Pespiration or inspiration? Or both?

You can't revise what you haven't written.

If you're stuck, then you probably don't know know where you're going (or perhaps how to get there.) That means you've got some figuring out to do. What's the conflict? What are the obstacles? Who or what will help the characters? Why are the characters involved in the first place? Etc...

I'd say press on, figure out where you're going, and revise later.

As for dialogue, people should be having "normal" and "regular" conversations. Go listen to regular conversations. Sit in a mall or a restaurant and listen to the conversations people have. What do they talk about? How do they say it? What do they not say? People don't always explain what they've said or rehash past events. This can add life and interest.

I'd say write, write and write some more.

As uncle Jim says,

If you are not in the chair when the muse visits she'll fly right on by to a writer who is.

Thats not a direct quote but I think I got the gist of it.

Press on!

Act out your dialogue with yourself.

When spoken is it wooden? Does it have individual charachteristics per speaker? Is it interesting / Does it have a purpose?

I am in no way an expert, seriously, but give it a go.

If you wait for inspiration, you'll be waiting a long time.

It's like praying for God's blessing on something, to use a religious analogy. Yes, he wants to answer you, but give him something to bless!

(Where did that come from)?!

Anyway. If you want the muse to help you out, give her something to help you with.

To say what others have said, do you want to be a writer or a dabbler? People who wait for that divine motivating high usually can't get through a mid-book slump, or a stuck scene, or as mentioned, some bland dialogue. This is when some people jump to another project because of the honeymoon effect of a new idea (which is a false kind of writing inspiration for most people). Don't do it. Writing is fun, but it's also hard work. If you have to wait until all conditions are perfect before you can sit down and finish something, you risk having little more than bits and pieces of your wonderful, brilliant writing, but no story, no finshed draft, and no accomplishment other than things to post in a "favorite lines I've written" thread.

But if you buckle down and finish the draft, you take a gigantic step toward submission/publication, AND you get to contribute to the data that supports the contention that I'm a butthead:

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118356

If that doesn't serve as motivation, I don't know what does...

I think it depends on how yoou look for inspiration.

Most days I go swimming for half an hour before i get home. I tend to write later in the evening. Swimming is my thinking time. Having that space free of distractions has helped me solve a lot of plot problems, even when i didn't know I had them.

Perhaps, as well as the advice to sit at the keyboard you might find value in some thinking time, but it has to be clear thinking time. I've never had a single valuable idea for my writing while playing computer games, and very few while watching tv.

Craig

Remember Thomas Edison's quote: genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. I think you have your answer right there.

maggie said:

I've written lovely stuff, brilliant stuff!

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That opinion will probably change when you get around to posting your work for crit. That is when the reality sets in.

maggie said:

Only problem is l am stuck on Chapter Four. Do l press on, perspiration and all or wait for inspiration?
Also what can l do to make dialogue in the novel more alive and captivating.

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Do what works for you. Some people must sit their butts in a chair in front of their WIP and sweat it out a word at a time until they get done. If I had to do that I would give up writing as it removes the fun for me in creating something. When I am stuck it is usually because I need to think things through, to figure something out, whether it is direction or pacing or whatever. And there are also moments when I am drained of inspiration and bone-tired. The best thing I can do for myself is take a nap or go for a walk in the woods to recharge, anything but pound my head against a keyboard. FWIW, I have to be able to feel what I am writing and no inspiration means no writing. It doesn't, however, mean not working on my WIP. Even if I am not writing I am tweaking the work, thinking about it, observing people to see what I can use, researching, observing nature so I can better explain a future scene... allowing my mind to take in fodder for the fire of my inspiration. There are so many ways to get inspired it really is a non-issue.

Every writer has a different method for working, for writing what is in their head until it is completed. Although getting advice on how others get over stuck places is fine, it is up to you to figure out what method works best for you. Please do not listen to 'you must do it this way' because it will mess you up big time. It did me. Find your path and walk it. No one can do it for you.

When I'm stuck on a chapter, I will try all sorts of things until the writing starts flowing again. I will go back and read over the previous chapters, read my character bios and try to get to know my characters better, write new and improved characters bios so I know what drives my characters, read through my outline or plan for the chapter I'm stuck on to see if I can figure out why I'm stuck, read books about writing, see movies that inspire me, do something totally different to get away from the writing so when I come back to it with more energy. Whatever works. Sometimes you just have to sit down and write even if you don't feel like it. There are days when I think I'm not going to be able to write anything, but I keep sitting there and writing something and then I finally get back into it and get a lot done.

Yeah, what everyone else said: just sit down and write. You can't revise a blank page.

Re: dialogue, read every word out loud to see if it rings true. Don't write in complete sentences -- people rarely speak that way. Don't have characters refer to each other by name unless it's absolutely necessary (which is never if there are only 2 of them in the scene). And don't have a character tell another character something that they both already know, simply to get plot out there.

Good luck!

Perspiration. I know of not one single professional author who writes off of inspiration alone. In fact for the most part you'll often hear them say, "I hate writing" because the perspiration is just so difficult. Everyone's already said it, but I wanted to say it too. It is the rarest of authors who writes solely from inspiration. So rare that to be honest I don't know of a one.

Inspiration gets a writer started; perspiration is the ONLY thing that gets him finished. Or even past the first chapter.

Another thing about dialogue is that it's usually conversation, ie give and take between two or more people. So it's best not to let one character run on too long uninterrupted.

Also, you want each character to have a unique speech pattern. It might be only a couple of slang words or expressions that one person uses that no one else does. Or you might find that your character sort of reminds you of a person you can pattern their speech on. Does this particular character sound more like your seventh grade teacher or your best friend?

I'm a master procrastinator and I sometimes wait for inspiration to strike or I'd be doing something else.

That said, yes, I agree that you must push through, or write another chapter if you feel stuck with this one. You can't fix what you haven't written. We all have brilliant moments when everything just flow, and then there are moments when everything seems like hard work and the writing is crap ("he did this, and then he did that"). But perfection is an illusion. I've read what I wrote and 9 out 10 times I could see stuff I have to rewrite or improve, no matter how brilliant I thought I was at the time.

But I couldn't do that if I haven't written anything yet.

It does take time and effort and you keep going. As much as I like to procrastinate, I still managed to have 85,000 words down so far -- that's more words than my debut novel (70,000) already. Alas, I still have maybe another 60,000 to go. LOL.

You can wait for inspiration, just don't wait longer than a day or two. If it hasn't come by then, you're better off slogging through it. Even if you write utter crap, chances are you'll get some new ideas and be able to salvage some of it.

Usually when I'm struggling, it means I've taken a wrong turn somewhere. Maybe go back over the last couple scenes and see if anything feels like it's gone astray.

Good luck!

Nicole

maggie said:

I've written lovely stuff, brilliant stuff!
Only problem is l am stuck on Chapter Four. Do l press on, perspiration and all or wait for inspiration?

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If you sit and wait for inspiration, you could be waiting forever. Part of writing is to realize that it's not always going to be easy--like most things it's going to be hard at times. If you stopped and waited for everything to get easy again, you'd never get anything done. Plus, the more regularly you work at something, the more easily and often inspiration will come to you. Whereas the more you put something off, the more fleeting inspiration seems to be. (I know from experience. )

I say press on, even if it's difficult. The only way to get something written is to write it, not sit around waiting for "the right moment" to arrive.

I adore writing to bits. But it's incredibly frigging hard sometimes, especially lately.

maggie said:

Also what can l do to make dialogue in the novel more alive and captivating.

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Well, this isn't a problem for me since I just hear it all in my head as I write. If you don't hear it yourself, you can always try listening to other people and seeing how they talk. (Though you'll have to then modify anything you use in your stories, because people in stories DO NOT talk exactly like people in real life. I realize this is confusing, yes. )

You can also just have your characters talk about captivating things. Sometimes characters have nothing to say, so you shouldn't force them to say something just because.

maggie said:

I've written lovely stuff, brilliant stuff!
Only problem is l am stuck on Chapter Four. Do l press on, perspiration and all or wait for inspiration?
Also what can l do to make dialogue in the novel more alive and captivating.

Click to expand...

When I've written stuff that I thought was lovely or brilliant it really wasn't and I had to redline and perspire to make it work. Ask yourself why if what's gone before is so good, you're stuck on chapter 4. Is there a plothole? Have you given away too much of the backstory or plot already in chaps 1-3? Is the central premise strong enough? Are you motivated enough to finish the work?

These are tough questions, but you must be brutal with yourself. I vote perspiration over inspiration any day. You can write a good book with very little inspiration. But you'll always have to perspire, or, if you're a lady, you'll glow.

maggie said:

Also what can l do to make dialogue in the novel more alive and captivating.

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People rarely talk in formal, complete sentences (unless it's a short, simple sentence).

People rarely address one another by name past the first line of a conversation (even then, only in certain circumstances).

People rarely sit still and listen to someone who goes on and on without stopping.

People rarely sit still and listen to someone who tells them things they already know.

maggie said:

Do l press on, perspiration and all or wait for inspiration?

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Whether you press on is under your control; inspiration is not (at least, not directly). Focus on the one you control, and cherish the other when it shows up.

ETA: "Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it." --Madeleine L'Engle
Dale

scarletpeaches said:

If you wait for inspiration, you'll be waiting a long time.

It's like praying for God's blessing on something, to use a religious analogy. Yes, he wants to answer you, but give him something to bless!

(Where did that come from)?!

Anyway. If you want the muse to help you out, give her something to help you with.

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Reminds me of a joke. I went and found it:

Sam was in dire trouble. His business had gone bust and he was in serious financial trouble. He was so desperate he decided to pray for help.

He began, ‘God, please help me. I've lost my business and if I don't get some money, I'm going to lose my house as well. Please let me win the lottery.’ Lottery night came and Sam didn’t win.

Again Sam prays, ‘God, please let me win the lottery! I've lost my business, my house and I'm going to lose my car as well.’ Lotto night comes and Sam still has no luck.

Once again, he prays, ‘My God, why have you forsaken me?? I've lost my business, my house, and my car. My wife and children are starving. I don't often ask you for help and I have always been a good servant to you. PLEASE just let me win the lottery this one time so I can get my life back in order.’

[FONT=arial,helvetica]Suddenly there is a blinding flash of light as the heavens open. Sam is confronted by the voice of God Himself: ‘Sam,’ says God, ‘meet Me halfway on this. Buy a bloody ticket.’ [/FONT]

Anyone who has started writing something must have had some inspiration. It's still there. Leaving it in the pocket of your other pants is no excuse. The I-word is the most overrated fluffynothing there is anyway.

Talk to your characters.

You press on. If writers only worked on inspiration, there'd be a LOT less books out there. It's not all fun and dreamland. It's sweat too.

For me, it's mainly desperation.

caw

NicoleMD said:

Even if you write utter crap

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I don't recall sending my stuff to you.


Seriously, what great advice. I had been sitting here dreading of staring at another blank screen when I stumbled on your suggestions. That motivated me to stop being such a sissy and get to it.

I think what helps me is remembering that I have something to say. It may be only relevant to me, but it's something I want to say anyway. That helps.

I can neither write from inspiration nor perspiration. I’m sure this will strike a bad tone with many of my critics. I have often addressed writers block as something born from a writer not knowing the story. If someone gave you a pile of wood, bucket of nails, hammer and saw, and said, “Here, build me a house.” I’m sure your first question would be, “Where are the plans?” How would you fair if they replied, “Just start. I’ll be back in two months. Get as much done as you can.” Would you run into builders block?
Some years ago I started a story. It moved along fast. Within just a few months I had 350 pages. A friend who read what I had written asked, “What’s the story about?” I replied, “I’m not sure yet.” Later that night I sat on the floor with the story spread before me. My grammar and spelling were bad, but, the writing was good. I loved it. My friend had asked a question I did not know…”What is the story about?”
I still have that story…the story without a plot. (plan.) It has some good stuff in it. It’s not really a story. It’s more akin to following the life of a drifter. No direction.
I don’t do that anymore. I give myself a minimum of a year thinking about a story. I may spend two designing a plot.( My plot often changes as I go along…the premise never changes.) I don’t know if this is the basis of your block, but it is something that should be on the check list.