How to overcome writer’s block?

[A_veil_of_red_ink]

Sigh, I don't know what to do about my inconsistency. I've written six chapters in two and a half months—what even is that?!
It's not that I need rest or that the story I'm writing is bad; I have the whole thing in my mind, but it just doesn't flow. It seems to vanish whenever I try to write.

What the heck? This is my dream project, and I really want to continue it, but it just doesn't click. Maybe it’s that I can’t find the right words or that I struggle to express what I want to convey on paper. I've battled through many writer's blocks in these past 2.5 months of writing, and I plan to fight this one too.

If you have any solutions, please help!

 

[ArcadiaBlade]

Beat it with something harder!







.....I got procrastination.

 

[Zenftiy]

Ah, yes. The greatest enemy of every writer.

If it's too tough to beat this time, maybe what you need is a break... and a little training arc.

 

[LilythGeist]

I am a 'pantser' so it is slightly different for me but the way I handle it is well... write at my own pace and let story guide me. Sometimes I have to interfere of course, but stories are those beasties that tend to live their own lives, I find.

Other than that, do not set yourself arbitrary goals like "a chapter a week". Start with "A sentence a day" and go from there.

 

[ArchlordZero]

Kitkat, pls sponsor me

 

[Tsuru]

Sigh, I don't know what to do about my inconsistency. I've written six chapters in two and a half months—what even is that?!
It's not that I need rest or that the story I'm writing is bad; I have the whole thing in my mind, but it just doesn't flow. It seems to vanish whenever I try to write.

What the heck? This is my dream project, and I really want to continue it, but it just doesn't click. Maybe it’s that I can’t find the right words or that I struggle to express what I want to convey on paper. I've battled through many writer's blocks in these past 2.5 months of writing, and I plan to fight this one too.

If you have any solutions, please help!

1) You must have fun
You lose fun = You cant continue
That is why people say that when a hobby turn into a job its bad.

2) Take a break.
Go read.
Mangakas find ideas in other people mangas.
Some Novelists became good at it because they read thousands of other webnovels (chineses especially)

3) Empty your mind. Go take a bath/shower.
Its often by emptying mind that you can find inspiration. AND stop going to social media btw. Its not helping nowadays authors. Its why early authors or creators pulled masterpieces like EVANGELION FateStayNight etc because they had no socials and just were bored to death and kept thinking thinking thinking thinking in boredom. Same like ONEPUNCH. Did they bother to truly craft it ? Fck no. I want a big ROBOT I want a beautiful summon I want a BADASS HERO THAT KILL IN ONE STRIKE and they did it.
Heck, one favorite of mine (axed likely bc MIA author) is Fate as a Servant, on SH, where the author simply want wrote a smarter Aqua.
Lot of good ideas as the simplest ones.
Look at all this bs SSS-rank or expulsed from parties. Everyone is fed up with this. People want simplicism. They want to turn off their brain. And for a author to captivate the readers that have brain off. Is to do the same.
Some CN authors, get success often by the simplest idea.


4) The more you try to find inspiration the less you will get it
Remember this very old joke where a thinking man turn into a circle (to the point the ground is digged)
OR this painters not finding inspiration ? to the point they take drugs to find it?
Well its the same.
Everywhere is contradictory.
The more you want, the less you get it.
People joke about "desire sensor" in games but even in reality its the same.
Some people have talents but wish for something else. Beginners get things at first try while others search it for a long time.

5) Routine
Its like sports. You musnt stop the flow. (like other user said)

5.5) Dont cage yourself
Dont think you must write # chapters every # days. Just do it bc inspiration came and not bc readers are clamoring for more chapters.


6) A good writer is a reader
> A good game dev is a gamer
> A good chef is a eater
etc
Hence point (2) Go read.

 

[RainyLiquid]

I feel like I just saw this post on Royal Road.

 

[LilythGeist]

3) Empty your mind. Go take a bath/shower.
Its often by emptying mind that you can find inspiration. AND stop going to social media btw. Its not helping nowadays authors. Its why early authors or creators pulled masterpieces like EVANGELION FateStayNight etc because they had no socials and just were bored to death and kept thinking thinking thinking thinking in boredom. Same like ONEPUNCH. Did they bother to truly craft it ? Fck no. I want a big ROBOT I want a beautiful summon I want a BADASS HERO THAT KILL IN ONE STRIKE and they did it.

Quick note: Hideaki Anno (the author of Evangelion) was depressed and a lot of his writing is born as an expression of that.

 

[Corty]

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[zephyrtrillian]

Sigh, I don't know what to do about my inconsistency. I've written six chapters in two and a half months—what even is that?!
It's not that I need rest or that the story I'm writing is bad; I have the whole thing in my mind, but it just doesn't flow. It seems to vanish whenever I try to write.

What the heck? This is my dream project, and I really want to continue it, but it just doesn't click. Maybe it’s that I can’t find the right words or that I struggle to express what I want to convey on paper. I've battled through many writer's blocks in these past 2.5 months of writing, and I plan to fight this one too.

If you have any solutions, please help!

Outline first? I have a very brief outline. As in, chapter 1: [this happens], chapter 2: [this happens].

Then it's a matter of writing the action, as in, "Mhordredd opens the cabinet." And then there's an action sequence to expand on.

Then it's a matter of improving the action, as in, "Mhordredd opened the cabinet with an air of disbelief." Adding the parts that I kept in my head instead of writing out, things I can see but that the reader can't easily see, that I realize I didn't actually share yet.

Then it's a matter of improving what I improved, as in, "Mhordredd's shaking hand reached out to grasp the cabinet's handle. How was it possible this would be here?"

Like taking clay and sculpting it, first I begin with the big details, removing big hunks of clay, defining the basic structure of the piece. Then I refine, and refine, and refine, until I get something I can be comfortable with.

Maybe you're trying to start refined instead of starting by removing some big hunks of clay, the unknown of it all.

That's all I've got! Good luck!

 

[A_veil_of_red_ink]

I feel like I just saw this post on Royal Road.

Yes... Yes, you did, Rainy.

Outline first? I have a very brief outline. As in, chapter 1: [this happens], chapter 2: [this happens].

Then it's a matter of writing the action, as in, "Mhordredd opens the cabinet." And then there's an action sequence to expand on.

Then it's a matter of improving the action, as in, "Mhordredd opened the cabinet with an air of disbelief." Adding the parts that I kept in my head instead of writing out, things I can see but that the reader can't easily see, that I realize I didn't actually share yet.

Then it's a matter of improving what I improved, as in, "Mhordredd's shaking hand reached out to grasp the cabinet's handle. How was it possible this would be here?"

Like taking clay and sculpting it, first I begin with the big details, removing big hunks of clay, defining the basic structure of the piece. Then I refine, and refine, and refine, until I get something I can be comfortable with.

Maybe you're trying to start refined instead of starting by removing some big hunks of clay, the unknown of it all.

That's all I've got! Good luck!

I outlined the entire story and the first arc while I created important character sheets.

 

[Frowfy]

Sigh, I don't know what to do about my inconsistency. I've written six chapters in two and a half months—what even is that?!
It's not that I need rest or that the story I'm writing is bad; I have the whole thing in my mind, but it just doesn't flow. It seems to vanish whenever I try to write.

What the heck? This is my dream project, and I really want to continue it, but it just doesn't click. Maybe it’s that I can’t find the right words or that I struggle to express what I want to convey on paper. I've battled through many writer's blocks in these past 2.5 months of writing, and I plan to fight this one too.

If you have any solutions, please help!

Everyone is different and each case is a case, but even now reading your comment I see some stressful points that you put into your writing. Your "dream project" your worries with inconsistence and your struggle to make it again and again.

I passed through it all. It wasn't planning, I had planned the entire arc. It wasn't my wish to keep writing, I wanted to make it urgently. So, what was it?

Stress, a lot of it;

I had to get away, see some movies, ignore a message box with more than 400 notifications for a 3 month period, write to me with no one to see, be proud of what I wrote until I yearn for "I want someone to see it too" and feel confident to return.

Writing is nothing big, it's simple. It's habit.

There is nothing great about it, and sometimes what you think is amazing is just boring for most people and everything is fine. The important thing is your purpose, it's your fun. It must be natural, coming from within. If so, naturally you will write.

As I said each case is a case. My problem has resolved naturally and maybe you have to look inside and try to understand yours. I wish you luck, has no definitive answer, and it's not easy for anyone. I went through it and many others should go through too.

 

[Bald-san]

Sigh, I don't know what to do about my inconsistency. I've written six chapters in two and a half months—what even is that?!
It's not that I need rest or that the story I'm writing is bad; I have the whole thing in my mind, but it just doesn't flow. It seems to vanish whenever I try to write.

What the heck? This is my dream project, and I really want to continue it, but it just doesn't click. Maybe it’s that I can’t find the right words or that I struggle to express what I want to convey on paper. I've battled through many writer's blocks in these past 2.5 months of writing, and I plan to fight this one too.

If you have any solutions, please help!

I just burry myself in University matter until I'm tired and wanted to vent my tiredness

 

[Ai-chan]

Sigh, I don't know what to do about my inconsistency. I've written six chapters in two and a half months—what even is that?!
It's not that I need rest or that the story I'm writing is bad; I have the whole thing in my mind, but it just doesn't flow. It seems to vanish whenever I try to write.

What the heck? This is my dream project, and I really want to continue it, but it just doesn't click. Maybe it’s that I can’t find the right words or that I struggle to express what I want to convey on paper. I've battled through many writer's blocks in these past 2.5 months of writing, and I plan to fight this one too.

If you have any solutions, please help!

Find a friend to bounce ideas around. The friend should be someone who doesn't hate your guts, is impartial, does not judge you for your interests and have no strong opinions of your mental state or your sexual tendencies.

Ai-chan knows a Gemini is looking for a friend.

 

[tiaf]

Sleep.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Read something you enjoy for a while. Let the imagination run wild. It can take a while but it can help.

 

[Xcalibur_Xc]

Simply stop writing that book for the moment. Read something or start writing another book to clear your mind.

 

[A_veil_of_red_ink]

Simply stop writing that book for the moment. Read something or start writing another book to clear your mind.

Hey, brother.
It's been a while, hasn’t it? (If you remember, I think you don't remember.) I appreciate the solid advice, but the issue has already been resolved(I stopped for a while), and now I want to write, but I just can't seem to do it.

Well, I hope you’re doing well.

 

[LeilaniOtter]

A couple of questions I have:
First, do you have a complete outline of your novel, start to finish? Just writing out your skeleton or gridwork of the book could get you back on track again.
Secondly, what's blocking you specifically. because it's sounding like you really don't like what you wrote, and that could cause frustration and blocking. Sometimes just plowing ahead can help! Don't like a particular scene and having trouble with it? Move on to another. No one says a book has to be written in order. Hell, I've written the end of a story lots of times before I went back to complete. ?
I'm currently in your position myself. I'm about half-way into a periodic piece and every so often i look at it and go, "meh". ?
I've moved on from it to tackle other projects on the hopes I'll open it up someday, read it, and get new ideas.
You can try this too; simply just re-reading what you've already done can help spark some ideas too.
DON'T get frustrated, bottom line. Just work through it like any other obstacle. ?

 

[A_veil_of_red_ink]

First, do you have a complete outline of your novel, start to finish? Just writing out your skeleton or gridwork of the book could get you back on track again.
Secondly, what's blocking you specifically. because it's sounding like you really don't like what you wrote, and that could cause frustration and blocking

First, I have a complete outline for my story that includes every major twist, the main antagonist, and even details about when the main characters' loved ones will die.

Second, what frustrates me is that I feel stuck. It’s not that my writing skills aren’t improving; it's more that I struggle to express myself clearly. As I mentioned earlier--

Maybe it’s that I can’t find the right words or that I struggle to express what I want to convey on paper.

That is a problem because, ultimately, writing is a form of expression, which can also be an art, similar to dancing, singing, drawing, and speaking. This phase is not permanent; it will pass. Thank you for these questions! ?