1. aimi_aiko

    aimi_aiko New Member

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    Running out of things to write?

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by aimi_aiko, Apr 4, 2011.

    I was just sitting here, and I had a random idea for a thread topic...

    Do you ever run out of things to write about?

    The reason why I thought about this is because my boyfriend and I had a discussion on the phone last night that related to this (though we were talking about art and drawing).

    I was just curious to know if any writer has a moment where they feel like they had covered all there is to write about.

    In my opinion, there is never a moment when I run out of things to write about. My imagination is expanded quite lengthy and if I had covered one genre enough, I move to another, then another, etc.

    Though I understand writer's block may play a part in this topic as well.

    What are your thoughts and experiences with this?
     
  2. Banzai

    Banzai One-time Mod, but on the road to recovery Contributor

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    I never feel I've written about everything I could. I don't think it would be possible to reach a saturation point such as that. As for not being able to find things to write about at that precise moment, I get that all the time. It's a mild and infuriating form of writer's block which seems to manifest (for me at least) when I've found a quick moment in a busy day.

    But I like to think that my imagination, whilst not unlimited per se, has a limitless room in which to play and expand. So I don't think I'd ever get to a point where there weren't things to write about- though whether I can write about them is another matter.
     
  3. KP Williams

    KP Williams Active Member

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    My series has the potential to run for the rest of my life without running out of material, and even when I decide to lay it to rest, there are several extensions to that world I could write about. Sort of like a spinoff series, taking place in the same world, but still a completely different story.

    And God knows what else I might come up with that has absolutely no relation to what I'm writing now.

    So no, I don't think it'll be possible for me to run out of ideas. Not without adding a million years to my life, anyway. Maybe not even then.
     
  4. Tesoro

    Tesoro Contributor Contributor

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    I don't think anyone should run out of things to write about, just look at the papers headlines, that alone would be an endless source of inspiration. And then we get our own ideas from what we read and others just pop up in the head without us knowing where they came from. And still...
    Still there are writers that seem to publish the same story over and over again with just slight modifications, as if there wasn't anything else to write about. But I guess those are the Mary-Sue-creators, as someone said yesterday, that try to cast themselves in the role of the character and live her life instead of their own, trying to fulfil their own fantasies. If you are really creative and sensible enough to recognize a good story whenever it comes along don't think inspiration ever has to end.
     
  5. Yoshiko

    Yoshiko Contributor Contributor

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    Err, never. It's physically impossible to just run out of topics in a single lifetime. Lack of knowledge would be the only issue but that's easily fixed with the existence of libraries and the internet.
     
  6. Elgaisma

    Elgaisma Contributor Contributor

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    I have the opposite problem I have been only writing a year and have more than I know what to do with - only ever been on a plot generator three times - came up with a novella length epistolary, a series about an elderly couple of paranormal detectives and a children's book I am trying to forget about (Sort of pinocchio but with a robot). Those things are dangerous - I also still have my male beauty pageant winner Torston Lillie who needs writing about. My fantasy has the potential to sustain around four series of books and my elderly detectives could easily be a long running thing - there are enough legends out there. My police detectives also have long running potential. Sherlock Foam looks like maybe becoming a comic strip that will bring in an income - My Fairy Boys are also being looked at. Only my Reverend and Sea Captain and Torston Lillie look like not being an ongoing thing. Then there is my romantic chick lit type story. Oh and I have a gazillion children book ideas.

    I am jealous of those that run out of ideas in my house all plot bunnies get shot and put in a pie lol
     
  7. Tessie

    Tessie Contributor Contributor

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    As a person interested in historical events, it's not an easy thing to run out of topics to write about. Even though I don't have a continual fountain of ideas like my sister does, I do get another plot for a book every once in awhile that, at that instant, I know I have to write. For me, it's a matter of researching and pacing my focus to one project at a time.
     
  8. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    nope!... and never will, since i write about the human race...

    but even back when i wrote fiction, i could never have run out of ideas... i had whole file cabinet drawers full of 'em, to do 'later'...
     
  9. Still Life

    Still Life Active Member

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    I've been writing since I was eight, and I still haven't run out of things to say. My mother alone provides enough fodder to last me for centuries.
     
  10. ProwerGirl

    ProwerGirl New Member

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    As I write everyday, I've often thought this myself, but, as a friend once said, "There is no limit to what we can do." The story ideas that take the longest to come to you are usually the best, I've found. So, as of now, I don't think I can run out of ideas to write about.
     
  11. Infinitytruth

    Infinitytruth New Member

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    Not yet has that happened to me(I have not written seriously much though). I'm assuming it may at one point or another and when it does, I'll just slow down and look for some inspiration. Look in a newspaper where there is already a story. Then you just let your imagination run wild, and boom you have something new to write about.
     
  12. queen_guinevere

    queen_guinevere New Member

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    I have too many ideas on the go, that's my problem.
     
  13. KillianRussell

    KillianRussell New Member

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    If I was rigid in my approach,insisting the next sentence I create must be the predecessor to the last sentence completed. I would probably run of gas then convince myself that I had run out of things to write about, thankfully I am not that stern, I am more than willing to move on and/or circumvent my brain drains.
     
  14. Bay K.

    Bay K. New Member

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    Impossible!
    Just stay exactly where you are and look all around you --countless topics.
    Can't see? Listen for five minutes --countless topics.
    Can't hear? Smell for five minutes --countless topics.
    Can't smell? Feel around you --countless topics.
    Can't feel? Taste ... No, skip this :)))
    Got a brain? Let those neurons run wild in delusions!
     
  15. SeverinR

    SeverinR New Member

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    Truthfully,
    Its not that anyone "runs out" of ideas, its that the motivation to write something new is not there.

    I worry that I won't have thinga to write about, but then I realize how stupid that is. I currently have 8 stories in the works.(Maybe more) Its not that I am having trouble thinking of something new, its my mind is saying lets finish some of these first.

    Being uninspired doesn't mean you have nothing to write about.

    Like others have said in other threads, read books. They will set your mind into the area that you like, and you will think of something to write about.
     

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