What do you do when you get like a brain fatigue while writing a chapter? How do you go back in the 'zone'?

[HellerFeed]

Not talking about motivation, I got plenty.

But you know when writing, you already have decided what to write and how the chapter gonna end up. But while writing you started to get this weariness feeling as if the words in your chapter that you are writing start to get bland. Just like brain fatigue.

It's a feeling just as if you are brain just ran out of words to describe your story.
And now it feels like your chapter is losing emotions and just look like an AI robot typing just like a machine translation.

I usually have to force myself to take a break so that I can once again get in the mood.
I usually just browse Yt music or watch some anime shows to get me back on track.

It's almost impossible to shell out a single chapter in one sitting as I usually tend to 1.8k words to 3k per chap.
So I just take 2-3 days to write just one chap.
I wanna increase my chapter efficiency per week.

How do you guys handle brain fatigue? How do you keep yourself in the 'writing zone?
What are your secrets?

 

[Ritz]

For me, I approach the chapter from a different perspective. Perhaps I get back to outlining the plot for the novel. Eg. Rather than trying to think of what happens next, I would write some notes about my character or lore. I would think of names for future chapters, and depending on the name, which would act as the theme, I would write a synopsis (Eg. if the chapter name is demons, I could dish out some notes under it such as 'demons attacked the academy | X and Y are injured | MC says "zxczxczxc" and demon replies with, "sdfgsdfasd"') basically I dart around. Having a proper outline for your novel helps in making it easier to look at your novel from different directions that way.
Also, it's best to do something that is productive towards your goal even while you rest and try to entertain yourself. Drawing and reading would do that for me.

 

[Draconite]

Keep calm and take a shower, the shower always provides idea

 

[hauntedwritings]

I've found that sleeping is exceptionally good. After a good nap, the brain is refreshed and ready to tackle even the boring parts of the chapters I'm writing.
And while writing, I listen to music. More specifically, I've designated a few songs for each of my characters, that help me get back into the character's mindset each time I'm writing. Sounds boring to loop songs, but it works for me.

 

[Sylverius]

I've found that sleeping is exceptionally good. After a good nap, the brain is refreshed and ready to tackle even the boring parts of the chapters I'm writing.
And while writing, I listen to music. More specifically, I've designated a few songs for each of my characters, that help me get back into the character's mindset each time I'm writing. Sounds boring to loop songs, but it works for me.

Yep, this guy's right.

What I do is that once I've mapped out the story, like when the fight scenes are gonna come up and any sort of fast paced scene like chasing or getting chased, I play fast music. It could be Eurobeat, Trance, Dubstep, etc. As long as it fits the category. When it's in a happy or wholesome or mellow scene, I play joyful or slow music. When it's in a sad or heavy scene, I don't play any music at all. The reason I do these is because I try to set the mood using music, so that you could feel as if you're the character. You'd want some epic music if you or a character you like feels epic, right?

Naps are also important, nothing beats a good ass rest unless you're ACTUALLY DEPRESSED AND SHIT.

 

[Agentt]

I save draft, browse memes, or read manga.

 

[Kitsura]

Work through it.

Otherwise I start outlining a character I think might be fun to include and then that usually gets me back into the world.

 

[skillet]

Knowing exactly what you want to write is sometimes good as start-off points (or points to build up to)-- I usually have ideas in the middle of public transportation (i.e. in bus) or before I go to sleep, so I jot down excerpts rather than ideas that I save for later on my phone, then use in future chapters. The difference between having those and not having those has been great for me. (Not that I should be really saying anything when I'm procrastinating on my current chapter ahahah but anyways--)

So my recommendation is: If you're writing a chapter and you know what scene you want to write for it, write that scene first. It's so difficult to keep the same exact tone that you originally thought of after you write hundreds of words to build up to it, and it'll help keep you grounded/guide you better to what you wanted in the first place.

 

[Snusmumriken]

I have a few playlists that I use to put me into a certain mood. Which in turn helps my brain get onto the track of a specific scene.

 

[Deleted member 45782]

I procrastinate and delay it til next time. Or visit the brainstorm I have for characters and stories, and see if any holes in story so will try fix it and also edit sentence by sentence unless too tired to give a care and just wanna publish it.

Going back in the writing zone would be listening to the right music for the right mood; same as watching stuff and seeing something epic makes you imagine yourself or your characters to be in that setting and doing epic.

 

[SootShade]

I've settled into writing chapters in stages. Ideally there will be an amount of time between each of these stages, and its manageable because I'm focusing on just a limited part of the whole process in each stage.

First I go through the notes for what I've planned out ahead in the story, and organize them into sections that seems about chapter sized and fit together. This is quickly handled once I have a good idea for where the overall plot is heading during these chapters.

Next I write up a rough outline for the chapter, where I plan out how all of it connects together, throughout one or more scenes, and in what order. Then I go through it again to nail down the structure of the chapter more by writing out a plain description of everything that will happen, in order, with as much details included as come to me in the process. Ideally, since I'm releasing three chapters a week, I get through these two stages on the day or two between releases.

Finally I follow the planned out structure to write up the actual chapter, reformulating it into the proper tense and perspective, with the dialogue and all the remaining detail. This last part takes the biggest chunk of the time required, about 4-6 hours for the 3k+ word chapters that I've been releasing, but I can finish it pretty much in a single sitting, since most of the actual thought required is in planning it out through the earlier stages.

 

[HellerFeed]

Thanks for sharing all your tips and thoughts.

 

[AliceShiki]

I usually listen to a song and play one match of Solitaire/Freecell/Hearts/Minesweeper, then I get back to it.

This doesn't help much in all honesty, all that it does is to let my mind wander free for about 5min before I get back into focus... Basically, it lets me relax a bit.

Honestly, my advice for you if you're struggling with writing a chapter because you aren't liking the way you're writing it... Is to just write it to the end anyways. Writing the chapter is always the hardest part... Editing it on the other hand is a lot easier.
Try finishing the chapter in one day, and then try editing it in the next. Usually you'll be able to fix most of the bland sentences and make them deliver the impact that you wanted.

You'll still be taking 2 days to publish each chapter, but at least you'll have already written and edited the chapter in the same amount of time you're currently using to just write.

 

[Wintertime]

Take a day break. Spend another day to read a book. On the third day, compile all the books you've read that first gave you inspiration on your novel, and then mix and match. Or think of something spectacular throughout your life.

 

[morhamza]

I stop writing, then go back to fantazing about my world and the characters I've made. Eventually, the story becomes interesting to me again, and when that happens it is almost impossible for me to not write.

 

[Not_A_Symphony]

How do you guys handle brain fatigue? How do you keep yourself in the 'writing zone?
What are your secrets?

I also usually write around 2.5k / 3k words per chapter but since I type fast I am able to write one chapter in a day, however, there have been times where I knew exactly what I was going to write but I didn't seem willing to. It was not a lack of motivation but, just like you said, I felt like anything I was writing was no more than typing like a machine.
When this happens to me I usually take a break, sometimes for some hours, sometimes for some days in order to click the refresh button. Taking naps, reading other novels/mangas, watching anime/movies/series, taking a walk, or even play some games are always great ways to relax your mind from your main plot.
If I am short on time and I don't have time to actually take a break I usually just listen to some calm music for some minutes and then, afterward, I play some songs related to the mood of the story (sad songs, psycho songs, happy songs, and so on).
Hope it helps!

 

[LoliGent]

Currently going through this and was browsing the forums to clear my mind, only to find this topic. Nice.

I just had to write a chapter that was more filler than anything because I had no idea what to write, so I decided to make it as important as possible so I can flesh out ideas. What I mean is that I took this opportunity to try to organize myself within the narrative itself. That's kind of my solution, to write an important chapter and get the juices flowing in your brain. Get that good feeling in there. Go and do the fun stuff and then maybe you'll get an idea for the more mundane stuff.

 

[Derin_Edala]

I take a break. If the block lasts more than 24 hours, I force my way through it and check in editing later whether it came out okay. (In editing, I usually can't tell the difference between stuff written when highly inspired and stuff written when fatigued and discouraged, so I know the feeling is usually internal and not connected to writing quality.)

 

[BenJepheneT]

i just close my youtube tab and sit myself the fuck down until I finish my daily milestone