• Read this: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?288931-Guidelines-for-Participation-in-Outwitting-Writer-s-Block

    before you post.

Yep, I've got it. I've got the Writer's Block.

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CogitoErgoSum

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I have half a dozen ideas waiting on back burner, I think about it every day, I brainstorm and write myself little notes and add on to every story. I think and I think and I think. But, when the time comes that I have all the time in the world to write...I cannot.

I believe that because I have seen what other writers are capable of, their grammatical prowess, ability to critique the crap out of other writers, the mysterious power to identify flaws in other people's work...it's almost demoralizing.

How can someone have so many ideas, portray such a realistic fantasy, do any of these things without it being a wasteland of cliches and info dumps?

What could possibly not be a cliche in this world? I don't think it's possible anymore! All that is left is voice! If a writer does not have voice, I don't believe there is much left in the human conscious that hasn't been thought up yet, so those who cannot manipulate what's already there...they're in trouble.

I'm drying up, and all that runs through my head are radio waves and that really cold, apathetic feeling you get when you think a little too much...

At times like this, what does an aspiring writer do?
 

lauraannwilliams

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WriteOrDie.com. It works for me, amazingly well. Doubles my usual output.

As for confidence - I try not to let 'OMG I'm writing crap' stop me. I tell the inner editor to stuff it and we'll work it out on rewrites. Give yourself permission ( or head over to Uncle Jim's first thread to get the official certificate ) to write badly.

Writing badly isn't a sin against being a writer. The ONLY thing you can do that will impede you in becoming a better writer is to not write. Everything else is learning.
 
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Ciera_

What she said!
Also, and I believe I learned this from Uncle Jim's thread in the first place: schedule one hour out of every single day. Get up early if you have to, miss the new eppy of House, whatever, just commit to writing for sixty minutes every single day.
And when that selected hour arrives . . . you open your word processing program, and ONLY that. Disconnect your internet if that's a feasible thing to do. And you stare at that blank page and the slowly-flashing little black line that says "type something, I am hungry for your input because I live in a word processing program and it is very boring in here!"
And you can start typing if you want, or you can sit there staring at that screen for the entire hour. Most people, even those who don't LIKE writing, will choose the former. (And you DO like writing, right?)
Don't worry if it's bad. As the poster above me said, the only bad writing is the writing you don't write. (Even if it was a bit more eloquent the first time =/)
Good luck!
 

CogitoErgoSum

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I try that method already. It works sometimes.
You people must be in love with that Uncle Jim thread. I went there and found a lot of good information.
Thanks for responding. I think this thread was just an attempt for me to get out of my rut.
 
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