I disagree. I can think of one writer who'd be classified as part of the "New Weird" who writes books which make no sense, but are written in I suppose an interesting way. Gene Wolfe writes like than on occasion too. Anyway, if I sit there and read all this vague stuff and start coming to the conclusion that it's about nothing, I feel tricked. When it's not a trick, it's a lot like trying to have a meaningful conversation with someone who's high on drugs.
I didn't say that a fantastically original and creative idea doesn't help. But there is no doubt in my mind that an idea does not have to be world shattering for the book to be.
I'll give an example of what I'm talking about. The last three books I've read were Children of the Night by Dan Simmons, Prey by Michael Crichton, and Gone South by Robert McCammon. I would argue that Gone South had the most bleh idea of the trio. Yet somehow I liked it the most and by quite a margin. The other two had some pretty fantastical things going on but Gone South was rather plain in terms of plot. There wasn't anything paranormal or strange about it, nothing that made me say, "What a fantastic idea!" But the writing and especially the characters made for a better novel than the other two. In fact, of those three I'd say that Prey had the best idea but I liked it the least because the prose was very just-the-facts-Ma'am and the characters wooden. Style mean a lot.
I completely agree with that. You can take "guy/girl saves his friends," and make it the best and coolest story ever if you get creative. People are putting out very entertaining works all the time just like that. They're nothing new, but the quality and unique twists the author brings are new. I thought you were describing obtuse writing where you have to read the page five times then talk yourself into believing you know what just happened. I can think of several like that. They're usually beloved by pseudointellectuals (IMO).
Well, I'm not into writing that has no point either. At the end of the day you need to tell some kind of story. My point was simply that I don't think ideas are something somebody should get hung up on. I've read terrible books with great ideas and great books with terrible ideas. Execution is always king. And because I read a lot of horror and science fiction I've found that even something that seems absurd (Try telling me that the plot for The Regulators by Stephen King was not ridiculous. Yet despite the comically insane subject matter the book was not bad.) can be good if handled with skill. My example of ravioli and lettuce in a grocery store is certainly not a plot I'd encourage anyone to go with, ha ha, but I've learned by reading lots of books that even something as stupid as that could be turned into gold by someone.
Are you saying that the story is less important than the writing? I don't know if I agree with that. While I'm sure you can take a lackluster story and make it appear to shine through the writing, couldn't you say the opposite is true? Aren't there authors out there that are just-okay writers but they have winning stories that their passable writing is able to convey? Some might say Stephenie Meyer/Twilight falls in that category.
A lot of that depends on the genre. Science fiction is a genre where a really COOL idea can get you a lot of traction, even if your writing is only so-so. Romance novels of the bodice-ripper variety probably also count; as long as the pretty people have different names and hair colors, all that really matters is that they get it on in inventive fashions, and the quality of the writing is more or less irrelevant. On the flip side, really sparkling writing can make even the most tired narrative convention seem alive and full of depth, whereas mediocre writing handling a cliched storyline will fall flat. In other words, writing quality can make or break a story much more quickly than an idea can; a good writer with an old idea will craft something beautiful regardless. Look at Shakespeare, for goodness' sake. The man never came up with an original plot in his life (beg, borrow, and steal is, I believe, the common phrase), but he sure could write them nicely, couldn't he?
A good idea makes a good book only if the writing is good imo. Sure, you can certainly get by with adequate writing if the idea is outstanding but I just don't see any solution to truly bad writing. I'm not going to mention any authors by name but I have a few books in my collection that are breathtakingly bad (I've never read this Twilight thing you are speaking of.). A few of them have really outstanding ideas, according to what is written on the dust jacket, but I can't get far through them because the writing just doesn't cut it. I will mention a movie though to express in greater detail my take on this. Ever seen Event Horizon? To me the idea for that film is spectacular, one of the best ever. I just can't imagine how it can get any better than a spaceship dipping into parallel realities to get around and ending up in Hell and then bringing back a chunk of that sinister realm into our existence when it emerges. That is a flawless marriage of sci-fi and horror, a perfect idea. But the movie sucked! It was terrible. The idea was brilliant but the director totally botched it. Then you've got something like Cape Fear where all that happens is that a con wants revenge against a lawyer he feels misrepresented him. Not really a bad idea but certainly lacking in the majesty that Event Horizon's plot poses. But Cape Fear is one of my favorite movies and I think Event Horizon sucked a nut. Go figure.
And perhaps you are reading too much into what I'm saying. I am not trying to imply that prose has to be up to the standards of Steinbeck or Hemingway to be good. It just has to be solid, professional. If somebody is truly a bad writer there isn't an idea in the world that is going to save them in my estimation. But fantastic writing will always bail out the guy lacking in imagination.
Ah, I understand what you're saying now. Thx. The movie allegory helped even though I've never heard of Event Horizon.
Recently, writing for me has turned from something to enjoy to a horror. I have the worst writers block. Every idea I've gotten has been terrible or an idea that I decided I could do without in the timeline. I have tried many different things to cure it, and since it started I havn't written a thing. Any help on un blocking writers block?
I have to wonder if something called "writer's block" even exists. Laziness, maddness, or perhaps you've just lost your nerve. Whatever it is... I just think it's an excuse not to write. You say you have your ideas. Take one, develop it, turn it inside out. Write with one you like, even if you think it's unnecessary. If you write like I do, you will find that one idea will lead to another and at one point, you -will- find an idea you like. Just go with it; the worst thing you can do when you are feeling down is to -not- write. Have you lost your enthusiasm for that story? Start a new one; just keep writing, every day. A journal entry, research, a poem, a short story, part of your novel... if you keep writing, you should be back in the swing of things in no time. Writing does not occur by -thinking- about writing; writing occurs when you write. Dont think "Oh, this idea is poor," or "This idea doesnt fit." Just go with it! Writing is overrated anyways; it's the editting and revision process that makes your piece shine; if you polish off one of your ideas, it will be fine. On an unrelated note, I adore your avatar. Best of luck! -D
I try just writing anything and on a daily basis. Just sit down and continue writing whatever it is that you've been working on.
Presonally, I feel a good writer shouldn't write because they want to write, they write because they need to write; if they have this ''writers block' then they do not need to write, and will thus struggle to do so. I write poems that discuss philosophies or problems that I come across in my life experiences, if I can not find anything to write about, then I go and have some life experiences until I find the urge to write Good luck
However, part of becoming a "serious" writer is establishing a self-discipline, so you can plan and complete a major piece of writing on some sort of schedule. If you only write when your muse is poking you in the ribs, you won't ever complete a large project like a novel, a lengthy short story, or a collection of poems.
You harvest the life experience and then sit down and write in a disciplined way. I don't mean go out for one night then come back and write a poem, then go out the next night then come back and do one chapter of a novel.
Absolutely agree with this statement by Cog. The nemesis called "writer's block" is a choice, not an impediment (unless you became paraplegic and can no longer type). Most writers experience periods of more or less motivation or creativity, but if they are pursuing an objective like completing a manuscript, they enjoy the moments of clarity while gutting their way through the doldrums. I am a "momentum" writer . . . I write best when I am excited and do not stop until the enthusiasm passes. This may be an hour or it has lasted an entire weekend, during which I worked on my story in every waking hour. Ironically, those periods of inspired writing are NOT the reason I have completed any manuscript. It is all the hours of disciplined writing in between the euphoric moments that brought my novel to completion. It's a personal choice; keep moving, or quit. I choose to keep moving.
Here's my little pearl of wisdom to counter writer's block... Pay attention to your everyday life. Look at what is happening around you. Really listen to the conversations that take place in front of you or with you as a participant. You'll be amazed how much fodder life puts in front of you every single day. Oh, and CNN! I love CNN for getting ideas.
I couldn't agree with that first sentence more. I write because I have to write; because there's too much stuff in my head and I refuse to let it all go to waste. It's a like a tree that constantly produces fruit. It may not always be the fruit I want, but I'm yet to have a dry season. What am I to do, let it fall to the ground and wither away? Writer's block implies that the writer's mind is empty or out of ideas. A myth, I say; a long-standing, self-defeating lie that must be abolished. There's no such thing as an empty mind; there's always something going on up there. We just have to learn to translate it into a useable medium. Feast upon the fruits of your imagination, no matter how bitter-sweet they may be.
I love you! I agree; if I cant organize my thoughts in some way or another, I tend to become a very irrate person. What you need to do, if you are not so easily impassioned, is find something that does strike a chord, whatever that may be. Politics, desserts, octupi. Anything. Maybe you cant write about -everything- (honestly, who effectively can?), but when you find a genre or subject that you can and do like to write about... believe me, you will have opened a neverending can of worms. Just keep experimenting; we have a big world out here. -There's -something- to write about! -D
At the risk of sounding slightly controversial, why don't you just get your finger out and get on with it? Get rid of your distractions, because, in my opinion, 'so called' writer's block derives from the mind being distracted. Set your workstation up in a corner, away from the window, and get working. As was said before (in a manner), the first draft is a prerequisite to the real work to come, so get focused and quit making excuses. If you really want to get something down, you'll make it happen. Use your passion!
If it's a fear of the blank page (which I know some writers do have) The type a stream of consciousness to get into it. I always had trouble starting essays at uni because the intro always have to be about what you're going to argue and I hadn't argued it yet so I never knew. I struggled particularly with one subject and would always start with a stream of conscious and then let the ideas flow onto the page. - Just remember to go back and delete it later if it's an essay!! As destinationless said it all boils down to the editing process and rewrite at the end of the day, so get it down and fight the blank page. Just keep writing, not matter what it is. I have to agree that writer's block is a myth invented to cover up some deeper issue that you have; like fear or laziness or lack of confidence. But there are ways to overcome it. My motto for beating writers block is below...
Some days I will just have a blank page open, or barely even that, and just sit there, thinking 'what the heck i can't write anything...' But what gets me writing in the end is just typing an idea. Like I remember talking to my mum the other day, I told her a suggestion for a novel I had, which I forgot about, but remembered today. Writers block might be caused by lack of motivation perhaps?
This may sound stupid to you, but look back over the piece you are/were writing, and try to find your reason for writing it in the first place. We all have a reason to write something, just sometimes, we forget that reason. Find what you are/were passionate about to begin the piece, or what you are passionate about within the piece now, and go from there. I recently had writers block on a poem I was writing. I hadn't been able to finish it for over 4 months. I went back to it this week and thought about it and looked for why I began the piece in the first place, and low and behold, I found what I was passionate enough about to write a poem about and I was able to finish the piece. It may sound stupid, but give it a try. It is the best advice I can give other than just write out anything you can think of and go over it later. Or do some reading and put it down for a while. No harm in doing that.
For a while, I just couldn't write when I was working on my novel. That took away a month or two of precious time, but I've been working on it again for the past four or five months. My best advice is to write on a daily basis. Even if you write a terrible short, 1-page piece, its better than nothing. Eventually, you'll get back into it.
