormal romance novel has a slow day it doesn't really matter.

Writers block can be a time of introversion. When I feel stuck I ask myself what's important. Why am I writing? What do I like writing? What do I love writing?

I try to have a number of options each day for writing. I have certain things I can go to when my creative flow is low. That's the best thing you can do, I think. Not every writing day is the same so there's no reason to treat it that way.

 

For me, I don't start writing until 8pm, and I turn off the lights in the room (and TV and phone), and all I have is a candle burning. Otherwise I get distracted easy. Thats me typing on a laptop tho, if I was using a pen I would probably have the light on.

 

I find that not starting too late is important.-- you won't have the energy to get the job done right. Best to do it when you do.

 

I would reboot your writing time, sometimes that's the best alternative. Read books from a genre that you are writing about and see if that works.

 

In addition to what everyone else has said, sometimes I find it helpful to watch an exciting show, movie, or even an action scene from a movie to help me get into the mood of writing a particular scene.

 

I wouldn't necessarily agree with what others are saying about the timing, it's about what suits the individual. Personally I'm a night-owl and write very late at night. If I try writing first thing in the morning (and I've tried) I'm useless. Having said that maybe the hours your working now aren't write for you. mix it up and see what fits.

Enthusiasm or lack there of, is something you just need to power through. If you're writing a full length novel I find I hit a wall about 30K words in and just want to give up. I push on though and soon find my rhythm again around the fifty thousand mark.

I recommend getting a book called "No Plot? No Problem!" by Chris Baty. It's a guide to writing 50K words in 30 days which I have never tried myself but its written with a true love of writing and a sense of fun. Whenever I feel like giving up on it all I dip into this book and it soon brings back my enthusiasm and love of writing.

 

I find my only enthusiasm is driven by my interest in my own idea. Write about something you're passionate about and hopefully you will feel that writing spark.

 

Hi,

My thought, stop the schedule. Writing should be something you do because its your passion. Scheduling times and word counts and all that tends to kill the passion for me. So take a break. Give yourself a chance to get inspired all over again. And one of the things that I find helps me, is keeping a note of ideas. Ideas happen at any time, when I'm writing and when I'm not. But the one thing they all have in common is that they motivate me to write. So keep a track of them when you're at work say or in the garden, and let them simmer. Chances are the next time you write, you'll be able to take one out and work on it instead. Even if it doesn't fit in your WIP.

Cheers, Greg.

 

You sound awfully bitter, presumably because those writers who don't believe in writer's block have belittled your struggles, but being insulting back isn't very mature. I don't believe in writer's block - I believe that your fear can give you a block, but whether to let go of your fear is your choice. However, the whole concept of a writer's block is that there is no choice, and that's where I disagree. There're many things that could stop you from writing - fear, dread, too much work, stress, pure procrastination, life - but do you let it stop you is pure choice.

As for creativity - the lack of creativity I don't really see as a "block" - you're just in search of something good to write about. How can you say the searching process is really a "block"? You can still write, it might not be anything good, something you like or something useful or even complete, who cares. You occupy your itchy fingers while your mind goes exploring, and you read a nice book that you hadn't had time for before because you were writing. You stop when you genuinely believe there're no ideas out there, and that's when you get a "block" - but the point is, whether you stop is, again, your CHOICE.

I thoroughly believe the writers who insist on writing only when their muse is poking them DO genuinely get writer's block. That's because they've made themselves believe that their writing and quality of writing is entirely controlled by their moods and inspirations and frankly, we're all human, we all get down days, bad hair days, grunchy days, moody days, and if your writing is controlled by these things then of course you're gonna get a block.

Writing is a matter of the will and discipline. The point is, even if you end up writing absolute trash, you finish your piece because you persevered and kept writing despite yourself - and now you have the beginning of something you can polish off, prune and make beautiful. 90% of the time you end up - or I end up - deleting 1000-3000 words written in such moments cus they really are trash, but each time it's helped me get a little closer to see what it is I need to write, and eventually I get a good day and inspiration hits and I delete the whole thing again and write it again. That's fine.

My point is, without those trashy 3000 words or so that I've rewritten and deleted half a dozen times, the final product that I'm proud of would never exist.

Creativity is certainly important, but no more important than pure discipline, and realising that it's all a matter of choice. It's about your will, not your whim.

 

I think Mckk's post is spot on. There is a vast difference between feeling 'uninspired' and writers block. I can always write something, but it may well be rubbish. Just like when I endure pained silence in the company of people I don't know very well; I could describe it as 'speaker's block' or put it down to my inability to make small talk. The real reason I sometimes have trouble finding something to say, is my own insecurity and anxiety, opening phrases flit through my head, I am English so we can always talk about the weather! I don't want to look dull, or I am not that interested in the other person, or I am tired and pissed off, so I don't make the effort, there is always an excuse.

I think the same goes for writing - writing is a joy and a struggle - it is hard to find time to do it, so when I can, the time is precious and pressured - but I write something, even if it is a shopping list!

 

I absolutely love writer's block. It means I don't get bogged down with all these cool ideas and random plotlines, and can actually start making real progress on my stories. Instead of thinking vaguely about my MC falling in love in chapter twelve, I'm thinking about what I want my story to be, and what is the beginning, what is the end, what's in between. I'm working on fleshing out characters and developing plotlines.

What I hate is when I get all these cool ideas and I keep thinking,"This plot sucks. Let's go with the cool idea I had earlier."

 

I usually write short fiction, and I can have crazy writers block. Then I'll go through a weird phase and delete an entire story and push myself down to square one :/

 

Our writing lives don't really differ from one another. When I'm stuck I either edit previous work or just push myself to get past it. Like my quote from Henry Miller about creating when I can and working when I can't. I never said that a writer needs to be inspired all the time in order to write. That's not the way I write and it's not what I'm saying at all.

However, I disagree with you about the existence of writers block. In another thread my argument was similar to this one but it got shot down. The notion that sheer will can defeat anything is, to me, a very foolish notion. I get the ego boost you are going for. You have more will than me therefore you are a better writer and don't believe in writers block. You do admit, quite honestly, that there are days when you struggle. That's writers block. For the last several months I've written twice a day, every day, no excuse. I can admit I've had writers block on some of these days.

I think writers block should be a moment of reflection. You should ask yourself some questions. This might mean changing the course of your story.

It's not just about will or inspiration. For one thing, those two go hand in hand. For another, there's nothing wrong with trying to be inspired to write more. Sometimes that means going for a walk. Or talking to friends. Listening to music. Doing something, anything. I don't know why people on this forum are so anti-inspiration. It's like if anyone felt passion towards their writing, even just for a day, instead of going with their brute willpower that they would be eaten whole by a hungry earth.

I'm not a writer who writes on a whim or always needs inspiration. If I was, I wouldn't write every day. I wrote 3,000 words when I was sick, depressed and when their were family problems that took most of my attention away.

I think if you are writing without ANY inspiration, are not trying to be inspired, and are just writing just to write then you are basically a typist. Your not writing with meaning, you are writing just to type. I believe these people struggle much less with writers block. They don't worry about being good because they never will be anyway. They don't worry about actual content because they've long given up the ghost of passion.

Some days it's a struggle to write. I know. But if you are going weeks and months with this struggle then you might be seriously blocked. If you can write for months on end without any level of passion for your work then your work had died a long time ago and it's time to reassess what you are doing.

 

A bit of writers block would help slow the increase in numbers of half-finished ideas I've got lying around, that I don't have the time nor the craft to finish.

 

Again, I have to heartily disagree. Writing when not feeling 'inspired' can (and usually does) lead to ideas that would never have come to mind if one just sat and bemoaned having 'writers block'. If you're writing anything, you don't have writer's block. Why? Because you're writing something.

And saying people who write even when not inspired will never be any good is just bull.

 

Here's a quote that might help:



“If you get stuck, get away from your desk. Take a walk, take a bath, go to sleep, make a pie, draw, listen to *music, meditate, exercise; whatever you do, don't just stick there scowling at the problem. But don't make telephone calls or go to a party; if you do, other people's words will pour in where your lost words should be. Open a gap for them, create a space. Be patient.”
― Hilary Mantel

I always meditate and listen to classical music or music without words, sometimes I just sit alone with my thoughts, and put what im feeling at that moment into it. Just take a break for a day or two and relax, or watch the news and incorporate our current events into your story somehow. It will come to you freely, not forcefully. Do not force it and be patient, you'll get it.

 

Thank you! I have suffered creative block for many years now, be it in music, visual art or writing. There are moments when I manage to break through but they are over before any momentum can build up. I am sick to death of all the desk calendar platitudes of 'need to write' vs 'want to write'. I NEED to write, and that's exactly why this block is driving me to my wit's end. If I didn't have the need, I'd have given up a long time ago.

Most of the time it's the blocked asking others for help, thus they can only answers based on an unblocked view. Things like 'just start writing and your story will find you' is as useful as one of those aforementioned desk calendars filled with quotations. Writers block is not about not knowing what to say. As you correctly said, it's about being afraid to say it. And I am not a person without self esteem. I teach English as a foreign language and have been doing so for 10 years. I live in Japan. People say, "well write about that!" No, that's the topic for which my creative block is the most paralysing.

So I am sick of picking up my guitar and fingers refuse to move, or picking up a pencil and my hand won't let it draw anything. I stare at my notebooks and computer screen, and I think of all the work I have thrown away or deleted during fits of disillusionment over all this. I love writing. I love words. I love putting them together in meaningful and beautiful ways. As an essayist, I have nothing but confidence, but anything fictionalised or imaginative -- I can't drive myself to commit. Anything drawn from my life feels untrue. I had the same problem with painting, and I threw everything out eventually.

Creative block isn't about not having ideas, thus there's no easy fix, no 'snowflake method', no inspiring platitude for it. Which is why I no longer ask for help or advice on it. Likely, what every terminally blocked artist requires is a specialist to help dig out that 'thing' which is lodged deep in the mind, blocking all the pipes.

Anyway, excuse my long post everybody. I almost threw my notebook out the window no less than ten minutes ago. I can't quit writing again. Nobody believes me anymore, now!

Uber

 

Hi all,

I've always found that Writers Block doesn't exist. We are always able to write something. The two things which I feel stop us are lack of confidence and lack of satisfaction.

As for confidence, no-one has read what you haven't written yet. They'll like it more once it's written than while it's not.
As for satisaction, you can't be satisfied by something that doesn't exist. You'll like anything more once its written than while it's not.

That helps me, anyway.

 

I'm never without a little Moleskine notebook and pens, pencils and the like. I even choose the shirts I wear so that they have pockets big enough to accommodate all this. I can work on notes, ideas, even drafts wherever I am.

 

You don't even need a dictaphone, many mobile phones have this function too (mine does).

But I don't like to record my ideas using sound - it isn't as private as writing. If I was alone on a walk in the woods, it could be okay, but I live in a city and if I leave it, it's usually with other people. So I prefer to write things down quietly. Like the previous few posters, I always carry a small notebook and a pencil with me (the notebook is spiral-bound and the pencil fits into the spiral exactly, so I don't even lose it).

 

If I don't write, it's not because I don't have any idea of what to write. It's because the ideas I have do not seem very appealing to me at the time; usually this just means that they're boring to me.
Sometimes I'll still write it anyway.

 

Well, for me, "writers block" occurs when I'm not in the mood to write/don't know what to do. I actually run out of ideas from time to time; ideas for my story that is, not ideas in general...I always have ideas. What happens is I hit a wall, and then I don't write for a couple days. That's when it sets in; I don't even open Word, I don't look at my chapter in progress, I just spend one day after the next doing everything except that. It can go on for a week, a month or even more. Then suddenly, awakened by who knows what, I'll get some ideas, then start writing like mad; I'll bust out 10-20 pages in the next couple days, and maybe even stay strong with it for a while but slow down to a few pages a day. Then it happens again; like the weather, I can almost predict when it will strike.

 

When I feel 'un-poked' by the muse, I write out a q&a with one of my favorite characters, Charley. I write it like a conversation with a casual friend and (usually) within a page or so, I'm back in the story flow. Writing is like standing naked out in the middle of a brain blizzard. The more you do it, the less uncomfortable it becomes.