Anyone Else Ever Experience This?

jruby · Mar 7, 2010

I think about my story all the time, I'm always psyched to write it. I've got ideas, I've got a direction to go in, I'm excited - and then I sit down at my computer and it's like someone let the air out of me. Suddenly, I'm deflated and I don't feel like writing. I write about two sentences before giving up and quitting for the day.

Anyone else ever experience this? How did you get through it?

Arkie · Mar 7, 2010

You are paralyzed by possibles. Possibles of theme, characters, opening, etc.

Take a quiet time and think the story through. Establish your theme before your write the first sentence. Maybe you're one writer that needs to outline before your start.

third person · Mar 7, 2010

This is why I write at Starbucks. I've bought my coffee (shut up, it's only 2.12), I've got my chocolate mint protein bar, and now that I've spent money and time, I'm there and I'm going to do some damned writing. What I'm saying is, try changing writing locations. And stimulants never hurt. MMM COFFEE.

backslashbaby · Mar 7, 2010

You might need to outline, or you might need to wing it. When I'm stuck, I need to just write. Granted, I might not use most of it, but I always learn something more about the story from just writing it.

Certainly don't be afraid that it sucks, btw. Everything can be changed if you don't like it.

ceenindee · Mar 7, 2010

Yes. It's always intimidating, because when you picture things so clearly in your head it can seem impossible to portray it perfectly. (Or at least that's what I struggle with--self-doubt).

Maybe you could try starting with a scene that's really vivid for you. You don't have to write in order. Even getting a few disjointed lines down is better than nothing.

bettielee · Mar 7, 2010

Yes. Just write. The first thing you write doesn't have to be the first chapter. It doesn't even have to go in the book, but you've got to get started.

M.R.J. Le Blanc · Mar 7, 2010

Change of location helps, You don't even have to go far to do it really. My desk sits in the living room, and sometimes I find sitting in the recliner and writing in a notepad can help me get through lulls or those times when I just sit at the computer. Try to pay attention to where your mind is more productive and try to write there.

friendlyhobo · Mar 7, 2010

Sometimes switching from my computer to writing by hand helps me. Pens feel nice as they glide over paper, also.

The Lonely One · Mar 7, 2010

I feel it's important to realize (I think Alan Watts said this more generally) that words are always going to be inferior to the experience of what you have in your head. That said, our job is to give the illusion that this gap isn't there. I'm not sure exactly how to tell you to do this, as it's an individual experience with the potential and limitation of words, and finding how to work within those bounds.

But to be sure, it's hard to learn unless you're writing your way through the dilemma.

ishtar'sgate · Mar 7, 2010

Ah, the good old blank screen. Try to stop your daily writing mid-scene, while you're still itching to finish it. The next day you have a starting point that comes easily and you are able to begin at once. Voila, no blank screen. Works very well for me.

kurzon · Mar 7, 2010

Yes. You need to write even though you don't feel like it.

Or you don't write, and the book doesn't get written.

Sometimes writing is a glorious spill of words and enthusiasm, but mostly it's work.

Nateskate · Mar 7, 2010

Writing is like love, exhilerating until you hit a wall. There comes a time where we choose to love even if we don't feel like loving at the moment.

Every new parent who has a colicky baby, or one with frequent ear infections, who has to get out of bed at 3:00 am every night for days in a row to bathe a child in cold water to knock down spiking fevers, does not feel very loving.

You do what you gotta do.

Likewise, writing is bliss and tedium and absolute frustration. At some point we need to make a choice to get into the habit of writing even when we don't feel like it.

I think it's best to make a time of the day where you will sit at the keyboard and type for a certain period. Even if you think you're writing garbage, don't judge it. Just come back the next day and read it objectively. You may throw it out, but getting into the discipline of writing will help settle your mind, and you will find it easier and easier to get into a flow.

xtine · Mar 7, 2010

You know what happened to me this month?

Midway through my perfectly outlined little ditty (60K words in) I changed something to make the story more exciting, more vibrant more surprising. I should have been thrilled.

But I have been paralyzed for 3 weeks.

I mean, great. The main love interest went zombie on us right? We're all gasping with horror and we have no idea what our heroine will do with this new development. Neither does the writer. I churned out 60 pages after that on the OLD outline thinking I'd just figure out how to tie it in.

I'm an idiot. I'm stuck. I love this story as much as you love yours and now I have to admit, I have a rewrite the outline and untwist the last half of the story. I have 1000 excuses to not sit and rework the goddamn outline.

Tomorrow I'm getting up at 530am and rushing to starbucks to write before I go to work and I'm doing that every day this week. I find the time constraint helps me write. It forces me. I have to get something out before I have to go work for 'the man" at 730. I type out of rage. Even though I'm blocked as hell.

There's my non-answer answer. Good luck with it!

third person · Mar 7, 2010

xtine said:
Tomorrow I'm getting up at 530am and rushing to starbucks to write before I go to work and I'm doing that every day this week.

There's a lass

We don't do it to look fancy. We do it cos it's where we're most productive! Looking fancy while doing it is the bonus. And OK--we can look crazy doing it as well. I have a habit of looking up into the air and mouthing out ideas and trying different words. But I'm in New York where such crazy behavior doesn't get a second glance.

shaldna · Mar 8, 2010

This is what I do:

I only think about my story when I am riding my horses, or walking the dogs, or shopping.

I will 'write' it in my head. I will plan exactly what I am going to write when i get home. I will have snatches of scenes etc already worded in my mind.

Then, when I get home,. I sit down and I just type it./

xtine · Mar 8, 2010

third person said:
There's a lass We don't do it to look fancy. We do it cos it's where we're most productive!

Agreed. I have a kid who gets up at 6. He's just getting to the age where he can leave me alone for half an hour, but it's still dicey if he wakes up on the wrong side of the bed.

The best thing about Starbucks used to be that I had no free internet, so I had to work my ass off while I was there/here....but I've just discovered that they do.

So here I am, on AW. In Starbucks.

I'd much rather look crazy. I think I'll yell at someone for getting in my space.

(done procrastinating)
(closing safari)

jruby · Mar 8, 2010

Thank you all for your help! You guys are awesome. I'm eager to put your advice into practice, I think it'll really help - what you've said makes sense, and I think if I do some of the things you've suggested, I'll be able to push through this rough patch. Thanks so much!

Phaeal · Mar 8, 2010

The blank screen screams to Inner Editor to wake up and start choking the life out of your enthusiasm. Suddenly possibilities need to become actual words, and that's scary.

Two things always work for me:

-- Remembering that crappy first drafts are fine, because without crappy first drafts there will be no less crappy second drafts, and so on.

-- Writing down anything, as fast as possible, including self-admonitions and wild musings about the story. If you keep this up, you will eventually start writing actual copy. It's magic.

seun · Mar 8, 2010

Don't think about writing. Write.

JayG · Mar 8, 2010

jruby said:
I think about my story all the time, I'm always psyched to write it. I've got ideas, I've got a direction to go in, I'm excited - and then I sit down at my computer and it's like someone let the air out of me. Suddenly, I'm deflated and I don't feel like writing. I write about two sentences before giving up and quitting for the day.

Anyone else ever experience this? How did you get through it?

Okay, a few questions:

Are you familiar with role of the scene-goal in introducing tension? Are you familiar with the role of disaster in ending a scene? Do you know the three things a reader wants to know on entering a scene as quickly as possible? Can you balance the active and passive scenes (sometimes called scene and sequel) to achieve a balance between boredom and melodrama?

In other words, are you familiar with the elements and the construction of a scene and a story? If the answer is that you’re not as familiar as you would like to be, perhaps the problem lies in being all dressed up with no one to take you to the dance. If you’re missing the tools you need to translate the story in your head to the story on the page, what you describe is one result. The answer, be that the case, is to do as Stephen King suggests and acquire that third level drawer full of tools that are specialized to the task at hand. In other words, dig into the nuts and bolts of building your theater.

Jumpy2 · Mar 8, 2010

Same thing happens to me all the time. Some things I found that worked:
Like a lot of other people said, change of local. Sometimes I write in my bedroom, but that can get too comfortable so I'll move somewhere else. It doesnt even have to be somewhere outside of the house. Usually I'll take my laptop and move to the dining room. Less distraction and it's just me, a table, and my computer.

Also, what I found reeeeeally helps is having someone to read your work along the way. I'm sending a friend my chapters as they come along, so even if I've been stuck on story ideas and am already sick of them, a new pair of eyes that's excited about what you're coming up with always helps you keep writing. When I know someone's waiting for it it helps to finish it.

Libbie · Mar 8, 2010

Changing locations always helps me get a fresh angle on writing. I go for Starbucks or the library.

Beyond that, though, write a sentence. Then write another sentence. Once you force yourself into it, within a few minutes you should pick up that enthusiasm once more and roll with it.

CheyElizabeth · Mar 8, 2010

I know this may sound like a lie, but that never happens to me. I can ALWAYS write something, sometimes I know that what I'm writing is stupid and will be cut out, but I just keep on typing until the story comes back on track.

One tip I can offer is to try writing on paper. I find that since it takes longer to hand write words your brain has more time to catch up and think of something new to write when you finish the current sentence.

InsanitySquares · Mar 8, 2010

My distraction: internet. When it's just me, MS Word and my music, I can knock out 800 words in an hour. (I'm a slow writer.) With it on, 2-3 sentences. If you find out your distraction and get rid of it, it may help.

Margarita Skies · Mar 8, 2010

jruby said:
I think about my story all the time, I'm always psyched to write it. I've got ideas, I've got a direction to go in, I'm excited - and then I sit down at my computer and it's like someone let the air out of me. Suddenly, I'm deflated and I don't feel like writing. I write about two sentences before giving up and quitting for the day.

Anyone else ever experience this? How did you get through it?

The only advice I can come up with is... don't wait to sit on your computer to write everything down. Write down your ideas as they float in your head. As soon as you get a new idea for a scene or whatever, grab a pen and paper and brainstorm. That's what I usually do, but currently I don't have any ideas for any of my novels. By the time you sit on your computer, you've already let all those great ideas get away. Grab pen and paper and write 'em down!

Anyone Else Ever Experience This?

Procrastinator Extraordinaire!

a reader's ear and a writer's heart

She blinded me--with magic!

~~~~*~~~~

I'm a sparkly fairy princess!

aka Sadistic Mistress Mi-chan

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

living in the past

A hundred words at a time

She blinded me--with magic!

The cake is a lie. But still cake.

A hundred words at a time

Procrastinator Extraordinaire!

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.

Horror Man

Worst song played on ugliest guitar

My horn can pierce the sky!

*