Is it just me or does this really happen?

[Arvi]

I have got this story in my mind, scenes playing like a movie, characters practically jumping off the page. I am fired up and ready to write a chapter a day. But then... I sit down to type and boom suddenly, I’m stuck. How do I even convey these thoughts? How do I get what’s in my head onto the page?
It is easy to dream up a story but bringing it to life with words? Trying to capture complex emotions, build a world, and make it all come alive on paper is a whole different challenge. But it's also made me respect authors more than ever. Those who deliver such beautifully stories, page after page, are on another level. The effort behind the scenes is real and now after trying it myself, my appreciation for their work is high on sky.

 

[DeepWater]

It happens to me too.

 

[Golden_Emperor]

I have got this story in my mind, scenes playing like a movie, characters practically jumping off the page. I am fired up and ready to write a chapter a day. But then... I sit down to type and boom suddenly, I’m stuck. How do I even convey these thoughts? How do I get what’s in my head onto the page?
It is easy to dream up a story but bringing it to life with words? Trying to capture complex emotions, build a world, and make it all come alive on paper is a whole different challenge. But it's also made me respect authors more than ever. Those who deliver such beautifully stories, page after page, are on another level. The effort behind the scenes is real and now after trying it myself, my appreciation for their work is high on sky.

I do that kind of thing all the time!

 

[Navillus]

That happens to me at least every other day.

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

Pick up and read a dictionary to completion. Then pick two books from every genre and niche you want to emulate and open it at a random page and study twenty pages. Yes, at random and study not read. Find the structure and move on to the rest of the books. Easiest way to find what and how you will write at the beginning. As all things, your writing will evolve with you overtime so don't sweat the beginning stuff.

 

[HungrySheep]

You just start writing. Doesn't matter if it sounds shit. Just start and it'll keep going, then you go back and edit the shit you wrote during the engine (brain) startup process.

 

[Corty]

Isn’t that why we start writing?

 

[Golden_Emperor]

Pick up and read a dictionary to completion. Then pick two books from every genre and niche you want to emulate and open it at a random page and study twenty pages. Yes, at random and study not read. Find the structure and move on to the rest of the books. Easiest way to find what and how you will write at the beginning. As all things, your writing will evolve with you overtime so don't sweat the beginning stuff.

Imma try this!

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Not at the start, but once the story gets going this hits sometimes.

Though I do have some times when I open one story to work on and two or three other ones DEMAND my attention instead.

 

[Navillus]

Pick up and read a dictionary to completion. Then pick two books from every genre and niche you want to emulate and open it at a random page and study twenty pages. Yes, at random and study not read. Find the structure and move on to the rest of the books. Easiest way to find what and how you will write at the beginning. As all things, your writing will evolve with you overtime so don't sweat the beginning stuff.

Interesting.... That might just work, Thanks for the advice!

 

[LesserCodex]

True been there so many times and I know every other writer on this site and many others have had the same situation, you just have to do it, can't say much except the more time you take to rethink if it is possible the further you get away from putting it down, even if it's not perfect they'll be people out there who can see your thoughts conveyed and support it.

 

[theInmara]

Another trick you could try: Pretend that you are telling your best friend about this story, but writing it to them in a chat or message. Like, your best friend is going to be forgiving and interested and focused on the points of the story, not so much how you say it. It takes the pressure off.

 

[BearlyAlive]

"If you stare too long into the blank page, the page starts to turn into the face of a little brat that is humiliating you. Unless that's your fetish" -Nietzsche, probably

Happens all the time. I've been thinking about text-to-speech, but my German accent is too thick for most programs

 

[PancakesWitch]

It usually happens because what we often imagine are the cool parts, the romance, the action, the plot twists and other great things, but we never truly imagine the "build up" that leads to all of that, the whole story doesnt start with the characters love already expressed and kissing, nor with the hero fighting the evil villain instantly and having an epic planet-destroying battle, you always have to build up to these things and through that, give them meaning. Imagine these scenes in your head, and slowly think what led to them first, the beginnings of them, then step by step write the "path" that leads to what was in your head. Once you reach that "part", you will enter the Zone, and your writing will flow like a river down a mountain, seamlessly.

 

[LoneQuack]

I'm guessing you just started writing. I got that all the time, and pretty much every new writer gets it to some degree. Then will come the phase where you hate yourself for everything you write. Either you'll stop there or continue writing, and after that, at some point you will grow confident in your ability to write, in which you have the chance to hit another landmark of "okay I'll do it later" and never end up even beginning. Then you're going to go in some forums and say "I hit writers block" asking for advice. Writers block doesn't exist. Poorly thought ideas do, and you simply realize them too late and you are stuck no knowing what to do. Same goes with burn out. You are simply lazy. Had 4 different periods of burn out the past year. Do you know what I did to overcome it? Write. (I would like to highlight that Burn out is NOT the same as wanting to take a break)


Anyhow, enjoy it while it lasts before you hit your wall. The best advice I can give you is simply write. Sadly, its one of those advices where you only understand it through personal growth, reflection and blah blah blah...

 

[Deleted member 84247]

But it's also made me respect authors more than ever. Those who deliver such beautifully stories, page after page, are on another level. The effort behind the scenes is real and now after trying it myself, my appreciation for their work is high on sky.

Thank you~

It usually happens because what we often imagine are the cool parts, the romance, the action, the plot twists and other great things, but we never truly imagine the "build up" that leads to all of that, the whole story doesnt start with the characters love already expressed and kissing, nor with the hero fighting the evil villain instantly and having an epic planet-destroying battle, you always have to build up to these things and through that, give them meaning. Imagine these scenes in your head, and slowly think what led to them first, the beginnings of them, then step by step write the "path" that leads to what was in your head. Once you reach that "part", you will enter the Zone, and your writing will flow like a river down a mountain, seamlessly.

In seriousness, this. My stories always suffered from pacing issues because I wanted to get to the big thing. I like to think I have gotten better in that aspect.

 

[Nolff]

I have got this story in my mind, scenes playing like a movie, characters practically jumping off the page. I am fired up and ready to write a chapter a day. But then... I sit down to type and boom suddenly, I’m stuck. How do I even convey these thoughts? How do I get what’s in my head onto the page?
It is easy to dream up a story but bringing it to life with words? Trying to capture complex emotions, build a world, and make it all come alive on paper is a whole different challenge. But it's also made me respect authors more than ever. Those who deliver such beautifully stories, page after page, are on another level. The effort behind the scenes is real and now after trying it myself, my appreciation for their work is high on sky.

These folks already gave you some good advice, all I have to say is...


Chill, and stay passionate.

You'll be able to write the build-up towards the big scene soon. Burnout is something you should cope with since it'll make you slow at structuring your stories and make it difficult for your wording.


Stay calm, stay safe.

Those who surrender first never knew what their peak performance looked like.

 

[Bartun]

Happens to me all the time. That's one of the reasons why I deliver just one chapter every 6 months.

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

Yep, I feel you there. Starting is always the toughest part of writing any story.

 

[lambenttyto]

I have got this story in my mind, scenes playing like a movie, characters practically jumping off the page. I am fired up and ready to write a chapter a day. But then... I sit down to type and boom suddenly, I’m stuck. How do I even convey these thoughts? How do I get what’s in my head onto the page?
It is easy to dream up a story but bringing it to life with words? Trying to capture complex emotions, build a world, and make it all come alive on paper is a whole different challenge. But it's also made me respect authors more than ever. Those who deliver such beautifully stories, page after page, are on another level. The effort behind the scenes is real and now after trying it myself, my appreciation for their work is high on sky.

I enjoyed reading this. It's not often that people convey their appreciation for writers and their craft, so thank you.

So I can actually answer your question. It's a psychology thing. When you're sitting there imagining things in your head, you're in a mental state of fun and relaxation, and all the good ideas seem to just flow and come to you effortlessly. But when you sit down to write, a sense of pressure, whether you realize it or not, becomes present. This pressure is not the fun creative side of your brain, and this is what causes you to freeze up and draw a blank so to speak. Your brain is in a cortical state, and the brain doesn't create well when in the critical state. You need to move back to your play state, your creative state.

It's taken me years to figure this out, but I did. I write well when I don't care, when I treat my writing like some kind of big joke. My fingers can move and I can write 2-3k words in an hour or so.

A really good book that covers this stuff, and the only one out there that I'm aware of, is Writing Into the Dark by Dean Wesley Smith. It's a pretty short read, but worth it. I've read it at least a dozen times. It's a good read whenever you realize your bad habits coming back through. Another good companion to this short book is an even shorter book called The Pursuit of Perfection by Kristine Katheryn Rusch (Smith's wife.)

I hope it helps.