As everyone has said, all writers go through writer's block. For some reason, I do not experience much of it; but when it does happen, I do not let it discourage me. I would simply suspend writing and go to do something entirely different and return to it when my head is clear. It works every time.
I think a good idea would be to take a chatacter from one of your favorite stories that you have written and make a fictional diary out of them. It can be in a real journal or a notebook. I think that could help you get some ideas. Hope I have helped.
It's easier to rewrite a page of bad prose than a blank page of no prose. Wish I had your dedication personally.
Simply put, I took a break (without specifying to myself how long). But I'm not sure what kind of schedule you have and if your life literally revolves around a need for constant production, constant writing. I've also told myself that if I ever feel the way you do again, I would use the same remedy. So far it's worked, because I realized these feelings (for me) come from taking myself and my writing too seriously. Not to say that writing shouldn't be taken seriously, but I think, as John Cleese believes, there's a difference between taking something seriously, and solemnity. The former allows for fun and humor to breathe and live as we do in our writings, while the latter chokes the life out of it.
@Michael Timothy As others said, there seems to be two ways to resolve your type of problem: take breaks or raise stakes You either dump things you hate and take a long walk into wilderness/park/as far away from your work-space as you can; or, you call your mother to tell her not to call the cops if you don't answer the phone in next 3 days, take a shower and open an Excel table to de-structure and re-structure what you work on. Sometimes, I think it's very hard to say "This sucks" and just delete the crap you wrote and start all over again, with something fresh and exciting. There is one part of our creative selves that is so afraid of radically changing that it holds us back, creating that sickening feel in our stomachs that you described But that's the dirty ol' conservative that needs to be kicked out. You are either going to cut him down by meditating on a tree or by methodically approaching your work. In my experience, combining the two by taking a laptop up the tree is not the best way to do it - the squirells freak out of laptop vibrations and too much cursing
Worth mentioning is that you sometimes need to take longer breaks. I've quite often been enlightened to my work by just taking a shower (I tend to get my best ideas then...) or taking a stroll through the woods, but a couple of times I've had to take breaks of weeks to actually clear my brain. Though in those cases it's been about writer's/programmer's blocks and not declines in quality.
@Komposten Sometimes the decline in quality (or author's connection with the text) leads into a block. Sometimes, it's a symptom of struggling with a block that's already emerging - our system is just not ready to face one, so we produce crap to fight it back.
I, too, find myself at times struggling to find my heart for writing. One thing that always helps is an annual writers retreat that takes me and a handful of other writers into the remote hills of Kentucky for three days - no tv, sporadic availability of internet, and someone else to do all the cooking. This year's event found us there amid 30 and 40 degree temperatures but warm support and camaraderie - not to mention really good food. I came home having written more in that one weekend than I had all the previous month. Still on a writing high. Sometimes, just getting away from it all and being able to focus on the work and nothing else really does help. Good luck with your writing. Hope you find your heart soon.
I used to struggle with writers block but I listen to music and look at pictures. Like if I'm writing something involving say a haunted house or something I look at pictures of houses that are supposedly haunted.
Always carry a notebook with you, and make a note of anything you think of that could be used in a story.
If you've got a lot of ideas that you just can't get down on paper, then maybe you're not enthused as you should be about writing them. Spice them up a bit. Play the "What if?" game and jot down notes of where you'd like the story to go to make it more interesting and fun to write. There were times in my own novel that I just didn't feel like moving on, so I started writing short stories on the minor characters to flesh them out more. That, and I began scenes that started at more thrilling places. Think of a random word and just write about it without stopping to look back on what you've written until you're completely finished. Do a ten minute word sprint. Some people have certain places where they feel comfortable enough to write smoothly. It's hard for me to write while I'm at home because of all the distractions, but I find I can write a lot while at Starbucks or Saxbys.
I find that all of my mental blockage can ultimately be traced back to stress. I'll look at something I've loved working on and just think, wow, I hate this. I find mostly what I need is time as well as to remind myself that nothing is ever perfect in life and harboring anxieties does nothing but make things worse. Once I come to this realization and truly except it (I do this at least once a week) all is well again. I hope you find your way through your slump soon!
Take a break and read a really fun and exciting book. Take your mind off writing for a spell. When you come back, chop mercilessly at everything that does not excite you. Write a new story if you have to. Skip scenes and jump to the part that does excite you. Or take the story in a different direction. For me, creative slumps usually occur when the story isn't right and I don't know why - best cure is actually to just delete the entire scene and write it again, letting it go where it may instead of trying to steer it in any particular direction. But before that, take a break and read a good book and go do whatever refreshes you
I was just reading yesterday an old interview of David Grossman, and he describes how he agonizes over he right word, etc, during editing and rewriting. He gave me the image of a man close to despair while he does that. So, maybe you are in good company and on a path that takes you further. Maybe you are in a process of becoming a better writer, nomatter how it feels.
When I've had writer's block [which has happened in almost every book I've written!], I re-read what I've got so far. Generally that will remind me of something I meant to do, add, include, explain, whatever. That gets me back on track. Work toward writing something engaging and exciting. The entire manuscript cannot be like that or it'd be simply writing a Transformer's book. The action climax starts about two pages in and continues unabated for 600 more, exhausting pages. Or just stay at the computer and grind away writing slowly and agonizingly, until you complete your goal for the day. On a good day? Two and a half hours or so. On a bad day? 16-18 hours of sitting there, pecking out a few words per minute, until the light bulb comes back on and you explode into action. Then you'll write in a flurry of activity until you are too exhausted to continue. My second book (510 pages) took 14 days to compose (not counting the editing, which happened later). No writer's block! With writer's block, I'd certainly still be writing it
Being motivated is something that you can learn and it doesn't have to alter your life that much. I found this guy on youtube who had an interesting video about it and you may find it useful:
I think discipline is acquired, although there are temperaments who are more or less likely to prefer regimented routine. Some people are perfectionists who like to clean and do things on a schedule. But generally speaking, work habits are gained in childhood. School, family, even things like sport or learning music, all instil a sense of work ethic into a child. If a child has no such influence, if they are perhaps dyslexic so everyone gave up on them because they think they're stupid, that kid might have given up on schoolwork too. Or a kid that's allowed to play video games and watch tv all the time, isn't required to do any chores, or homework or even to show up for school every day, they'll probably grow up into an adult who has major issues with self discipline, especially as far as academic-style activities are involved (like writing and studying). Having said that, everyone can learn discipline, if they really want to. All it takes is showing up at your desk every day, at a certain time, and staying there until the time is over. Preferably, whilst they are there, they'll write something too And like being on a diet, slipping once in a while won't matter as long as there's an overall move in the right direction.
My discipline is not that great. I try to outline about 5 scenes a week, but sometimes, I get stuck. I don't want to fill the between of plot points with useless scenery or dialog. However, I'm so drained after work, I find myself just eating, showering and looking at a blank page.
I agree with @jazzabel. I've heard a few authors talk about their first attempts at writing, and the one thing they all had in common was that they lacked discipline. The good news is that it can be learned over time. Also, I should mention that Solzhenitsyn wrote his first novel while imprisoned in a labor camp. He wrote down passages on napkins I believe it was and then threw them away so the guards wouldn't find out he was writing. He ended up memorizing the entire novel and wrote it down on paper when he was released. If someone in a Soviet prison camp can find time to write a novel, so can you.
I write for 8 hours a day. Sometimes more. It doesn't matter if I'm inspired or not. Nothing, absolutely nothing, takes the place of discipline. You can be born with a desire to write the most beautiful novel ever written, and maybe you even have the talent to do it, but if you can't plant your butt in that chair and actually write, it just doesn't matter.
The question is why you're not motivated to write. I can see taking steps to remove distractions, as Edna Ferber suggested: “The ideal view for daily writing, hour on hour, is the blank brick wall of a cold-storage warehouse. Failing this, a stretch of sky will do cloudless if possible.” But the basic question remains. Why are you not looking forward to sitting down and spending time with your characters? Answer that or it will always be something you do only because you feel you should. Some possible problems that can cause a lack of motivation: • You're focused on plot ideas and Story with that capital S and enjoy the imagination part of it—the finished product, so to speak, not the work of laying the bricks and mixing the mortar. • You have the idea and the framework of the story but lack the knowledge of story construction to translate the plot outline in your head into useable form that will transfer the story elements, intact, to the mind of a reader. • You enjoy talking about what makes stories interesting, from the point of view of a reader coming backstage, so to speak, so enjoy a site like this, but the actual writing is too solitary an occupation to be satisfying. There are many possibilities, and obviously, I can't tell you how to change your personal situation. I can tell you how to learn if you have the interest and aptitude, though. Spend an hour or three looking over the various techniques of craft and background knowledge. If you don't find what you're learning fascinating, you have your answer. If you do, what you're doing might just be the thing that will make the writing part more fun. And since you're already working in a library, call in a copy of Jack Bickham's Scene and Sequel. Lots of people claim they became successful writers because of that book, so it's a good place to begin.
Hi, I've writing well for the last few months and i was hoping to get to about 80,000 by the new but I'm now stuck at 57,000. I've tried writing out the chapters in rough but it feels like i've run out of steam. does anybody have any suggestions? Thanks Jim
Take a short break and come back later, or break sequence and write other parts of the story. It is nice to have a goal but you should not rush or push yourself to meet a certain deadline (unless you are contracted). Your writing will suffer for it. As the saying goes, great work takes time.
You can't and shouldn't force it. It's very helpful to have another creative outlet - I have music and photography - to give vent to your creative impulses while at the same time letting your batteries recharge. But, really, any activity you enjoy will provide a nice change of pace, and we all need that once in a while.
