For all writers, writers block and how to fix it?

[Unconscious]

I've been trying to rekindle the proverbial flame in getting myself back to usual with scribbling down short stories and such, but have had the worlds worst case of writer's block. Seriously have found myself unable to write anything for years.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to writing, and would never show anything I had written to anyone; but any advice to improve my writing or motivation would be very much appreciated.


What do you find helps if you are unable to come up with any ideas?

[Billy Freeman]

I find walking and thinking about the problems at hand good.

I key tip I find - remember that PLOT FLOWS FROM CHARACTER. What would the character think, do or say, regardless of the demands of the plot you're working to?

If it's inspiration from the off you're after, you just scour the news, talk to people, and try to imagine what-if scenarios. I was in a bank one day and two men came in. I thought "I hope they're not going to rob the place. Bad day for a hostage crisis, I have stuff to do." Then I suddenly thought, "what if it did happen, and one or more of the customers were werewolves? Talk about a bad choice of bank to rob." I never finished that story but almost immediately I had a basic idea in my mind.

Remember, plotting out an idea you have might work, as might writing blind. It's all you. Nobody can tell you how to roll because everyone's different.

[Bear]

I went through something like that. I just started to write a few paragraphs that were terrible then thought things through. After that I deleted the paragraphs and was able to write again. The easiest way to work through problems with getting your thoughts out is just to write or even try stream of consciousness. Don't worry about the quality.

[nightmarealeksinac]

hello there
I can try and help you with your problem cuz I've been writting myself for 5-6 years and expirenced similar thing. First of all writer's block will not dissapear just like that by it self. So you need to work hard to make it go away.
second if you don't have an inspiration don't I repeat DON'T write by force. You will only get frustrated when you see butchered and senseless lines that you wrote ...
Good way to brake the chains is reading. Think of some of your favorite writers. Get one book and start reading. That way you can relax your thoughts and "reefill" the fuel.
Second good way to break the block is to "grab" an inspiration. They are all around you. You just have to focus hard on events, happenings, and talks. Even the slight moment of "something" can trigger you back into the writing desk.
Third you can always read some of your best stories and gather thoughts. Blockage can dissapear when you read what you've wrote and it was good. For example I have written book in 3 volumes (aboout 1000 pages cumulative) and every time I sit to continue novel I go back and read couple of pages that I wrote the other day. Why? Because I want to get as strongest start as possible.
Don't take me for 100 % right. There are milion advices I have only told you what have I been doing when I xpirienced this kind of trouble. Hope that it helped you and wish you luck in your writing career.

[Barkingturtle]

I recognize that this post is rather old and that the original poster may have overcome his block and moved on long ago, but I have some advice for anyone in a similar situation. I keep this quote stuck on a post-it by my computer:

Originally Posted by Anton Chekhov

My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. It is there that we authors do most of our lying.

I am also a self-flagellating perfectionist, and it leads to start-and-stop writing whenever I begin a new piece. For me, I just try to remember that what I start with is bound to be shit. I push through it, and eventually the characters start telling the story for me, and sometimes I even like what they tell me to write. Then I go back and chisel the front and the conclusion of my story till it's something more like the middle of my story.

Because really:

Originally Posted by Michael Crichton

Books aren't written--they're rewritten.

Not that I love Crichton, but he's got a point. Just get the story out of you, then work on making it worth reading.

[JohnShaft]

Originally Posted by Barkingturtle

Not that I love Crichton, but he's got a point. Just get the story out of you, then work on making it worth reading.

Definitely seems to be the prevailing wisdom, as Hemingway put it
"The first draft of anything is shit".

And that's the issue I have. I like to get something done thoroughly (even to the point of it being "done") before moving on, rather than letting myself get the crap out and then improving it. And I just don't think that's a workable approach with writing. Hell, much of that perfectionism comes out in the planning stage before even writing. Which means I often end up with a bunch of ideas, characters, scenes, half of the plot, but never actually put pen to paper. Really quite a silly approach.

Any movement on your end, Unc?

[mattmolgaard]

i know this will sound absolutely insane, but when I'm having trouble, I drink a six pack or so. My imagination just seems to COMPLETELY open up. I know that won't work for everyone, but it works REALLY well for me. Really gets the creative juices flowing.

[ekswanson]

Hello. I recently had my first book published, a work of historical horror entitled Mesmer's Disciple. While writing it I had the same problem, call it writer's block, perfectionism, or otherwise. I found that a few things helped. First and foremost, find a location in which you are most comfortable writing. If writing is a highly personal activity for you, seek out a place of solitude that is both quite and familiar. I write best in my attic and in the basement of a local college library- not to say that my productivity is poor elsewhere, but when hitting a rough patch in the writing process I am best able to overcome it when posted up in the aforementioned spots.
Another tactic I employ that is useful to me is reading authors whose writing I find both inspiring and practical to read. If you are stuck on a certain section of your book, story, etc., try taking some time out and reading an author (or authors) that you find enjoyable to read and also figure might be helpful to you in clawing your way out of the void of writer's block. In my own writing I combine historical fact with horror-ficiton. So if stuck on a part that is heavy on the history, I read authors from whatever time period I am writing about. If a section that is emphasizing the horror component proves troublesome, I read horror fiction like Dan Simmons, H.P. Lovecraft, Steven King, Dean Koontz, etc.
Hope this helps.

Edward Swanson
Author: Mesmer's Disciple
http://www.amazon.com/Mesmers-Discip...smers+disciple

[STGHill]

Lose the perfectionism. It's just paralyzing you. There will always be some way you can tweak your writing. At some point, you just have to finish with the manuscript (whether that means saving it to some backup service or just tucking it into a filing cabinet).

"Writer's Block" tends to just be a manifestation of a lack of preparation. Trust me; I make my living as a writer.

Before you sit down to write, have some sort of idea of where you want to go. Whether that means forming a scene entirely in your head, or just an endpoint/midpoint/interesting line is up to you.

If you still find yourself staring at that blinking cursor in a fresh, blank Word document... Grab your favorite novel and start typing up your favorite chapter in it. You can also just do a sort of stream-of-consciousness of your own thoughts until you've gotten yourself into a more writing-suitable state of mind.

[Skwerly]

I just write. Any words will do. I'm not a perfectionist, though, until it comes time for editing. Just write stuff; you can always delete it later.

[lostdog]

There's no use in something being "perfect" if it never actually gets written. I think it's best just to accept the fact that as soon as you put pen to paper you are in a sense ruining the perfect idea of the story that exists only in your head. I used to suffer from a similar thing, and found the only way round it was just to get my head down and bluster through it as best I could. If you can, try writing something then leaving it for a while - maybe a week or even a month or two - before you look at it again. That gives you the distance you need to look at the work you've done more objectively.