Writer's Block

[Izrail]

Four false starts later, I still have no RP story despite the half-dozen plotlines I want to start or complete. I know that the only way to push through writer's block is to sit down, write, and keep writing, but it's not working. Are there any other folk remedies I could try?

[Evanthe]

If I knew how to do this I would have written 800% more stories.

The best thing for me is exercise and music. I often get ideas while walking around or dancing. Or I'll play a song or two that reminds me of the character or situation I want to write about over and over again until it's done.

[Hellista]

I do most of my story writing while the servers are offline for maintenance. It depends on my mood too. Hellista is easy to write for though. I basically just think to myself "What kind of crazy shit can I get her involved in? What has she not tried? Who could she eat?"

From there I either write a journal entry, or do a story. And I almost always just make the crap up as I go.

[Tillna]

I need to do more Shiggy stories, cause I rarel yplay her any more

[Izrail]

I'm going to try the excercize/music thing. Since most of what I need to write is backstory I can't make it up as I go. I know exactly what needs to be written but can't find the voice to say it in. I refuse to sleep until I have made something of creative value! Or perhaps I should trust the inner voice that warns me I always write weird crap when I'm half asleep...

[turen]

Write what ya can now, then go to sleep and see what you've written in the morning. I take forever to write anything, cuz I jot down one story, then let it sit and come back and change things, or even completly redo things. This is why I haven't written anything in so long....cuz as soon as I put a decent amount of time into a story, I'm already wanting to go on and make another too.


Such is the vicious cycle. Maybe I should write random stories about non-in game characters, since I don't play anymore...

[Ryoku]

I usually think better when moving, so I often take a notepad and jot things down while I'm walking, then I come back and write them later.

I usually find your idea of "pushing through" to be worthless, because really: When I have writers block.. It's a block. Ideas don't come to me when I'm thinking about them. I get in trouble with my parents all the time for pacing around the house, because they think it's because something is stressing me out.

Another trick I've used is writing a completely random short-story/poem/song that has nothing to do with anything, and is mostly nonsense. Usually after I am done with something like that, I usually get an idea for the story I was working on before, and can continue.

[Izrail]

I usually think better when moving, so I often take a notepad and jot things down while I'm walking, then I come back and write them later.

I usually find your idea of "pushing through" to be worthless, because really: When I have writers block.. It's a block. Ideas don't come to me when I'm thinking about them. I get in trouble with my parents all the time for pacing around the house, because they think it's because something is stressing me out.

Another trick I've used is writing a completely random short-story/poem/song that has nothing to do with anything, and is mostly nonsense. Usually after I am done with something like that, I usually get an idea for the story I was working on before, and can continue.

I also do that pacing thing. Most of my story ideas come to me while doing monotonous physical labor at work. The problem is not the ideas, but the execution. I'll give up for tonight and try again another day; it's pretty late and my brain is mostly worthless right now.

[Alphaeus]

My fix for writer's block is to sleep on it. Sometimes, it comes to me when I'm waking up... that funny little stage between dreaming and awake.

[turen]

My fix for writer's block is to sleep on it. Sometimes, it comes to me when I'm waking up... that funny little stage between dreaming and awake.

Wow, I give yu props for that. All I ever get done in that stage is trying to get more comfortable and/or tell whoevers trying to wake me up to go away.

[Xaraphyne]

I also do that pacing thing. Most of my story ideas come to me while doing monotonous physical labor at work. The problem is not the ideas, but the execution. I'll give up for tonight and try again another day; it's pretty late and my brain is mostly worthless right now.

Yeah, that's exactly it for me. If I'm forced to do something boring and repetitious, my brain starts occupying itself with character ideas and plot twists. But that's just to get ideas... Even if I have something to write, if I'm not in the right mood everything I write will look like crap to me, and it's very discouraging.

[Ryoku]

Oh, and when I'm at school, or at some other form of social gathering, I tend to daydream by using the scenery I see and adding in some of my own stuff.

I also do this in car-rides.

But, anyways, that always makes the football games more fun. Since they're so boring otherwise, it's never a bad idea to put in a video image of an elf beating the shit out of an angel and then saying "You know what? I'd write about that if it wasn't so crazy and random." to keep you entertained.

[Sifar]

I also use the "keep a notebook nearby" idea. It sounds like you have the basic story ideas or plot line in your head. If so, the hard part is getting the details together to make it come to life. For most of my current writing, it's all based on an image, sensation, or critical mind change my character needs to make. Unfortunately, the details usually come to me as I'm falling asleep and won't let go until I write them down. (I've been getting very little sleep the past two weeks.) So, I pull out my big green notebook and write until it will let me sleep.

[Alphaeus]

Wow, I give yu props for that. All I ever get done in that stage is trying to get more comfortable and/or tell whoevers trying to wake me up to go away.

Pffft, I do some of my best thinking right then!

Granted, it's usually in some form of abstract.

[Visant]

It sounds like you are having the same problem I am, you have plenty of ideas but when it comes to execution the outcome isn’t so hot. The only way I’ve found to get over it, other then time, is to write anything, no matter how lame it is. Then looking at it again oftentimes there are a few nuggets that are worth keeping, but mostly it means it’s time to rewrite or go off in a different direction. The problem with doing this is that you have to write a lot more then what you normally would because you are discarding large chunks of writing. It’s a painful way to go considering how easily it flows when everything is clicking. :( I'm trying to wait mine out.

[turen]

I get most of my story-tinking done during boring lectures, or when lifeguarding.

[Maegannon]

Try doing what I do. I never, ever.. ever, write in word, or in a notebook. If I get the creative spark, or have an idea, I just throw up the forums and start typing. Good, bad, or terrible, its up there, live and online, and easily edited for spelling mistakes ;p

The reason I do it is because, no matter what it looks like, its better posted here then posted and saved in my computer where I can get disgusted at how terrible it is and throw it out.

Aka: Make the jump beyond shy, and really just let it flow where everyone can see and ridicule ;p I know Chingaso cringes at my horrible spelling and grammar ;p Doesn't matter though, because to me, once its out of my brain and into my hands, its here in the forums, and there's nothing I can do to stop it once its down and out ;p



Seriously. Just sit one day, open up a post, and just close your eyes and type what you feel. It might not make any sense, but it'll get the creative juices flowing, and heck you can always edit it later ;p

[turen]

Tried that once. I never finished the story.





Come to think of it...I don't think I've -ever- finished any story...

[Izrail]

Try doing what I do. I never, ever.. ever, write in word, or in a notebook. If I get the creative spark, or have an idea, I just throw up the forums and start typing. Good, bad, or terrible, its up there, live and online, and easily edited for spelling mistakes ;p

*heart attack*

If I were to lose a bit of writing in the middle of a post because my computer, Internet, or power supply failed, I might not try to rewrite it. For that reason I use TextEdit (or Notepad/Wordpad if I'm on a PC). I need to save often.



The reason I do it is because, no matter what it looks like, its better posted here then posted and saved in my computer where I can get disgusted at how terrible it is and throw it out.

Aka: Make the jump beyond shy, and really just let it flow where everyone can see and ridicule ;p I know Chingaso cringes at my horrible spelling and grammar ;p Doesn't matter though, because to me, once its out of my brain and into my hands, its here in the forums, and there's nothing I can do to stop it once its down and out ;p

Seriously. Just sit one day, open up a post, and just close your eyes and type what you feel. It might not make any sense, but it'll get the creative juices flowing, and heck you can always edit it later ;p

A lot, if not all, of the creative writing I've posted on these forums has been posted with just that attitude. Too much of it was written while I was half-asleep, and some of it I was so excited about when I wrote it that I posted it after only a cursory spelling and grammar check. (Like Sound Bite in the Other Tales area.) It's part of my philosophy not to take down anything I post at four in the morning no matter how my daytime critical mind looks at it. So, it's not shyness that's the problem. The problem is more what Visant said. But I'm glad you have the same attitude about it that I do, because common ground is a good place to stand on.

Actually I'm partially cured, I'm finally getting a vital bit of backstory written. I worked on some homework and tried a few other projects not related to WoW and then something clicked and I started writing what I needed to write. We'll see if it gets posted tonight or not.

[Evanthe]

There's really no need to start another thread on this subject when I really just want to bitch.

I'm not entirely sure if what I have right now is the dreaded Writer's Block or just plain-old procrastination, but I'm not getting any writing done. There are two threads that I -should- write something in, and a few others that I -want- to write something in. But I'm at a total loss on half of them and the other half I just can't seem to bring myself to spend the time to put something down. I've been pretty busy with RL stuff the past couple days and have a couple things going on this weekend, and I'd rather play than write when I get the chance.

*thows up hands* I should have made 'write more' my new year's resloution.

[Faelen]

I tend to almost always have some sort of creative idea flying around in my head... I tend to have more ideas than I know what to do with. One way to avoid writers block is to never assume what you are going to write is bad. Just write it. If you 'really' feel you just cannot write anything, do what I do sometimes....

Submerge your self into your character. You can do that by just pretending, role playing by yourself that you are this person, on WoW or in real life... what would you do? Where did you come from? How do you feel? Sometimes taking on that persona takes away the block because you're no longer thinking how your character would act, or the history he has made; you're living it.

I find my personal form of writer's block is when I'm too hard on myself. Nothing seems good enough. Well, you're never going to know until you write it! So get that 'perceived' bad stuff out of your head, so you can move on from it, and then go for the good stuff! heh.

Hope this helps some.

[Medduren]

There's really no need to start another thread on this subject when I really just want to bitch.

I'm not entirely sure if what I have right now is the dreaded Writer's Block or just plain-old procrastination, but I'm not getting any writing done. There are two threads that I -should- write something in, and a few others that I -want- to write something in. But I'm at a total loss on half of them and the other half I just can't seem to bring myself to spend the time to put something down. I've been pretty busy with RL stuff the past couple days and have a couple things going on this weekend, and I'd rather play than write when I get the chance.

*thows up hands* I should have made 'write more' my new year's resloution.


Just enjoy yourself and stop feeling guilty for not being 'productive.' When the mood strikes, whatever you put down will most likely be made of great goodness and win, even if it takes a while to get it started :D

[Sifar]

Back in August when I started my journal, I had a very serious goal to write in it once a day. Didn't matter if nothing had happened or I hadn't gotten a chance to play, I simply had to write something. Some of those early posts really meandered a bit. Some were short, some were long, but they served their purpose. They got me to write.

Lately, I haven't had the heart or inspiration to do it. I felt so guilty not keeping up with it! Finally, I told myself just let it go for a while. I can always pick it up later and no one was depending on me to respond. Wouldn't you know it, just a week later, I have plenty to write about.

Moral of this post? If you feel the need to write, force yourself to do it...no matter how crappy. If you don't feel the need, release yourself from the responsibility...the need will resurface when ready.

[Izrail]

I agree with Sifar. Also...



*thows up hands* I should have made 'write more' my new year's resloution.

It's not too late for that. It's only been a few days. Or you could wait for the Chinese New Year in February. ^^ If you do resolve to "write more" I suggest that you have a certain goal. The RP thread aside, I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, but I have heard that the more specific you are in laying your resolution out the more likely you are to succeed. So instead of saying "I resolve to write more" you could resolve to write a certain number of words per day, week, or month, or to have a story complete at the end of each month, whatever you think will work best.

[Nymare]

My fix for writer's block is to sleep on it. Sometimes, it comes to me when I'm waking up... that funny little stage between dreaming and awake.

You say this, but where are your stories? You don't post! When you don't post, you make me sad. When you make me sad, all those cute things you put on Acherontia's head....? Yeah, they die.

As for me, I suffer from writer's block to a certain extent. It's more like writer's A.D.D.

It has kinda been mentioned that my journal just might keep me from making the bigger, more important posts. I get my creativity fix, let people in on what's been going on in my game without putting any effort into creating a real story, and I go on with life.

It's become a blog, more or less, and so many people have them now! They're fun to read.

However, I know I need to branch out. I'm just too lazy. And every time I do try writing a serious post? Yeah, it takes all day. I get distracted (typically by music). I start and stop a million times. I go to think about it, and... it doesn't get done.

Infact, I'm currently failing at one right now! I should be writing something. Instead I'm tabbed out of game and writing this.

Oh hey, shiny...

[Bir]

You say this, but where are your stories? You don't post! When you don't post, you make me sad. When you make me sad, all those cute things you put on Acherontia's head....? Yeah, they die.

Same place my stories are.. in paragraph emotes in game ;D... and omg dead cute things ;_;

[Thrysta]

((
Oddly enough, I've been having trouble lately coming up with another story
and I saw this thread.

I'm writing something at the moment, but I have a feeling it's going to wind
up crumpled up on top of the wastebasket rather than finished.

Right now, to compensate and get a bit of the creative juices flowing, I've
done some photoshopping sig/av work for some Grims and have been listening
to a lot of music.

Hopefully, at some point, the flood gates will open and I'll have another
story to post.
))

[Ashagga]

Writer's Block is a bitch.

I'm a Creative Writing major. I've written tons of stories, even had one published. I write on here a lot, and it's generally crap.

First, you have to decide if you want recreational or professional writing. Probably recreational.

In that case, you got it: Just do it. Keep writing anything, even if it's crap. If you don't like it, you can always edit it once or twice later, but just keep trying - until it's not fun anymore. Then stop, rest, exercise, play video games, whatever, and then come back.

If it's professional, then start the same. Write anything. Then revise it. Then revise it. Then revise it. Then revise it. Then do it again.

Then do it again.

It's like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer. Except you're hitting yourself in the balls, and you never, ever stop.

Fuck, I'm stupid.