Writer's Block

[JediAthos]

Good advice guys...I don't suffer from writer's block with my current fic..it's more like I suffer from a bad case of life At any rate, I have had writer's block in the past and I always found that rereading what I've already written can help (if I'm in the middle of a story) or if I can't figure out where to start I usually try to start a piece at a time. I.E. if I know how I want the story to end I might write a piece of the ending, or I might brainstorm on a piece of paper with things like characters, names, traits etc...

[JCarter426]

Good advice guys...I don't suffer from writer's block with my current fic..it's more like I suffer from a bad case of life

Same here.

 

At any rate, I have had writer's block in the past and I always found that rereading what I've already written can help (if I'm in the middle of a story) or if I can't figure out where to start I usually try to start a piece at a time.

Good advice. If I'm stuck I usually reread and edit everything. Might as well do something until the ideas come back.

[Jae Onasi]

When I got stuck, I did a few things.

1. Began at the end. If you know what the end is, you can work your way backwards, and that sometimes will unblock things.

2. Went to my list of ideas. Whenever I get an idea for a scene, charcter, plot point, or dialog snippet, I jot it down right away. I didn't always use all my ideas, but I did use some. I have the 'idea page' saved on my computer, and whenever I was a little stuck on something, I referred to that.

3. I wrote out an outline of events once I realized I was writing something much longer than just a few pages. If I got stuck, I went back to that to make sure I was on target. Sometimes I had strayed off a bit and that's why I couldn't figure out what to write next.

 

Good luck!

[Kas'!m]

Whenever I get writer's block, I know it's for a reason. Usually I haven't completely thought out that part yet. So I take a break, usually a couple of months, and revise my ideas or go back and read the whole thing to see what I had planned. Sometimes, revising for me consists of simply going back to the timeline ( what most people call plot) and writing a summary of the chapter (usually no more than 7 sentences so I don't have to worry about editing 180 college ruled pages )like jae said. If none of that works, I read a book or watch a movie or play a game that makes me say "That hows I want my fic to be." I hope some of this helps.

[machievelli]

Join the club, kid. The following is not mine, but the author hit the nail on the head...

 

The Care and Feeding of Your Muse

Writer's block! Burnout! We all go through it and each of us have our ways of dealing with it. Here a list of mine, and why and how they work:

 

 

1) Keep more than one writing project going. If my Muse burns out on one, I can go to another. It keeps my projects from stagnating, my Muse from crapping out on me, and helps me to still get stuff done. I have at present three WIPs going on at the same time.

 

2) Write for yourself, don't write for deadlines. If all you want to do is write a crack!fic about your favorite fandom or a silly little piece that you'd never want to publish in a million years but you just have an ITCH to do it...just sit down and DO IT. As long as you're writing something, you're staying fresh--and you may get inspiration from doing it that will help with your current works.

 

3) Walk away from the keyboard!! It's okay to take a break. In fact, it's good for us and our writing. We may come back to find things we didn't see before in our writing that needs work and therefore have a fresher perspective on the material.

 

4) When you're completely stuck, just do the things you love. I play World of Warcraft online, watch episodes of Torchwood, read Doctor Who fanfic--whatever allows me to relax and give my chance for my Muse to get new material. Sometimes even watching movies in similar genres that I'm writing in allows me to be able to get inspiration I desperately needed.

 

5) If you can, take a vacation--especially if it's related to what you're writing about. I have on limited times and budgets gone on a holiday that lasted all of one and a half days with a single night overstay. The purpose was to gauge the area--namely, the West Village in NYC--for the backdrop of my novel, Blood of the Dark Moon. It not only turned out to be very educational for my book, but gave me a LOT of inspiration to fill in gaps in my story.

 

6) RELAX. Muses don't like to work under pressure. They like to be given candy and the freedom to run around. They do our best work for us when we're not wound up and barking orders at them, and the best way for us to do that is to make sure that we're in a good state of mind to be writing.

 

 

I just got back from a vacation myself. I spent three days getting a french manicure and pedicure, massages, and facials--plus LOTS of walking in Florida sunshine and on the beach. I planned to do writing on my trip, but spent so much time recharging those batteries that I never got around to it. However, I managed to recover much of my energy levels and after I finish this blog post, I'm diving into my writing.

 

In conclusion, just remember...a happy Muse is a productive Muse. ^_^ The key is learning how to care and feed for yours so that it stays happy.

 

 

 

 

Love & Magic,

-A

[Kas'!m]

thank you for posting info to collaborate with my advice, even if it wasn't intentional

[Darth Iniquity]

Wow amazing amount of responses, my mind I swirling. I appreciate the feedback, if nothing else it lets me know my instincts are not bad as far as this goes.

 

Strangely enough, I sometimes find reading other fanfics a good way to get inspiration, but often simply because I don't agree with the way that certain characters and events are portrayed.

 

It helps to have a general idea of where the plot os going, and try to build up a convincing sequence of events. The good thing about having not posted any of it yet is that you'll be able to edit the earlier chapters easily, should you fly off tangent.

 

Actually, I have found my best inspiration from reading SW novels and not agreeing with some portrayals or scenarios. I just finished Darth Bane: Rule of Two and it plus a lot of what folks here are suggesting has helped. I haven’t been able to write anything yet, but I have a bit clearer idea on what I want to write when I do. Like I said it’s a middle chapter and the issue I’m having is getting my characters from point A to point B in a logical manner.

 

Funny how many typos I found in that book and the author up front says he was rushed by timelines. I did find one idea that helped tie in my whole story actually, a very little thing that made the beginning and end I have in mind fit better together. I was also a little disappointed because I had al kinds of original ideas about Jedi/Sith/the Force and some interactions that are no longer all that original,  because some are in that book in a way. Oh well, I know they were still mine.

 

As soon as I get something typed that I’m happy with for Chapter 4, I’ll start posting some of the story here and anxiously await feedback.

[Bee Hoon]

Heh, that happens. I often read fanfics and find myself thinking, "hey, I wanted to put that in *my* fic!" Ah yes... another note. Sometimes feedback may take a while in coming, especially when people have no time to leave worthwhile comments. It's somewhat less of a problem in say, Javyar's Cantina, as other contestants and the regulars will usually comments. Don't worry, your comments will come. Everyone just has to attend to real life once in a while:)

 

Typos in a published book? Tsk tsk:/

[JediMaster12]

As I stated in the first post, the two thread have been combined so anyone who has that amazing and debilitating phenomenon called writer's block, they can air their woes and ask for advice here- JM12