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Post by Rosie on May 30, 2018 19:22:22 GMT 10
I assume we've all dealt with it at some point... how do you try to get past it? What are your top tips?
I tend to read over my old fics, and hope that I'm able to formulate words again. Stanley Johnson, journalist with awful children, suggested that you should pick a letter at random, and form a sentence based on that letter, which sounds pretty fun.
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Post by devilinthedetails on May 30, 2018 23:25:04 GMT 10
An excellent topic, Rosie. I think you're right that everyone will have struggled with the dreaded writer's block at some point. I have a handful of strategies that help me handle writer's block when it crops up:
1) Sometimes I just need inspiration or a better atmosphere to write in. In that case, it can help if I turn on music that suits the mood of the story I'm writing or if I go outside and write. Fresh air or music can bring a jolt of creativity.
2) Sometimes I just need to immerse myself in the story again. Re-reading what I have written can help me do that. After I re-read what I've written, I'm sometimes in flow again and can write from there.
3) Sometimes I just need to switch off my inner editor and write down everything that comes to me. I can edit after I get the words on paper. The story doesn't need to be perfect the first time I write it. It might never even be perfect, and that's okay. I have to make peace with that and keep writing without the second-guessing and self-criticism especially since writing currently is just a hobby for me.
4) Sometimes, especially if I've been writing for awhile, my mind is tired and needs a reset. In that case, going for a walk around the block, going to the kitchen to get a meal or healthy snack, or taking a shower (so many great ideas come to me in the shower, ha ha) is enough to rejuvenate me.
5) Sometimes the story just needs to sit around for awhile while ideas for it marinate in my mind. That can be a good time to work on other writing projects or to do other leisure activities or chores.
6) Sometimes the fact that I'm struggling to write is a tip-off that there is some sort of character or structural issue with a story. In that case, I need to figure out what the issue is and resolve it so that I can continue to write.
Those are my main strategies. What technique works best depends on what kind of issue I'm struggling with in terms of writer's block. I've gotten a bit better at identifying what is causing the writer's block as time has gone on, and that has helped me deal with it more effectively since writer's block can be caused by many things from lack of inspiration to structural problems in the story itself.
Hopefully some of these tips can help others in their own writing!
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Blue
Message Runner
Sailing all the ships
Posts: 25
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Post by Blue on Feb 10, 2019 21:09:22 GMT 10
Kind of related to the original topic... I tend to end up in an anxiety block because I never think I have any good ideas D: It's similar to writer's block since it stops me from writing, but I wonder if it's just something I imagine in my own head?
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Post by devilinthedetails on Feb 12, 2019 10:45:26 GMT 10
Kind of related to the original topic... I tend to end up in an anxiety block because I never think I have any good ideas D: It's similar to writer's block since it stops me from writing, but I wonder if it's just something I imagine in my own head? Sometimes the best cure for any kind of anxiety is a "so what?" question that forces you to just face your fear and try to plow through it. Maybe try to think to yourself whenever you have doubts about your ideas being good, "So what if my ideas aren't 'good'? I can still enjoy writing stories about them." Or think something similar. Whatever makes you just acknowledge your fear and push past it. |
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Blue
Message Runner
Sailing all the ships
Posts: 25
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Post by Blue on Feb 24, 2019 21:26:21 GMT 10
Kind of related to the original topic... I tend to end up in an anxiety block because I never think I have any good ideas D: It's similar to writer's block since it stops me from writing, but I wonder if it's just something I imagine in my own head? Sometimes the best cure for any kind of anxiety is a "so what?" question that forces you to just face your fear and try to plow through it. Maybe try to think to yourself whenever you have doubts about your ideas being good, "So what if my ideas aren't 'good'? I can still enjoy writing stories about them." Or think something similar. Whatever makes you just acknowledge your fear and push past it. I'll try to do it! I've managed to do a bit of the fic I've been absolutely terrified to write... I'll keep fighting!  |
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Post by devilinthedetails on Feb 25, 2019 0:58:08 GMT 10
Blue, it's great that you started writing it! Sometimes starting is the hardest part of writing 
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Post by MythicMistress on Feb 26, 2019 0:52:25 GMT 10
I have similar issues to what's already been mentioned- worrying about how well phrased the writing is, if it's even a good idea, or simply just struggling to get the words out. I guess the only cure is to just try and write something...
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Post by devilinthedetails on Feb 26, 2019 10:16:55 GMT 10
I have similar issues to what's already been mentioned- worrying about how well phrased the writing is, if it's even a good idea, or simply just struggling to get the words out. I guess the only cure is to just try and write something... Yeah, switching off that internal editor can be hard. I try to turn off my inner editor by sort of making editing a separate part of writing than developing ideas or putting the ideas on paper. Once I have the ideas on paper in story form, then I can turn on my editor. Before that my inner editor more seems to inhibit than encourage progress. I just think the more you can separate the editing aspect of writing from the creative aspect, the better it works. At least for me. |
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Maybe once we'd have seen it during Smackdown!