Writer's block sucks -- and so do I. :-(

[emmagrant01]

So, I suck. I owe fics for THREE things at the moment, all of which are now late, and I have the most horrible writer's block. I feel like a complete loser that I just cannot make this work. I'm all motivated to get things done, and as soon as I get the doc open, nothing happens. I've even tried to stay away from LJ in an effort to get the writing back on track, and it hasn't helped. *sobs*

Usually when I have writer's block, I just sit down and write, and see what happens. Sometimes it goes somewhere. Sometimes I manage a paragraph before I say fuck it and go do something else. There's been a lot of fuck its in the last week, and I have almost finished knitting a sweater for my nephew as a result. :-P

*stabs writer's block*

So what works for you, writers?

Comments

[phaballa.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I read the people I think are really fantastic. I read my favorite fics. Usually that inspires me. But sometimes if it's not coming, that means it's not going to. I can't force myself to write. or it all comes out crappy :P

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I can't force myself to write either. :-P

Reading other fic seems to be a popular strategy in these comments!

[frayach-nicuill.livejournal.com]

If I have the luxury of time, I take a complete break from writing. Even from writing in my head. For me, there's a fair amount of performance anxiety involved. So, if I can get some distance and stop stressing, things usually just start happening again. A lot of it is faith. I *know* it will come back. I just have to be patient and nonjudgmental with my head.

If I don't have the luxury of time, a really moving deep plotty movie often gets the juices flowing. I also have particular pieces of music that can trigger certain "themes" for me. Sometimes I just sit down and start writing and tell myself not to stop, and maybe after about five pages of crap, something good happens. I often experience writer's block like a blocked pore to my psyche. Squeeze out the metaphorical blackhead by "writing past it" and things improve.

Hope that helps. I sympathize.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Lately, it seems like I'm writing for deadlines, which just makes the whole process stressful. I tend to outline when I'm stuck, and it sometimes helps, unless I get bogged down in how much my outline is sucking, heh.

[ashe-frost.livejournal.com]

I thought I had writer's block.. And then my playwriting professor said, "Real writer's don't have writer's block." and I got so angry that it went away.

And then I realized that he was just saying it to get everyone so indignant that any writer's block that we had would just.. Go out ot the window. But it worked.

Though, I think sometimes that when you're blocked the best thing to do is to put aside what you're writing and to write other things and other ways.. Sometimes writing on a notebook or in an LJ entry helps. And instead of planning out what you're doing, just starting when it feels good and stopping when it doesn't anymore.. Writing like sentances: stop when the thought's over.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I think planning actually helps me break through. Often I feel paralyzed because I have no clue how to get from point to point B in a fic, and every time I try nothing happens. Sometimes just brainstorming an outline helps me. I tried that last night and it did help, little. :-P

[amy-leone.livejournal.com]

I crawl into bed, read a bit of something totally different until I feel relaxed, then turn the lights off and lie down and let my mind just drift over the story I'm trying to write, entertaining any and all possibilities, no matter how ridiculous or wrong. If you fall asleep, that's okay. You were probably too tired anyway. Think about it just a few minutes at a time tomorrow, in between doing other things. Or even casually *while* you are doing other things. Don't dwell. Don't stress. That's what causes writer's block anyway, that pressure to GET SOMETHING ON PAPER. Remember these writing things are supposed to be fun!

I know it sounds simplistic, but it always works for me. ;)

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I do that sleepytime fantasizing thing too! Most of what I've written has come about that way, in fact. But there's something about this one story I'm working on now that makes even that part of the process hard. :-P

[freckles42.livejournal.com]

I have a few people that I talk to online who are useful for venting (often a "WHY THE HELL AREN'T THEY DOING ANYTHING D:" kind of vent :D) and who are willing to sometimes RP out bits, which helps to get my juices flowing.

I also find that I get ideas when I'm on walks or running, so if I'm really up against a wall I'll go to the gym or for a stroll and take my notebook and pen with me.

If I really get stuck, also have a book of gothic art and architecture from England that I love to look through. It's beautiful and relaxing and all the pictures help make me think of the HP 'verse. I'll read through the saints' lives and stories and sometimes one of those will help to trigger a thought that will help me break through the mental blockade I have up.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Love the graphic!

Usually that sort of meditative activity helps, though lately I'm finding that my thoughts are occupied by lots of non-fannish stuff during that time. It's hard to get myself even to focus on these fics. :-P

[florahart]

Baking cookies, for me, which is other non-verbal making that unclogs the words.

But the knitting should serve the same purpose, so I got nothin'.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Yeah, knitting usually is relaxing, but lately I tend to do it while watching TV -- so I'm not using it as a time to think through fic, heh. :-P

[daisy-chan.livejournal.com]

Have you tried one sentence fics? Sometimes it's just the right thing to get you going again. ^^

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I have to break myself of the idea that I can only work on that one fic until it's done. I should probably stop and work on something else in those situations, but I'm always feeling bad that this other thing is due and that I should focus on that first, ya know?

[fiona-fawkes.livejournal.com]

A shot of Southern Comfort and a writing buddy. Taking drabble prompts with no guarantee also helps. My problem is usually that the story is in my head, I just can't seem to translate it into words. The drabbles let me play for a bit and prove that I still can write, the whiskey mellows me out enough to just do it and not delete every third word, and the writing buddy helps keep me motivated. Just someone to make it a point to ping me in IM every 15 minutes and ask if I'm working. We'll also "challenge" each other with something trivial to get us going. I bet I can write 100 words before you can, is a popular one. Or most words written in 15 minutes. Anything to just get me going forward and stop thinking it to death. Once I get going, then I'm okay for a bit.

[shanna-souzou.livejournal.com]

I read or watch something completely different from what I'm writing. If I'm supposed to be writing romance, I go find the crudest comedy in my dvd collection. When I had a memoir writing assignment, I dove through my collection of sci-fi and fantasy books.

Or I just get out of the house. Go grocery shopping or take a long walk and just look at EVERYTHING. Birds, kids playing with the hose, someone's dad climbing on the roof thinking he doesn't need to hire a professional...etc.

[silentauror.livejournal.com]

I read other people's fics that I think are really good, and hope it inspires my muses to do their own thing again! I hope you find it again. ♥

[angelsotherlove.livejournal.com]

~knows how you feel with the writers block~

I have an entry due for the Snarry games here soon and I've got NOTHING. Not even my normal methods for getting rid of it have worked.

Normally I go through and reread my favorite stories in whatever fandom it is I have writers block in or I watch the movies (sometimes just seeing the characters like that will help me) or I open the playlists in my media that I have devoted to the characters. Yes I have play lists for each of my major characters.

But its not helping me at the moment. But maybe it will help you out.

[awaywithpixie.livejournal.com]

Crazy as it sounds, and I honestly don't know if it would help you, but I find those nights when I'm stuck in some dodgy hotel room because of work to be the nights I do my best writing. No distractions of any kind, and I find that I can concentrate better, and the ideas start to flow and hey presto. The best feedback I ever got was for a fest fic I wrote this way.

So I guess check in, plug in, tune out.

[house-illrepute.livejournal.com]

you DO suck!




GET TO WRITING, SKAG!

[pombagira.livejournal.com]

i bake in fact i made coconut ice today cause i am having writers block when it comes to my thesis

so .. here is the recipe.

1 lb of granulated sugar
5 oz of coursely desicated coconut (about two cups)
1/4 pint of milk
pink food colouring

place the sugar and milk in a heavy pan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. bring to the boil (on a low heat as well) and cook gently until a little of the mixture dropped in to cold water forms a soft ball between finger and thumb (this takes about 10-15 minutes sometimes longer. removed from heat and stir in the coconut pour half the mixture quickly into a buttered, shallow tin. add a few drops of colouring to the other half, stir and pour quickly over the first half in the tin. mark in to bars and cut when cold.

its quite yummie really...

((hugs))

[zafania.livejournal.com]

try something different. for instance if you have a hbait of beginning a chapter with description make yourself open half way through a conversation, or vice versa. look at your normal style and do the opppsoite- even if it doesn't work it can give you the kick start you need.

or go out to a cafe (preferbaly one with a cute waiter or two) and take a epn and paper

[norton-gale.livejournal.com]

On a weekend morning, I clean my desk thoroughly and pay any outstanding bills. Then I sit down with a big cup of coffee and close the door.

For exchange fics, it helps me to read what the person I'm writing for has written or drawn. Also, looking at good fan art also gives me plot bunnies.

Off topic, I still have to leave a review for STG somewhere. This is definitely one of my favorite fics of all time, both for the characterization of H/D and their relationship, and the intricate plot. I loved it!

[doro-chan.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I have exactly the opposite problem. I wrote so much recently, my beta doesn't know where to start. But I don't write much most of the time for one reason: stress.

So the only thing that helps me is relaxing. And after that I can start to write. But first of all, I need to relax properly, and that's the most difficult thing. I need to be alone (which is why I do most of my writing at night), I generally watch a lot of crappy movies, knit and so on. But I am doing no thing whatsoever that's related to fandom. That only raises the pressure.

[papoue.livejournal.com]

When I get a block, I go to sleep with a pencil on my bedside table. I tend to go pretty delirium just before I start sleeping. If I start to think about the main line of my story, facts change and some crazy (but sometimes interesting) ideas show up. It is the same process as becoming totally paranoid about something that stresses you in the middle of the night. When I wake up, I write down the dreams related to the story I want to write (if they are related) and then I write down the ideas I had the moment before I fell asleep. Not a narration, simply these ideas. If you keep them in mind during the day, they will arrange themselves into something you will find suitable, I'm pretty sure.

[winnett.livejournal.com]

I've been blocked for months now. Nothing really major has been written. A few words here and there and then I just look at it in frustration and find something else to do.

SUCKS!

I hope we jump our hurdles soon.

[ex-ella-bane358.livejournal.com]

I have no advice. :( But, boy, do I understand. Blech. I had four hours of uninterrupted time yesterday (a rarity for me) and what did I do? I stared at the word doc. And then I stared some more. I wrote a sentence, deleted it, wrote another, deleted it, and then I was back to staring.

In the past I've tried knitting, baking, or cleaning. It has helped in that some of my better ideas came to me while doing these activities. As for the actual writing, we'll have to just push through! Good luck. :-D

[allysonsedai.livejournal.com]

Put a monkey in a scene (or something equally ridiculous). It gets the dialogue flowing and you can always delete it later. :)

[acromantular.livejournal.com]

I find that typing and handwriting hit totally different parts of my brain, and sometimes if one is dead I can still do the other.

Otherwise I've had luck with with waiting until I get sort of sleepy and my brain starts making all sorts of weird connections (booze would probably work just as well), or reading an old favorite fic.

[meri-oddities.livejournal.com]

I outline what I want to do and then sit in an airport (I spent a lot of time traveling last year) or other non-distracting place like a library and write the scenes. Even if I have to write them again, usually gets me moving.

Of if I can't write, I print out what I have and edit it, adding and changing things.

[charlotteschaos.livejournal.com]

I go out for sushi :)

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

For lunch, perhaps? ;-)

[charlotteschaos.livejournal.com]

Perhaps so :) It helps to talk things through, I think. Although I'm sort of in a "can't concentrate" mode myself, but I don't have anything that pressing due... yet.

[lunadeath02.livejournal.com]

there are a few things I like to do when I get stuck.

Watch a good movie. Sometimes you gotta watch something that you're writing about. Like, if you're writing HP fic, then watch a HP movie, OR read a bit of the books. That helps me at times, and it helps me to keep the characters as IC as possible.

Go do something else for a while, let your mind reboot. I sometimes have to do this. Take some time off for yourself, just relax and think about any old thing.

Try writing a ficlet out on regualr paper. Getting away from the computer helps me at times. Be comfortable when you write, too, and not in a horrible mood, because if you're not in a good enough mood, then the juices don't usually flow too well.

Hope that helps!

[ellie-nor.livejournal.com]

Pretty much what you said. Not working right now though. :-(

Sometimes using a pen and paper rather than a keyboard and screen makes a difference.

[daiseechain.livejournal.com]

Going for a run, or a brisk walk. Best ideas while I'm moving.

Waving my arms in the air in big circles in opposite directions from each other. It sounds really stupid, but it forces both hemispheres of your brain to work, instead of just the creative side.

Going out somewhere. Invariably I'll have a good idea while I'm somewhere I can't write!

[jedirita.livejournal.com]

I force myself to write. I pretty much have to set the timer and say, "I will write for one hour." And if all I do is sit there and stare at the paper, then I have to stare at it for one hour. That usually unclogs my pen...eventually.

Speaking of which, I ought to do that again....

[supasass.livejournal.com]

Well, I've been stuck in an evil writer's block ever since I left for uni, cos my mind has been so messed up. I haven't written anything major for months and it ends up making you doubt yourself as a writer.
One of my favourite writers, Philip Pullman, said when he was writing he would sit in his rocking chair, smoke a pipe (or just a hot chocolate) and wait, without getting impatient.
I also find writing stupid stuff works as well - you could do a drabble about Harry Potter and his chocolate addiction or something :)
Erm, cooking is great. When I can't think of anything, I cook massive batches of food - chilli (onions, courgettes, sweetcorn, bacon, tomatoes, grilled aubergine, topped with cheese) or tomato sauces. All the methodical chopping gets your mind in a relaxed state. So thats why going for a walk or a jog is good.
What always worked for me was "freewriting", when I would get a piece of paper and write down every feeling inside of me, no matter how crazy or silly or deep. And i rip it up, tidy my desk, do a few starjumps, something to get me all loose, close my eyes, in front of the computer, and just type at the keyboards until something comes through.

Well, this hasn't worked wonderfully for me so far, but they did before lol. I'm sure we'll take a sledgehammer to our writer's block soon xxxx

[yaycoffee.livejournal.com]

Dude. I'm so right there with you now. I only owe for one exchange, but I'm now less than two weeks away from deadline, and .... nothing. *headdesk*