Forums » Smalltalk » Tips on writer's block? QnQ

Hey guys! I'm new here, and you probably haven't a clue who I am, but I seek assitance!

This took a lot of courage to post (because I'm shy) so if any of you would be so kind and offer me tips for this problem we all definitely went through once or twice?

Writer's block.

Thank you!

Hey again Eli!

I poked around a little on Google and I've found some interesting articles. These seem like good resources on how to deal with writer's block, it might be worth giving them a try!

http://goinswriter.com/how-to-overcome-writers-block/

https://www.thebalance.com/top-tips-for-overcoming-writer-s-block-1277776

What I do is just ignore this and go on, I'll watch something or read, or something along those lines and have my notebook/sketch book next to me, or near me. Soon I get an idea. I'm sure it can work with others, but who knows.

Also, you can just look for, search for, and/or ask for themes. Then write to your little heart's content! This is the same with Artist Block, and it helps strike MORE ideas.

I find most of my blocks to come from a severe case of thinking too hard on what I'm writing, not a lack of ideas. Often, there are just too many, and then there is an overload and I can't process what is what anymore. The concepts and intents jumble and before I know it, no one idea makes any real sense and then I'm just mentally seething and the collapse of structural planning falls apart.

I wind up with a sea of broken bits and pieces that once resembled good ideas, but no mental fortitude left to hound them together. And it can happen in the blink of an eye. What feels like no ideas at all is really - to me - just too many of them stranded on separate little islands in a sea of a story I can't even swim through because the distance from idea to idea (and the things that make them whole)... is just too far to go...

So!

I do a few things. First, I tell myself that I don't need a good idea, just a solid one. Something basic and something plausible for the overall plot to work with. Then I read whatever I wrote last and try and write it differently. Add portions, take some out... I just spin it around and re-write until I have a brand new post. Then, I apply time and I try to make it work with the post it came from.

If nothing else, this helps me retain some focus on the plot, while pushing ideas out of a mind that doesn't know what to do with them.

But if writing is too much of a chore by the time I'm aware I have a block... I find the rum or the rum finds me.

Hello there! I would suggest, as I suggest to many others and try to adhere to myself, free writing. It took me quite a bit of time to get this down because I'm very structured. I seldom, if ever, use brainstorming tools like flow charts. I usually catalog most facets of any story/character/scene/location/etc and write using that as the basis. When my character experiences a hiccup that doesn't necessarily yield progress toward a goal, even if it's something as small as a side arc to obtain a beverage, I get stuck. That's where free writing comes in. I go "off script" and just write whatever comes to mind. I, later, revisit what I wrote and edit for clarity- expurgating what I deem to be impertinent.

I'm sure it's a very well known and used "fix," but I thought I'd add it anyways.

Bets of luck and happy writing!!

Edit: Oh yeah!! I forgot that's my strategy for solo endeavors. When it comes to rp'ing with one person/multiple people you may not have that luxury depending on the expected/set response time (if there is one). In an instance like that, I would still suggest the same thing... but truncate it temporally. The downside of this is that it can cause some anxiety if you have to take a block of text and force it to make sense while structuring it to sate the criteria for the rp.