How do you deal with a writing block

[rayisgay]

Even though I have like one chapter for my story posted, I often get stuck writing and don't know how to overcome it. Sometimes it comes naturally. But most of the other times, I'm stuck even though I have a plan for my story

 

[Seaspecter]

I read other people's stories that usually helps me.

 

[Rhaps]

Edging myself, put off writing for a while but always have it in the back of my mind, until I can't hold it any longer and writes as if I'm on crack. And make sure to take proper breaks.

 

[Akaichi]

1. Go read some other novel or a manga...
2. Get a long sleep
3. Try writing random things...
4. Try to make the mc explain his problem to some random dude.
5. Give up.
6. Start a new novel

 

[Prince_Azmiran_Myrian]

Figure out what you want to accomplish in each scene.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Even though I have like one chapter for my story posted, I often get stuck writing and don't know how to overcome it. Sometimes it comes naturally. But most of the other times, I'm stuck even though I have a plan for my story

NO ONE LOVES YOU! YOU ARE A WASTE OF SKIN! YOU ARE ONLY WORTH SOMETHING WHEN YOU DO SOMETHING! IF YOU AREN'T DOING SOMETHING, WHAT GOOD ARE YOU? EVERY MOMENT YOU WASTE NOT DOING SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE, A BABY KITTEN DIES! IF YOU ONLY TRIED HARDER, THERE WOUD BE LESS DEAD LOVED ONES IN YOUR LIFE! EVERYONE YOU EVER LOVED THAT DIED IS YOUR FAULT BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T WORK HARD ENOUGH!

I just say that to myself a few times and I get back to writing.

 

[Tyranomaster]

I myself find that the best way passed writing blocks is to write. If I don't like what I've written, start over. Every time I've had writer's block, I've found that after getting a few hundred words down (over the course of an hour or two) the rest starts to flow out easily.

At this point I think of it more as a writing clog than a block.

 

[rayisgay]

I read other people's stories that usually helps me.

That helps me write in a what a reader would want type of pov

1. Go read some other novel or a manga...
2. Get a long sleep
3. Try writing random things...
4. Try to make the mc explain his problem to some random dude.
5. Give up.
6. Start a new novel

5 and 6 look promising. I usually do 1 or 3

NO ONE LOVES YOU! YOU ARE A WASTE OF SKIN! YOU ARE ONLY WORTH SOMETHING WHEN YOU DO SOMETHING! IF YOU AREN'T DOING SOMETHING, WHAT GOOD ARE YOU? EVERY MOMENT YOU WASTE NOT DOING SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE, A BABY KITTEN DIES! IF YOU ONLY TRIED HARDER, THERE WOUD BE LESS DEAD LOVED ONES IN YOUR LIFE! EVERYONE YOU EVER LOVED THAT DIED IS YOUR FAULT BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T WORK HARD ENOUGH!

I just say that to myself a few times and I get back to writing.

This sounds a bit traumatic to be motivating. Next time I'll just imagine my family is being held at gunpoint and I have to write more chapters to delay their death

I myself find that the best way passed writing blocks is to write. If I don't like what I've written, start over. Every time I've had writer's block, I've found that after getting a few hundred words down (over the course of an hour or two) the rest starts to flow out easily.

At this point I think of it more as a writing clog than a block.

I'll try this. Thank you

 

[milestyle]

I go on a long walk, put on some music, and think about my characters. What things could they get up to that would match the mood of the current song?

Other option is I switch tracks and write something else. Even just a little two page writing prompt can help get the juices flowing enough for me to go back to my main project.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

This sounds a bit traumatic to be motivating. Next time I'll just imagine my family is being held at gunpoint and I have to write more chapters to delay their death

Won't work. That sort of thing just makes you numb. Relentlessly beating yourself up and hinging your self-worth on achievement is the way to go. If you aren't willing to finish a 15 hour shift at work with 2 broken legs before you go to the hospital, you don't have the right attitude. (Why yes, that is an oddly specific example. Why do you ask?)

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Take time for yourself and try to come up with new ideas. It can take up to a week or so come up with something. If that isn't okay then try something along the lines of reading a book similar to your story for ideas.

 

[HelloHound]

let your field go fallow for a bit for better soil later; maybe try unclogging via a silly little story or poem about how cute an unusual animal is

 

[Succubiome]

Sometimes I write even though I am increasingly certain that the path I am taking is the wrong way forwards-- I then look at that piece of writing, see what it doesn't do that I wanted the chapter to do, and then save it in another file in case I want to look at it later, and think about how to do the things I didn't accomplish that I wanted to, which have often become more clear in writing it.

It's not an efficient use of time, but it does at least get you writing and lets your brain consider the story from new angles, so I think it's better than not writing if you really want to proceed with the story.

(Sometimes I end up taking a few pieces I like from it, or letting it inform my understanding of the characters, but also sometimes I just leave it alone entirely if there's not anything I want to take from there.)

 

[rayisgay]

Won't work. That sort of thing just makes you numb. Relentlessly beating yourself up and hinging your self-worth on achievement is the way to go. If you aren't willing to finish a 15 hour shift at work with 2 broken legs before you go to the hospital, you don't have the right attitude. (Why yes, that is an oddly specific example. Why do you ask?)

It's making me wonder if that happened to you

 

[TheEldritchGod]

It's making me wonder if that happened to you

When I was younger, I was an idiot. Fell down a flight of stairs, hairline fracture in a knee on one leg and chipped a bone in my ankle in the other. And I "walked it off" Apparently the body uses swelling to hold things in place, so an ace bandage for my knee and a lot of limping, I finished a shift, then drove to the other shift and finished THAT one, finally got home and the swelling finally went down and I couldn't move. Took me out of work for a month.

If I had just gone to the hospital, the doctor told me I could have been back to work in less than a week.

It's a balance. It is a handy skill to have to be able to just say, "FUCK THIS SHIT." and keep going no matter what. Being the determinator gets results. The problem is having the WISDOM to say, "Why yes, I COULD do this, but SHOULD I do this?"

The ways of getting past writers block is many and varied. The best method is to use many versions at the same time. A combination of methods to fine tune it towards who you are. This is how I do it, because I had an insane Grandfather who smuggled people out of Poland and guns into the country and he had the delusion that I was going to return to Communist Occupied Poland and help liberate the country.

Let's just say, leaving a your son to be baby sat by such a man every weekend has an effect.

However, perhaps you were not driven to your breaking point and then yelled at until you got back up while being told, "If you fall, nobody will save you. If you lie down, you DIE. That's how I survived a shell fragment through my brain, that's how you will survive."

Maybe your upbringing was different.

Here's the thing, Writing isn't life or death. Or maybe it is. Maybe you need to write to pay the bills. I need to know WHY you write.

Even though I have like one chapter for my story posted, I often get stuck writing and don't know how to overcome it. Sometimes it comes naturally. But most of the other times, I'm stuck even though I have a plan for my story

You know, you aren't asking a question. You are just making a statement. So for people wondering why I'm not taking this too seriously, it's because the OP isn't taking this seriously. THIS? This Original Post is just venting. He didn't ask for any help. He didn't ask for solutions. He didn't even tell us what what is going on is a problem.

The original poster isn't taking this seriously.

So. Are you? Is this serious to you? Do you want to BE serious? Tell me, Gay Ray, is this important to you? Is it for fun? Is it therapy? Is this life or death? WHAT IS THIS TO YOU? WHY?

If you just want to vent, then Okay. Just vent. We'll listen. But if you actually want to CHANGE, then tell us and I'll help.

 

[Rezcore]

I talk to chatgpt, and also tabletop the story lines with dice

 

[Deleted member 128077]

Lately I've been using ChatGPT to help with things like this. You can give it a general idea of what you want and have it write a scene based on that. Or post a few paragraphs of what has already happen and ask it to write what will happen next. The quality will not be that good but it's great for coming up with ideas.

 

[WeissBlatt]

What I do is put that story on hold and write something else. Wouldn't recommend, now I'm sitting on almost 100 unfinished stories.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Sometimes I write even though I am increasingly certain that the path I am taking is the wrong way forwards-- I then look at that piece of writing, see what it doesn't do that I wanted the chapter to do, and then save it in another file in case I want to look at it later, and think about how to do the things I didn't accomplish that I wanted to, which have often become more clear in writing it.

I really should just write this ll up, make a thread, then link to it when this comes up.

START AT THE END.

You need to know what the ending of a plotline is, At least the final gut punch you plan for the reader to have. You can have an epilogue afterward, but you need that final scene in your head at least. Just writing because "I have a cool idea." Doesn't work. You need to know the ending.

Most books are three acts.

You need a plot that starts then finishes in Act/Act, in order of importance:
1/3
1/1
3/3
2/2
1/2
2/3

What I mean is you introduce a plot in Act 1, then it ends in Act 3, followed by Act 1 ends in Act 1.

The overall plot, that goes from plot 1 to plot 3 is the most important, but 1/1 is the second most important because it KEEPS THE READER READING.

That means, before you start the story, you need to have 6 endings. I don't care how much you write it out, but you need 6 plots and 6 plot endings. ANYTHING ELSE IS BOTH UNNEEDED AND DANGEROUS. You also need to know how the plot STARTS. So you need 6 beginnings and 6 endings. However, if you work those out ahead of time, everything else is just filler to get the story to move from one key scene to the next.

For example:

1/3: Joe is summoned and he had to defeat the demon lord
1/1: Joe is dropped into a strange situation and needs to adjust.
3/3: Joe will have a setback he needs to overcome
2/2: Joe will go on a training montage.
1/2: Joe will encounter the miniboss and have to overcome them.
2/3: Joe will have a romance subplot where he meets a girl and they fall in love by the end.

So three things begin in the first act, 2 start in the second, 1 in the last.
There is one conclusion in the first, 2 in the second, then 3 in the ending
(and if you do it well, it all comes together in one scene.)

It's simple, it's formulaic, IT WORKS.

If you do this, you won't "write in the wrong direction" because you know where the ending is. Once you work out those 6 starts and 6 ends, everything else in the book is just connective tissue.

What I do is put that story on hold and write something else. Wouldn't recommend, now I'm sitting on almost 100 unfinished stories.

I do that too, but you need to force yourself to cycle back. For example, I'm doing Hotdog Lantern as filler, but I am forcing myself to finish HKN... at least the first book of it.

I talk to chatgpt, and also tabletop the story lines with dice

Lately I've been using ChatGPT to help with things like this.

Here is the problem. CHATGPT SUCKS.

It does. It is good to feed paragraphs to and say, "Rewrite" then combine your version and the AI generate one. WHY? because if you limit yourself to only paragraphs 4 sentences or larger, the AI works better and the story remains yours.

Also, ChatGTP is good for the "connective tissue" in a story. It isn't good for the Beginning or the end. YOU need to write that. Trust me, you let the AI do it, it won't work.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Procreate, and then you'll have a lot more material to write about, but you won't have any energy left to write until the child is . . . I'll get back to you on that.