What did you do to cope with your creative block(s)?

I go with "don't fight it." For whatever reason, my subconscious mind is choosing not to write: that's what a block is. I honor that, focus on other parts of my life, and the reason always bubbles up to conscious levels, and the writing always comes back.

It is interesting to compare how I feel about music--I've been making/playing/composing music since I was 4--which I've never been a pro at and never desired to be a pro at, and how I feel about writing. I've come to think it's best to pull my writing back towards the amateur/playful/"gee this is fun" attitude I have toward music. If I don't have an instrument or don't feel like playing one I do have for a month, I don't beat myself up. I barely think of it. I just live. And eventually, the urge to play comes back. I can trust it. (And if one day, it never does come back, or I die before it does, that's also fine.)

If I ever sell a novel and end up with revising/second novel deadlines, we'll see how that philosophy goes. But that's a big what-if, and for now, I am gentle with myself, try to get back to the attitude that it's play, it's fun, it's okay if I back-burner it for a month or a year or two years, and that works for me.

Another way to think of it is: if I were told I had six months to live, would playing music, or writing a novel, or dusting, or X, be something I'd do every day until death came? If the answer is "no," maybe it's not something I want to do today, either.

lorna_w said:

... if I were told I had six months to live, would playing music, or writing a novel, or dusting, or X, be something I'd do every day until death came? If the answer is "no," maybe it's not something I want to do today, either.

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Old saying: No one ever said on his/her deathbed, "I wish I'd spent more time at the office."

Having just come off a PM binge with Mccardey on that very subject, I can say with perfect honesty that I whine and complain to her, she beats me about the head and shoulders (metaphorically, of course), then I go write.

It never happened for me to have creative block in all of my projects...

I just swap projects or go to read a new book, listen to a new song, step away a bit and see if there's something interrupting the flow... You know, I can't force my creativity but I sure can trigger it.

Ironically, my writers/creativity block is all too often fixed by writing. I have a goal of 2,000 words a day. I wake up every morning knowing I'm going to write those 2,000 words. It doesn't matter if I have to do it in bits in pieces when I get the time or end up staying up two hours later than I expected that night. I'm going to get them done.

For me, it's a relief to have such a large goal. I know I have to write a lot each day, so I sit down and write. I write fast, and I write without worrying about what I'm writing. After all, if I know no matter what I have to write 2,000 words, I'd rather get it done in one sitting rather than sacrifice something else I want to do later that day. I do it because the feeling of going to bed knowing I didn't meet that 2,000 words is often worse than the time I sit in the chair wondering what to write.

In addition, I think a big part of overcoming a block is being PROACTIVE. Strike the block before it can strike you. Brainstorm in your spare time (while you're driving, cooking, exercising). Know the scene you're going to write before you write it. Go over dialogue in your head. That way, the hardest part of writing (thinking about what to write) is over with before you start wasting your writing time.

What do I do to cope with my creative block(s)?

I hang out here and post stuff.

EDIT: Okay, all kidding aside, the only way I know how to cope with my writer's block is to write more. If I encounter block in one WIP, I move on to another. I might write something as simple as a letter to my daughter (which she won't be able to read for a few years, since she's four), or I'll write a private rant about something that totally bothers me--say politics. I even think posting here helps, since I am writing about something.

After thinking about it for a bit, I felt I had to apologize for being flippant in my earlier response. Writer's block is tough to have.

I just got over one, so that's why I haven't been here mush lately--to busy writing.

What got me was plotting. Hours, after hours of sitting with my plotting flashcards, walks to think and a constant stream of music directly to the brain.

I just sit down and start typing. I know what I'm writing is garbage, but if I just keep on writing it eventually turns into something decent. If I keep going I'll snap out of it.

Reading.

And writing in small blocks, even if it's not related to my WiP.

Sometimes, I'm just burnt out and go do something different for a bit. Doesn't happen often, though. Taking a day off every once in a while is a good thing.

I take a shower and verbally explain my story out loud, as if I'm being interviewed or explaining my story to someone else. Eventually my verbal thoughts turn into ideas, concepts, quotes I want to write.

You don't necessarily have to shower though.

amblack said:

I take a shower and verbally explain my story out loud, as if I'm being interviewed or explaining my story to someone else. Eventually my verbal thoughts turn into ideas, concepts, quotes I want to write.

You don't necessarily have to shower though.

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Showers are great for getting over creative blocks. I find pacing works well too.

I'm having a terrible time getting motivated to finish the very last scene of my wip. I saw this 50 words a day thing and I got an idea. I'll write 50 words right now, go play video games until I reach a checkpoint, come back, write another fifty, and proceed until I finish. I only have like 750 words anyway. Ugh. I should be excited to finish, but I've had so many personal challenges this month that writing feels like a chore. Lets see what happens.

Oh, and, part of the problem is that I haven't been reading like I should. That only adds to my reluctance to write.

My creative blocks usually go hand in hand with a bad mental health period, so there doesn't seem much I can do.

I try to do thinks I like - go running or walking, read a good books, play a good computer game - and treat myself gently with healthy foods I like and lots of pampering baths, while constantly reminding myself it's temporary and will pass.

I try to do some writing, even if it's blog posts or idea jottings, just to keep myself in the habit. As the mood lifts, the creativity comes back.

I honestly haven't given the matter much thought. My creativity comes in waves, and the waves are sporadic. My attention span is the equivalent of a fly, unfortunately.

Anything and everything. Nanowrimo has given me a whole armory of tactics.

Switching from analog to digital and back again. Changing pens. Dressing up. Writing naked. Doing meticulous character sheets to figure out where the character would naturally go next. Writing fifteen-minute off-the-cuff "sprints" and reporting the results somewhere public for accountability. Hot baths. Writing at red lights. Reading through the last couple of chapters to get into the rhythm of the story. Doodling the characters. Writing in code. Writing on post-it notes.

Touch typing with my eyes closed was surprisingly effective--I know it's crap but I can't see it, so I can continue on until it starts getting halfway decent again.

The method's not as important as just getting over my natural inertia. If I can get the scene down on paper--no matter how awful--then I can manage from there. Editing is my saving grace.

-Hj

When I am stumped or stopped dead in my tracks or lose interest, I work on another project. I've always got three or four books in the works. So that seems to be my remedy for writers block. Although I guess I don't really have writers block in that case.

Cry, drink beer, and watch a lot of television.

I can't even read during my blocked periods. Just don't have the attention span. I thought I'd be over it once I was diagnosed with ADHD and the medication would solve the problem. And to an extent, it has, except I still experience this period of lack of focus. I've found my best times for reading and writing is from about April through late September, early October. May I'm furious with writing. But the rest of the time I just seem to go into this hibernation period and I can't figure out why. It's really disheartening.

Shadow_Ferret said:

Cry, drink beer, and watch a lot of television.

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What he said.

I agree with other posters here.

I've found that my unconscious (or subconscious, whatever) is consistently more clever than me. It spots ahead of time if I'm going in the wrong direction, and brings me to a halt. I've learned to trust that, as in: if it's not going well, it's because I've either missed something, not thought it through, or screwed up some other way.

Sometimes, of course, it's also telling you that you're writing utter crap that even you don't like.

I'm thankful for the halts now, when they come. And once they've come, I go on a LONG walk to the pub, asking myself question after question on the way. If I'm lucky, by the time I get there, I already have a good idea about what the problem is. If I don't, then after a week of asking questions with no answers, I put the project in the drawer and move on to something else.

GiddyUpGo said:

I just sit down and start typing. I know what I'm writing is garbage, but if I just keep on writing it eventually turns into something decent. If I keep going I'll snap out of it.

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Me too. Though if I'm having a lot of trouble getting into it, sometimes I revise what I've already written first and that's what gets me going for the rest of the day.

i'm experiencing the worse kind of block and i'm at the end of the book with maybe another chapter to go and I find just talking through it with someone supportive helps. Basically a writing coach. someone who will show a genuine interest and ask you questions that require you to think and snap out of it and get back on track or realize an alternative you hadn't considered before.

I have two types of writer's block. With the first, I can only muscle through it. I hate beginnings (be it the start of a book or just a POV shift), so I tend to get stuck on them. Usually if I sit down and force out a sentence, it flows from there.
The second type of writer's block is more painful, because it only happens when the story is flowing in the wrong direction and I have to go back and delete a scene (or ten).

music or draw.

but sometimes i have artist AND writers block. Then I am screwed lol...but mainly i just try and do something creative. write something else

sometimes I just sit on the toilet and think paint beautiful scenery.