The Writers Block Thread

Personally I think the best way to attack it is to just make the best use of the time you have. Not the best advice I've ever given, but true I think. Keep your focus on the specific things that make you excited about writing, skim the rest, forget the boring parts, stay with the strand that catches your attention. Start just writing in note forms, the barest of bones, two lines to cover a scene until you run into something that makes you want to write in more depth and just get as much in as you can until some bastard intrudes into your zen again.

I would specifically suggest finding other places/times/ways to write. I write on my phone a lot when I travel for work, and always have a document open and ready to write into. Even when I just get twenty minutes waiting for a train I try to make use of it, even if it's not substantial, it's something, it's getting ideas down, it's focusing on the things that make writing interesting. Definitely have a crack at writing on your phone when in motion; the lack of anything more engaging to do I find helps a lot, even if I can't get vast amounts done it's the doing that matters. And every word adds up. And hopefully at some point you'll have the time to come and knock the edges off and make it something pretty.

You could also consider becoming an anti-social curmudgeon. Let me tell you man, people will not keep bothering you after a while. And you get that wonderfully healthy semi-translucent glow.

 

You did a bit of writing to post your question. Perhaps this is a clue to the key? Spend a few minutes every night getting things off your chest. Try keeping a journal by your bed. Write about your day. Or, write about something that caught your attention during the day, and embellish it into a story. Write what each day brings you, just to get you back onboard the literary bus, so to speak.

 

Hi @I-know-write.

This may sound silly but I kept a small notebook with me for years; pocket size. I would take notes and draw little pictures of things that inspired me so that by the time I sat down I didn't have to pull everything out of the air. I didn't write about everything in that little book but is was sure nice to have some solid options when I sat down.

 

Boy, do I relate to this. Writing something like a post on this forum doesn't require the same kind of concentration as writing fiction. When you're writing a post or an email you just blap out what you'd say in a face-to-face conversation. It's you speaking, not an imaginary character, in an imaginary world. That kind of writing is easy to do, even with interruptions and stuff happening around you.

However, writing fiction requires the ability to sink into the environment of your story, to visualise characters and interactions, to create mood and pace and and and....

That is very hard to do when you KNOW you're likely to be interrupted. It's all very well to set time aside to write (we can all do that) but what's hard is getting other people to respect that time and LEAVE YOU ALONE.

I don't know what your actual situation is, but if there is some way to engineer that quiet time, when you know nobody will talk to you or yank earbuds out of your ears, or phone you, or demand your attention...I reckon that's the key. However, if you aren't in charge of your environment, that can be difficult.

I truly don't know what the answer is, because I deal with that problem myself, almost constantly.

I can insist on being left in peace, but that creates an 'atmosphere' around the house that sometimes isn't very pleasant. Long faces, exaggerated tiptoeing, etc. The trouble is, folks who don't write fiction simply don't understand this need for that kind of concentration.

When I was writing my first draft, in full flow, I managed to create the time (and I hadn't retired yet) by setting my alarm for 4am, getting up then, making a cup of coffee and tackling the writing for a few hours before I had to go to work. That always gave me at least a couple of hours every day where nobody talked to me or phoned me. Of course this meant going to bed very early as well. I was usually in bed by around 8pm, and I would often heard the phone ringing after I'd gone to bed—thank goodness for answering machines.

That routine worked very well for me at the time, when I was beasting through my first draft. I just haven't reset that routine for my editing time, and maybe I should. I know I'm losing the will to write, because of the constant interruptions that go on during the day. Even if I do get a couple of hours to myself, I know that at any second somebody might interrupt me, and I can't really sink into the depths of my story.

It's not an easy thing to deal with, when you live with people. I know I fantasize a lot about living on my own! Not easy, when you're married and want to stay married, and aren't a total recluse. But being a hermit in a cave (with electricity and heating) seems very very attractive to me, at times.

 

I can relate to the yanking out of writerly frame of mind as I suffer really bad mood swings. It makes it hard to sit down and continue from where I left off. My writing is sporadic, can be wildly unfocussed but, since this isn't something I have any control over, I've had to simply go with the flow. What works best for me, is to work on several things at once, so I'm not guilt-tripping myself into putting 3, 500 words down on my novel W.I.P, when what I'm truly capable of at that point of time, is adding a fresh paragraph to my latest short story. For me, it all comes down to making the best use of what I've got to work with. It can be a laborious process, but no effort, no matter how small, is ever a waste. In my own situation, I've had to scale back grand plans in favour of an incremental, chipping away approach but, at least I don't feel is if my writing isn't progressing at all.

 

I do this before every writing session. I'd allot four minutes of freewriting--just write whatever is in my head, writing with typos and errors. It's great to snap you into a writing mindset, and it has worked for me two novels later.

 

I don't think writer's block is a thing. Wait... hear me out. There are a lot of situations that make us stop writing and be unable to write. I would know, I postponed writing my book for 10 years.

Those situations are, in my opinion, laziness, lack of time, feeling anxious and overwhelmed with the writing process and lack of sleep/exhaustion (and a few others).

I say that sleeping is my muse because when I'm tired I simply cannot write, I'm not creative at all.

So, how to go about these things? You need a plan. Write one, pen on paper works best for me.

It looks like at home everyone requires your attention. Can you write somewhere else? Can you wake up earlier or go to sleep after everyone goes? Can you write at lunch break? On the train (like I do)?

Now, for your writing. What's the first thing you can do? A bit of world building? Some characters? Just general brainstorming? How about you write your favourite scene ideas and add others one by one until you have a scheme of the story? Can you write an outline?

I will tell you what I've learned. I need to divide the thing in small tasks and I need an outline scene by scene. In that outline I write location, characters that appear, goal, conflict, resolution, research needed (like sword fight) and a brief description. After having this it no longer feels overwhelming. And the best part is that those small things are not hard to do, just an idea per topic.
When I'm writing I just have to use the outline for that scene as a guide and... voilá! not such a thing as writer block. Also, no plot holes =)

 

I kind of agree with you, but not quite for the same reasons.

Being 'blocked' isn't one thing and it doesn't have one cause. There are many things that can get in the way of productive writing (because anything other than writing just isn't productive) and these things do all have solutions to them. The critical thing is to successfully identify which problem you exactly have and use an appropriate solution.

If you have a lack of ideas then do something to provoke your creativity; write one shots, write weird character moments, write something that engages you and keep going until you find an idea that makes you want to keep writing.
If you are finding it hard to continue into an ongoing idea then just skip the thing you are having problems with and move to something more engaging then come back once you're feeling more certain what you want to write in that space.
If you are struggling to get words down because you're being too self critical then you need to stop being self critical and focus on getting words down on the page, even if they make you continually shout "stupid, stupid, stupid" as you go.
If you just can't figure out how to tie up the strands of the plot then you need to take a couple of runs at it and just keep trying until it works for you; trying enough ideas until something fits properly, or iterating on what you have until it fits with what you want to do.
You could even be suffering a genuine bout of depression, in which case you need to deal with that which is somewhat beyond the remit of this thread.

And so on and so forth. These are all soluble problems. But you can only solve them by identifying exactly what your problem is. That's not always easy and it might take some time, but attacking the exact and specific problem you have instead of trying to deal with the nebulous idea of being blocked gives you a far far better chance to get over it. It's the difference between saying 'my car's alternator needs replacing' and 'my car just won't start'. It doesn't matter how much fuel you put in or spark plugs you change, a dodgy alternator means it'll never, ever start. It might be a net positive to change those other parts, but if the car won't go then that isn't very helpful.

Suffice to say; we're not talking about one problem, we're talking about a cluster of separate things that need to be attacked in a specific way.

 

She sat there staring at the blank screen for an hour. That bled into two.
Occasionally her fingers drifted toward the keys, yet remained locked in
poise before retreating back to the smooth desktop.
How come this story won't just come out already? She wondered, with a
deep frown on her face, as the little blinking line taunted her to write something.
Anything. Yet all the long hours toiled in outlining, were sitting in her mind.
She knew the story, but something insider her was holding her back. What it
was, she could not say, but it was very real to her.
Taking a swig of steaming cocoa from the whimsical mug that sat just beside the
keyboard, she sat and thought in the silence. Enjoying the rich flavor of the drink
and the little marshmallows that garnished it. Why can't writing be like cocoa?
She wondered. It was simple, and delicious in it's richness. She had all she needed
to get the plot rolling, and yet it was nothing like the mug of cocoa. Taking another
generous draw on the steaming beverage, she watched the vacant screen through
the steam rising from the hot contents.
Leaning back in the chair she contemplated further on what was keeping her fingers
from dancing amongst the keys. Could it be that no one would like what she wrote?
Perhaps she had no idea of where to begin the story? Or was it something else
entirely that bogged her mind down so heavy that she simply could not write her
magnum opus?
She was not sure. Though she knew at some point the words would need to meet th
page. Setting the mug back down on the wooden surface, her fingers made their way
to the keyboard with a bit more confidence.
And for the next few hours her digits danced and the keys clacked away. The more she
wrote the lighter she felt, as if a burden were lifted. Three pages in she was right as
rain happily rapping on the keys.
And this is what she wrote: I will write my stories, and I will not be stopped.
This filled a good ten pages before she stopped for the evening. But perhaps
that was the kick in the pants she needed to get motivated to actually write what
she really wanted to. We may never know, as the story has yet to be known since
she has not posted on any progress.


Writers block is a pain in the ass sometimes. You just need
to let the world slip away, and the words flow from you onto
the page. First drafts are always bad, and that is what editing
and rewrites are for. Now be brave and write anything, at least
you will be in the writing mind.

 

I do think there's a difference between procrastination (we've all done that) and simply never being left in peace long enough to get a story going. I don't remember ever having 'writer's block'—the kind where I sat with a blank screen for hours, unable to think of what to put on it. However, I certainly remember lots of times when I couldn't write because people wouldn't leave me in peace to get on with it. That's not writer's block. That's a blocked writer. There's a difference. Unless you're in charge of your own life, that's not an easy one to overcome.

 

Yes, I suppose you are right.
I only get stuck at the blank
page thing, when trying to
cook up something for the
short of flash contests. So I
decided to stop going that route
for a while.

 

Getting up extremely early is how I deal with it. But that's not really ideal, because it means you need to go to bed really early at night, in order to get in a full 7-8 hours' sleep.

It would be a lot LOT easier if folks simply respected the space you ask for. But, sadly, they don't. If you're nice and reasonable about it, they think it doesn't mean THEM. And if you lose the rag and demand that they leave you alone, then they get upset and tiptoe around as if you're an unexploded grenade that will go off at any provocation whatsoever. I have never quite managed to create the happy medium.

The internet is a distraction, but only if I allow it to be. I do have control over that.

 

I agree with you. I just focused on less things. The whole point is that are things that get in our way and we need to adress them and find a way to solve the problem. Calling it "writers block" will mask the real issues and you'll get nowhere.

You explained it much more eloquently than I did hehe

 

Yeah, absolutely. As with everything the problem isn't finding the answer, it's figuring out what the right question is.

 

I've been there, and one of the best tools I used to combat it was to kick it old school at the local library. It requires that you have to be able to leave your home/family/roommates unattended for a few hours (which is not always easy or possible), but once you're there it's an oasis of peace. I love libraries.

 

Yeah, I've done lots of research work at my local library, including hours on the microfilm machine. It's peaceful, and while people walk around nearby, they're nearly always in their own world too, and don't disturb. However, when I actually write, I need my computer and my books and research materials around me. I tried writing when I was away on holiday once, using somebody else's computer, and it just didn't work for me.

I guess, unless you're a famous author who lives alone, you always have to compromise something. I was able to manage (quite well) by simply sacrificing nightime social life. I'm not a TV watcher at all any more, but I did have to give up TV at first. But it wasn't nearly as much fun as the TV going on in my head! Plus the early morning start meant my brain was refreshed, not being talked-at, leaning towards the right side rather than the left, and it worked for me. I hated to stop writing most days, unless I'd finished a chapter or a section and was ready for a short break.

It took me five years, working nearly every day, to finish the first draft of my novel. During that period I didn't show it to anybody, or discuss its contents with anybody. In fact, I was reluctant to let people know I was writing at all, because I didn't want the endless questions ...are you finished yet, what's it about, how is it coming on, when can I read it, when will it be published.... I wasn't sure I could do it at all, so I kept it to myself. Obviously I had to let a few people in on why I went to bed at 8pm and things like that, but in general I didn't let on until it was nearly done.

I was surprised at how many people didn't accept my schedule, though, and kept trying to get me to stop, or gave me lectures about how that was a silly schedule, etc. It was as if I decided to stay home from somebody's funeral and poke holes in my eyeballs instead. But I persevered. Ignored the phone calls that came in after 8pm ...and there were many people who never 'remembered' that I would be in bed. Ignored people who thought I was insane to get up at 4am, etc. I actually was surprised at the amount of resistance I got from friends. And yes, they are my real friends. They just didn't understand why I didn't want to do stuff at night, or meet them for lunch on my day off, etc. They thought I was being extreme. Tough. I have a novel to show for my 'extreme' behaviour. And guess what? I still have my friends as well!

I wonder if ordinary folks don't consider you to be a writer until you're published? If I was a famous writer, they'd probably be interviewing me, asking me what my 'methods' were. But because I'm not published yet, somehow I'm not actually 'writing?'

 

Well, I finished the first draft of my novel in 2001—long before a laptop was affordable for me. (I would have bought one, if I could have afforded it. However, it seemed a silly expense anyway, as I only went away on holiday a couple of weeks per year. The rest of the time I was at home and didn't need a portable.)

Now we have a laptop, but I also am retired, don't really go on holiday any more, and don't need one! I still prefer my desktop, my comfy chair, my stepped keyboard, mouse, etc. It's what I'm comfortable with. I absolutely detest flat keyboards—which is why I don't use our laptop at all. (It's a MacBook Air ...really nice and slick, but that BLOODY keyboard. My hands slip on it, and I spend more time correcting typos than anything else.) Plus ...I still need my research materials, which are in books, notebooks, etc. So working away from home on a laptop isn't something I really want to do. Everybody's got their own way of working.

My issue on this thread isn't about which way is best to work or what device is best to work on. It's about why people can't seem to respect the space a writer asks for. That seemed to be the problem the OP was addressing. Why should a writer have to run away from home in order to write? That lack of respect for a writer's time and need to concentrate really upsets me.

I still think this is one of the best illustrations of what I mean. It's about a comic artist, rather than a writer, but it's spot on.
http://www.spaceavalanche.com/2014/08/17/writing/

 

For me, it's my kids. One is a 6 month old baby, so obviously she operates on her own schedule, and the other is a six year old boy with more questions and words-per-day than I thought humanly possible. I hardly get any time to myself, so I've learned to adapt.

 

For me it's not that I would get interrupted by my family, but that I get easily distracted by ambient noise and visuals around me (TV, music, conversation, people walking through the room, etc.). I can't realistically ask that my husband and daughter tiptoe around the house in silence when I'm writing. That's not fair to them, so if I really need to have peace and quiet to dig in I go to the library.