I am just curious if this only happened to me. I started outlining & writing my mystery novel. Now that I was on a roll all of sudden, I am at a stand still. I just could not believe that my muse has stopped talking to me. What should I do now? I would love to hear from everyone & hopefully someone can give me some advice!~
Has this ever happen to you?
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All the advice boils down to "keep writing."
http://dmbeucler.blogspot.com/2009/08/ten-ways-i-make-myself-write.html
These are some of the ways I keep at it. Good luck.
Love
'Nise
http://dmbeucler.blogspot.com/2009/08/ten-ways-i-make-myself-write.html
These are some of the ways I keep at it. Good luck.
Love
'Nise
This is the part where writing becomes work. It happens.
To get through it is a personal thing - do what works for you. Take a break, keep slogging at it till you get past the block ( my personal choice) brainstorm with a plot bunny friend, do a 'where do I see the story going from here' letter to yourself. Type gibberish for three pages if it helps you get into the flow
Just be reassured - almost every writer has this at some point. The trick is to work out what works for you.
To get through it is a personal thing - do what works for you. Take a break, keep slogging at it till you get past the block ( my personal choice) brainstorm with a plot bunny friend, do a 'where do I see the story going from here' letter to yourself. Type gibberish for three pages if it helps you get into the flow
Just be reassured - almost every writer has this at some point. The trick is to work out what works for you.
One of the first things I learned after hanging around this forum for a while is that it's pointless to wait for the muse. The muse has her own things to do. And, besides, you are not the only artist she likes hanging around. She's fickle, that muse. So, sit down and write. It may be crap, but get the story down on paper. When the muse sees how well you are getting on without her, she'll come running back. Have I killed the metaphor yet? Anyway - keep writing, even if it's not very good, put words down on paper, keep moving forward with the story, come back and edit the crap chapters later.
Thank you so much for responding so quickly!!!! I am going to take everyone's advice & just write! It will probably not pertain to my novel but the main goal is to write!~ I will keep everyone posted!~
Even if you write something that never ends up in your novel - no writing is wasted writing. You'll learn something from writing it. Motivation, how to show rather than tell, what works, what doesn't. something.
Just write. You can always fix it on the rewrite.
Just write. You can always fix it on the rewrite.
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No, it hasn't only happened to you. It's pretty common. The first flush of a great idea prompts a feverish start to a project but it fizzles when the original plot ideas run out. It's time for the hard work. Ugh.
Do you know where you want to end up? If you do, stop and think about all the ways you can get there, all the ways you can put obstacles in the path of your characters and drive them crazy.
Good luck!
This is normal. Actually it's quite common, too... writing is a little inspiration and A LOT of hard work.
This won't help you in your particular situation, and it's not the way a lot of people do it, but I don't start writing until I know the ending. Makes you less dependent on the muse that way.
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I find that wikipedia is a great source for plot bunnies. Just keep clicking "random article" and browse the articles until you come across something interesting that suits your needs. It helped me with the last chapter that stalled out on me!
Nicole
Nicole
I find if I stop it means something is wrong with what I have written. So I re-read and usually find a weak character, someone out of character of a flaw in the plot. Once I've ironed that out I can keep writing.
I don't know how much it helps but, yeah, I do the same thing (I think it's actually fairly common). I need to know my beginning, my end, and a rough idea of the plot points that lead from each act. These often change, but it gives me a destination.
If I get blocked, it's usually because some plot point or clue in my mystery doesn't add up. So I brainstorm possible solutions -- hence the money hiding question elsewhere in the forums. Do you know where you are going? If not, now might be the right time to get some possible ideas down. You don't need to fully outline if you don't want to, just get the ideas flowing again.
Yes, that happens to pretty much all of us on a fairly regular basis. The bottom line is, you're your own muse. It's not some outside force that inspires you; it's discipline and excitement about your book that urges you on.
What you should do: Open up your draft, go to where you left off, and write more. It's okay if it sucks. You can always go back later on and change it. But write.
Choose a time of day when you can definitely write, and a period of time or a word-count goal you can meet daily, and do that every single day. The more you practice, the more discipline you'll have, and the more discipline you have, the easier it becomes to work through moments when you feel less inspired. Soon you'll have less and less of these moments. But you have to work at it with focus every day.
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Me too. I like to know where I'm going. If I don't know where I'm going I might meander around aimlessly enjoying my characters but not getting anywhere.
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This is probably going to sound goofy (and boring lol), but I have two techniques. One is to listen to music--something that fits the story. That might mean something that just fits the tone, or sometimes something the characters would listen to. Sounds odd, but it helps me.
My number one writing block breaker? Puzzles. I'm serious. Like the 2000 piece jigsaw variety. I'm sure it wouldn't work for everyone, but working a puzzle doesn't require a lot of thought, and I always find myself writing in my head while I do. Maybe not the scene I'm currently working on, but something, and it gets my head back in the characters. I actually keep a stash of puzzles around when I'm working just in case I have this problem. It's also great for when I'm stuck on dialogue. I just let them talk in my head then go write down what they said.
My number one writing block breaker? Puzzles. I'm serious. Like the 2000 piece jigsaw variety. I'm sure it wouldn't work for everyone, but working a puzzle doesn't require a lot of thought, and I always find myself writing in my head while I do. Maybe not the scene I'm currently working on, but something, and it gets my head back in the characters. I actually keep a stash of puzzles around when I'm working just in case I have this problem. It's also great for when I'm stuck on dialogue. I just let them talk in my head then go write down what they said.
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