Just a small point to add...I don't exactly hit a wall after my first 5000 words or so, but that's usually the point where the first draft stops seeming as perfect as what's in my head. I start out really excited, thinking, "Wow, this is going to be the greatest thing I've written," and it can be a bit of a let-down when it doesn't come out that way. As others have said, it's important to just keep writing anyway.
Did you get your teacher to tell you why? Use the constructive criticism to improve your writing. You have to be willing to accept criticism when writing so that you can write better. A first draft of something will usually not be that good. So if you want to keep writing, and I assume you do considering you have ideas, then yes, do force yourself to write. You won't become a better writer otherwise.
It's funny you mention sex because I was actually just thinking about how I would write that scene. Thanks everyone for your help!
If feel blocked doing one scene, switching what scene or part of the story you work on might brake it. You dont have to write them in the order you will put them in the book.
I am not such an artist , I feel my tone will be tainted if I read published authors, in fact I find many prompts, twists, ideas (call them what you want ) thru avid reading of stuff on the market today. To make the reading more beneficial, I avoid the "name brand' authors with track records that afford them much greater latitude with publisher/editors. I will go to my grave hollering writers are readers inspired to the point of emulation.
lol see sometimes it works - seriously though i find just talking to another writer or person helps feel free to PM me if you want to chat. Nothing unblocks me faster normally than asking a silly question of someone and the responses shake my brain and let ideas fall out
Well I'm a eleven so don't think I can use your tip. Anything other tips for getting past a block in your story.
When I hit a block, it is usually because I need to create more/different characters and/or settings to move the story forward. I am currently at a block because the thread I'm writing is not giving me what I need to advance the suspense or intrigue I'm looking for. I hope this helps . . .
Thanks for clearing that up, I was unsure by what you meant. Good to see young people still have somewhat of an interest in writing, it seems most people I know at that age don't read books.
I don't understand the problem. Are you writing for your teacher or yourself? It sounds like you still want to write, so I assume you enjoy it...why would you stop? If you only write to get a pat on the back from the writing faerie or whoever, then you might question your own motivations. I can only think of when I started playing guitar some 20 years ago... If I would have stopped entirely just because someone didn't like what i was playing, or that I couldn't bar an "F" chord in my miniature fingers without thudding strings...I guess I would be a slightly less interesting, entertaining person. The upside is I would have mastered Nintendo's Metroid...W00T! That didn't happen, and I enjoy music and playing more now than I did back when I was a terrible player so many years ago. And the more I learn about it, the more I want to learn.
I've been reading alot since I was... I'd like to say 7. Also If you hit a wall then just take a break until you come up with an idea. Also ask people you know to read your story and ask what you should do next. Or you could just write a load of short stories until you get enough ideas.
I find that partially writing a draft, then going back and editing what I've written, gives me more ideas for enriching what's there and also possibly adding to the plot. However, doing this too much to the same part will quickly bore you and you won't want to write on that story anymore. Like other people have said, skipping ahead to a later scene might work well too; it's something I've myself just begun doing in a story I just started.
I'm not so sure about that. I "need" to write, but work befuddles my mind sometimes and the ideas jst aren't there. Also, I need to write "well", and if the muse has abandoned me I find it hard to do. Then there are manic times when things just pour out...too few and far between.
hitting the wall and editing as you go I edit as I go and it drives me crazy, I feel I can't move on until the bit I'm working on is good enough. But, I think it was Hemingway who said "there's no such thing as good writing, there's just good rewriting". Good advice, I wish i could stick to it...
My biggest problem is that I am a slothenly, slothenly man. I tend to hit that brick wall myself but generally just because something in the story reminds that I want a cigarette or that I haven't eaten any icecream yet today, or because I look out the window and see a cloud that looks a bit like Bruce Forsythe. But that may not be your issue. I think another problem I have is that it takes me too long to get through the story. I write like a man possessed on the first ten thousand words or so because I have the energy and excitement. But I then start to think "hmmm, this is really long. Maybe I'll just go and play Call of Duty for a while." I find that the best way to overcome both of these issues is to avoid any kind of distraction. Unplug the internet, close the curtains, turn off the phone and just power through it. I also find that it helps to have a girlfriend who screams at me every time I go downstairs when I'm supposed to be writing. "You promised me you'd be a novelist by now!" she will cry. "Now get upstairs and don't come down until you've got a Booker prize!" I'm sure she loves me really.
^ My point exactly. Distractions, distractions. Although, I don't have someone who yells at me to finish my work. My sister and I edit, read, and encourage each other to write, and it has really gotten us through the hurdles and aggravating plot holes.
Another great point. I usually use my better half as an audience and offer her the novel chapter by chapter. Not so much so that she can edit it but more so that she asks for the next installment
We're identical twins, so, yeah, I'm one half and she's the other. Ying and yang. We keep each other going when one loses momentum.
Haha, that's my issue. I get distracted with anything that's in my room. Seriously, I spent ages playing with a 5p or moving my lamp up and down and just staring at things. I need a life. Leftwing: Just keep writing anyway. Your first draft won't be perfect, so get the ideas down even if it's written badly. Or, quickly note down what you want to happen next in case you forget, and then do something else - either another writing piece, or watch a TV programme, or go for a walk, whatever - and then come back later and continue writing the piece.
