Getting Over Writer's Block (Moved from Novels)

Ah, I know how that feels. I've been there. Not lately, though, as I've managed to apply some structure to my writing.

What works for me, is just write, even if it's bad. Keep writing. Get the words flowing, even if just a couple of hundred per day. Make it a habit. They will start to get better.

It's okay not to write. Some people can write through blocks; other people can't. If writing through it doesn't work, give yourself permission to not write for a while. Fill your time with other interesting and creative things. Go for long walks. Go to museums, or concerts, or movies. Read good books. Try a genre you don't normally read, or dig into some non-fiction. Get a journal. Make collages. Take up flamenco dancing.

I recently went through something similar. I couldn't write for 8 or 9 months. Every time I opened my laptop to write, nothing would come and I'd get so frustrated that it drove me to tears. Then I let it go. I started playing guitar, making collages and learning about book-binding. I crocheted teddy bears, started learning French and watching French films. The block eventually went away.

Sometimes you just need to refill the well, and if you keep trying to write while you're tapped out, you'll only hurt your ability to create.

Sometimes re-reading earlier chapters helps me see things a little more clearly. Reminding myself where I've been often tells me where I need to go.

Similarly, looking at point in the future, or where I want to see my charater end up in the next couple chapters, gives me an idea of how to fill in the gaps.

Forestqueen808 said:

... I really FEEL like writing, I WANT to write. But nothing will come to me...

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Here is a trick I learned to torture your subconscious mind until it starts producing.

1. Find an author whose works you admire.
2. Copy sections from his/er work, verbatim. In doing so, you'll notice things about the style, word choice, sentence structure, etc, that you wouldn't notice when simply reading.
3. Soon you'll start to notice things that you could have written better.
4. Finally, your subconscious will cave in and start feeding you creative stuff related to your WIPs. DON'T TALK ABOUT IT WITH OTHERS; this will kill the process. Then open your current file and start writing.

A big cause of block with me is showing my stuff to others too soon. Whether positive or negative feedback, it may make me doubt what I'm doing. The novel I just finished was a deep secret until I had the first draft complete.

You demonstrate your mastery over your creative engine and pick up a few style tricks from your admired writers at the same time.

Dangerous Bill

Forestqueen808 said:

Hi All!

So, I've been working on....four novels. One is being written, the others, rewritten. But I just can't write. I really FEEL like writing, I WANT to write. But nothing will come to me. I keep starting ideas and when it comes to rewriting them and making them great, I just can't. How do I get over writer's block? I feel like my life is worthless without writing, but for some reason I just CAN'T write right now, its been this way for a month or two. Help?

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You CAN write, because you just wrote a forum post telling us that you can't. So open up an empty word document, put your fingers on the keyboard and start writing.

Write nonsense. Write instructions on tying your shoelace. Write about why your favorite color is blue. Just write. Then start thinking about your WIP. Sooner or later, you'll start writing about the WIP again.

What inspires you to write in the first place? What is it that really juices your ideas and gets your brain sparking? I usually go watch some movies or read a book by a an author I admire, or even sample a new author I've never read before. Anything to get my mind off my current work but will still spark my imagination. Sometimes I come out of these sessions with new ideas, and once I start working through these ideas I find my block has disolved completely.

Writer's block only exists if you want it to exist. It's an excuse, not a real problem. If you want to write, you sit down at the same time and same place each and every day, and you either write, or you stare at the monitor and do nothing.

Writers should read teh history of so-called writer's block. We know when the first case happened, and how incredibly rare it was, almost nonm-existent, in fact, until literary magazines started talking about that one case, and suddenly everyone had it.

And that one case was REAL writer's block. When you have this, you can't write anything.

Sit down and write. All you have to do is press keys on the keyboard.

I like to read when I can't write. If that doesn't help break the block then I go somewhere that I love. It can be real travel or some kitschy coffee shop. I take in things that feel luxurious and just think. (Ex: long bath, buying something unnecessary like a fantastic pen or eating a cookie with enough calories to last me a week.)

Good luck. I know this is really hard.

dangerousbill said:

Here is a trick I learned to torture your subconscious mind until it starts producing.

1. Find an author whose works you admire.
2. Copy sections from his/er work, verbatim. In doing so, you'll notice things about the style, word choice, sentence structure, etc, that you wouldn't notice when simply reading.
3. Soon you'll start to notice things that you could have written better.
4. Finally, your subconscious will cave in and start feeding you creative stuff related to your WIPs. DON'T TALK ABOUT IT WITH OTHERS; this will kill the process. Then open your current file and start writing.

You demonstrate your mastery over your creative engine and pick up a few style tricks from your admired writers at the same time.

Dangerous Bill

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Hi!
DB, I think you just said it. You said the precise reason why I copy those master pieces of RD's (Reader's Digest for short). I also think you said the reason why I feel the well being dry after only a short time after I have copied a section of a story.