Connect the dots.

Cekrit · Jun 28, 2017

When I first started writing, I was very linear with my approach. The thought was impeded in my mind that in order to have proper flow I had to write Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, etc...

Thats exactly what I had done, except I was only able to make it to Chapter 3 until I hit a stone wall- a speech, oh by Sera, why did I have to write a speech. I hate those, and I couldn't get over it.

About a year went by, and I'd only managed to write a couple sentences at a time of what came to be about a page-long talk from one of the main powers of the book.

I had everything else planned out, literally, chapter by chapter, the only issue was getting it to paper- but still I couldn't get past Chapter 3 so how could I possibly ever finish this book?

Eventually I had a really great idea for a fight scene that ended up in Chapter 7, and I wrote it down before I forgot. That helped.

Chapter 6 came next, then chapter 32, then chapter 11, then chapter 40, THEN Chapters 3, 4, and 5 to fill that void.

From then on I finished a total of 39 additional chapters, 42 in total within a month.

The issue isn't writers block, the issue is not having enough to write what you are stuck on trying to write. If the feeling isn't there, if the world isn't there, than you won't be able to pen it to pad.

I used action, fight scenes, and major events to help me fill in the voids. Mainly for me, fight scenes, because thats what had entertained me personally and made the writing fun.

After that it became easy to write the pages in between because it provided context.

be frank · Jun 28, 2017

Cekrit said:
My issue wasn't writers block, my issue was not having enough to write what I was stuck on trying to write.

FIFY.

Layla Nahar · Jun 28, 2017

be frank said:
FIFY.

+1

Cekrit · Jun 28, 2017

I know what I said. What I meant by not adding ownership to the sentence by saying "my" is that writers block is a false concept. YOU are your only obstacle, so find a way to work around it. What I'm saying is writer's block isn't some plague on a writer or evil little demon that keeps words from manifesting, it's the writer's inability to move around the "block", which can be easily avoided once the writer realizes the errors in their own approach. So yes, the issue isn't writer's block, it is not having enough of a story around that specific scene. There is no "block," there is only you. My advise was to simply write around the scene and fill it in later.

be frank · Jun 28, 2017

Cekrit said:
What I meant by not adding ownership to the sentence by saying "my" is that writers block is a false concept.

Sigh.

That this was your experience does not make it a universal truth.

I implore you to read the room sticky: Guidelines for Participation in Outwitting Writer's Block.

Old Hack · Jun 28, 2017

Cekrit said:
The issue isn't writers block, the issue is not having enough to write what you are stuck on trying to write. If the feeling isn't there, if the world isn't there, than you won't be able to pen it to pad.

Cekrit said:
I know what I said. What I meant by not adding ownership to the sentence by saying "my" is that writers block is a false concept. YOU are your only obstacle, so find a way to work around it. What I'm saying is writer's block isn't some plague on a writer or evil little demon that keeps words from manifesting, it's the writer's inability to move around the "block", which can be easily avoided once the writer realizes the errors in their own approach. So yes, the issue isn't writer's block, it is not having enough of a story around that specific scene. There is no "block," there is only you. My advise was to simply write around the scene and fill it in later.

Cekrit, you need to read the sticky thread here. I'll quote an extract, so you understand:

Medievalist said:
[FONT=&quot]

This isn't the place to discuss the existence of writer's block. The basic operating assumption is that it does exist for many writers.

This is a place to discuss methods of coping, outwitting, or circumventing writer's block.

While you may not have experienced writer's block yourself, it is nonetheless unkind, unhelpful and potentially harmful to doubt or dismiss the difficulties of other writers. Don't do that here.

This is a forum about coping with writer's block, with the goal of getting back to writing. [/FONT]

Telling people that writers' block is a false concept, and that all they have to do is what worked for you, is neither helpful nor appropriate--and it's contradictory, because you told us you had a block and that there's no such thing as block. Telling us that a particular strategy helped you find your way out of your block might be helpful.

Layla Nahar · Jun 29, 2017

Cekrit said:
it's the writer's inability to move around the "block", which can be easily avoided once the writer realizes the errors in their own approach. So yes, the issue isn't writer's block, it is not having enough of a story around that specific scene.

^
not true - even *if* one can figure out the source of the problem, that does not mean that the problem is easily dealt with. Again, you are making your own experience universal. We all have a tendency to do that, but it is worthwhile remembering that different people have different experiences. Yours might shed light on some other people's problems, but not on everyone's. The potential damage here is saying that the problem is easily overcome. A person who is really struggling with many problems could read that and feel bad that they they are not solving the problem "easily".

Cekrit · Jun 29, 2017

Fair and noted, thank you.

clek25 · Jun 29, 2017

I don't think writer's block is a false concept...I think what you're describing here is merely one of the methods of overcoming it. Just because you're blocked on chapter three but not on later scenes doesn't mean you don't have writer's block. If you didn't, you would be able to just write that chapter three without finding ways around it.

I simply see it as needing a little more inspiration in order to write any given scene. I did the same thing with my last WIP—I jumped around a bit if I was stuck on a scene, just to keep the juices flowing, which in turn gave me the inspiration I needed to fill that gap. But sometimes I just cannot write. Anything. And I lack that inspiration. And if I do write, forcing it out of me, it's more often than not atrocious writing. Sometimes I go weeks without writing because I just CAN'T. A lot of the time it's a lot easier than others.

As I was reading the original post I thought this was going to be a helpful tip for coping with writer's block, and I was going to agree because as I said, I did the same thing and thought it worked well. But my scenes were also choppy at points and I had a lot to fix in the long run. Regardless, there are many ways of dealing with writer's block, and while this is certainly one of the methods, it is definitely not the only one.

Cekrit · Jun 29, 2017

Of course, I wholly agree with you in stating that it is not the only one- simply an effective one. I wasn't trying to say it was the stand alone solution. I feel as though, for me, working around the road block and writing the other scenes worked well to allow the dam to open and let the flood waters in. Once I worked around what I was struggling with the scene suddenly seemed foolish to have been stuck on to begin with- I just knew what needed to be said.

My apologies for my original phrasing.

Cekrit · Jun 29, 2017

Layla Nahar said:
^
The potential damage here is saying that the problem is easily overcome. A person who is really struggling with many problems could read that and feel bad that they they are not solving the problem "easily".

I hear this point. I fear my usual way of describing things tends to be sort of like a "hype-man." By this I mean letting people know their struggles are blown up because they are struggling, not because it is a serious hurdle to face but because of their own perspective is amplifying it to a point of freezing up. How I meant to be received was the challenge isn't the work, or the block, its the writer not understanding how that block manifested and coming up with a positive solution that works fro them specifically. However! I should find a better way to articulate this without seeming so abrasive from the get go.

For me that meant skipping through chapters until the missing pieces seemed obvious, though that will not work for everyone.

I mean well, sorry for coming off as rude or seeming like I was putting anyone down- I intend the opposite.

Connect the dots.

Cekrit

be frank

not a bloke, not named frank

Layla Nahar

Seashell Seller

Cekrit

be frank

not a bloke, not named frank

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

Layla Nahar

Seashell Seller

Cekrit

clek25

Watching Disney movies

Cekrit

Cekrit