Mystic Guilden
16 years ago
Fri May 18 2007, 01:32pm
Mystic Guilden
Mage
Hello good writersmergians!
Recently i have been going through a lull and havent writen much of anything in weeks.
I'd like to know what you all do to counter the lack of writing mood/inspiration/motivation?
Or
Do you find you go through periods when you dont really produde anything you feel happy with (and perhaps cannot do anything to fix it)?
If anyone has any sugestions please post them.
Thanks! :D
Well, usually when I hit a lull in my writing - writer's block lol - I decide to go on a surge of reading. I read mainly fantasy at normal times, but at these times I'll read almost anything I can get my hands on.
Another thing I find helpful is, if I'm stuck in the process of writing, I'll go to sleep thinking about it. This usually results in me dreaming about it and when I wake I write down what I can remember from my dreams. Often, the best ideas I get for my stories are from dreams lol :D
Hope that helps a bit :)
I fluctuate, really - I'll have times when I'm full of ideas and have no trouble writing them down (though later I may read back over what I've written and wince...but at least at the time I've been letting my creative juices flow ;)), then I'l have periods where I just don't feel like writing and it doesn't feel quite right when I sit down to try. I'm actually going through one of these spells at the moment, but it never really worries me because it's just a temporary phase and part of how I work. Often I use this time when I lack the enthusiasm to write, to mull over ideas for when I'm back in the mindframe for it. I think I've come up with some of my best ideas during the times when I'm out of it with the actual writing. Perhaps you could try this? - not worrying about actually writing anything, but just using the time to work through your thoughts. If a lack of ideas is the problem, I'd go with Lioness's suggestions - reading never fails to stimulate the thinking process. ;) I also find certain movies, pictures or songs can spark my imagination; and of course, the age-old "Concentrate on something else instead of worrying at the problem".
Hope that helps. :)
I find the best way to kick a spate of writers' block is to get writing! Even if what you put down on the page is absolutely dreadful, it's something. You can work with something, but you can't work with nothing. Even the most dreadful stuff can form the basis for editing it (or rewriting it totally) into something quite good.
My crude analogy for this process is that you need to fertilise the soil with, erm, dynamic lifter in order for the roses to have any chance of growing. So even if what you initially write is no better in quality than dynamic lifter, it's often necessary to put it down so that the good stuff can develop! :) Dodgy metaphor, I know, but I find it really reassuring when I'm going through a block or when I'm disappointed with the quality of what I'm writing.
One thing I find extremely helpful...
Go and re-read a book or re-watch a movie that you've found to be especially awful. When this is done, tell yourself:
"Not only did this somehow get made, but whoever made it was actually paid to do this! There's hope for me yet!"
I'd suggest watching the version of "The Saint" starring Val Kilmer - there are plot holes and continuity errors aplenty in that movie, yet somehow this script was greenlighted and the writers were paid a fortune. :O
It should inspire confidence in any aspiring writer's heart ;)
I like this thread - I haven't written a story since high school (never believe that university expands your mind - law does NOT). I read this thread and am trying to write a story every day - so far they are horrifically bad! It's quite disheartening. How do you get out of a rut of just regurgitating cliches? coz that is what I'm battling at the moment.
Best thing is to expand your reading. Read a genre you've never read before and experiment with different types. Play around with this in your writing. Doing writing exercises will also help - like think of an image of something and try describe it, or create a profile for a character. Hope that helps :)
To all who find times when the words just dont flow, i find going to a place where i know my idea will come to me. For me it's the swing in the park by my house. Everything around me turns into an idea. Write about what you love, not what people tell you too.
Ravek
xx
Hmm. Well, I shouldn't really be commenting on this thread, lol, as I have a terrible background with my writing. I often go for months without a single urge to write anything (and therefore lose the plot of any ongoing stories) and then restart them all for a few months, then go back to not writing.
I really am quite terrible. Haha. But still, when I am just getting back into my writing months, I tend to start off with describing a situation I may have been involved in or watched - with every strange and descriptive word I can find.
But then again, I see and treat writing as a way to express myself without hurting anyone. I tend to have a sharp tongue when annoyed with someone, so usually I end up spilling words and all the bad thoughts onto some random piece of paper or a text document, rather then going and telling them all of that bad stuff.
Really, this technique has probably saved me from more then a few tough situations that may have gotten out of hand otherwise.
I guess my advice is to read over what you have already written because even though you may be fresh out of writing, reading and editing little bits of previous works may help you get back into the swing of things or give you new ideas for a current project.
Also, a good bit of reading time of your favourites, or maybe just a break from thinking about a story or even starting a new one with fresh ideas or such may help. Again, I have to say I am notorious for not finishing anything, lol, so please don't give my advice to much weight.
Okies, I've ratted on enough =D
Take Care!
~BR~
Lol i'll be honest and say i haven't writing anything obernewtyn connected in a looong time I am still tinkering around with this old poem i cant get to work but that's about it.
I will usually go about two or three months without writing a thing and then one night I will have an idea and I will be compelled to just type it out, usually until about one or two in the morning. although on one or two occasions its been more like six in the morning. I might have two nights like this then it settle down into a sensible routine until I peter out after a few months.
I am sort of at that point now where the fact that Im staying at a friends place for a few weeks and cant get to my computer to work is getting really annoying.
When I get writers block i usually find the best thing for it is to just move on to charaterisation, fine tuning the time line and stuff like that or read over your work and edit it. you'll usually get new ideas that way or touch base on what the storys foundations are.
If your not working on anything particular keep a diary and write stories about the things that happen to you. Another thing I like to do is rewrite movies and stories were I loved the charecters but not the story.
|;)
Does anyone find that they channel their creativity that would ordinarily go to writing into another area. I do - I don't know whether it's laziness or fear, but I keep learning other creative 'arts' - so far, it's been cooking, knitting, crocheting, and now sewing. By the time I finish my other projects (especially as i have just wrecked 2 months worth of work in 2 minutes) I have no inclination to write. If I do set time aside, I just lie on my bed and have a nap.
15 years ago
Tue Oct 21 2008, 06:19pm
Okay, I hope I'm not going to get pounced on for reviving an old/dead thread, but I didn't find it right to start a new one when this was here on page 2!
I'm wondering if anyone has some more suggestions about how to overcome the all-mighty block. I'm itching to write at the moment (quite desperate for some sort of creative release), and everything I try to write turns to crud. One moment I'm being too obscure, and the next, too cliche. Where's the happy balance? How to overcome it? I'll stare at a screen with a paragraph on it for an hour if I'm given the opportunity. Anything that comes to mind is immediately scoffed by the cynic in me.
I used to find it so easy when I travelled :( I started so many stories back then, and always had intentions on finishing them. I suppose I was inspired and somehow more motivated...now...inspired with the story, but the creativity fails me.
And I know that the advice is to just write it anyway, even if it's garbage...or to read more (which I'm making myself do)...
All I end up doing is stuffing around with iTunes, writing about a character (rather than any story!) or suddenly realise that the space underneath the couch needs dusting and if I pay the bills now, I don't have to worry about the due dates...(you get the idea... |:( ). I know my story, my people, etc but it just won't behave!
I can't even fall back on writing fanfics anymore...it just doesn't work for me and I get annoyed and delete it...
that happens to me all the time. I get really motivated about writing stories for a little while (mainly during the holidays), but then I just abandon them after a while. I start thinking that my original ideas weren't good enough, and I have to think of something better/ more original.
And even when I do have a really good idea, I have trouble following through with it. Short stories are fine, but when I try to write long novels I lose interest after a few chapters.
I think the trick is to be really enthusiastic about what you're writing - which I think you are, Min. You might be over-thinking your idea, though. Sometimes you can think over an idea so much that you loose the original feeling/atmosphere of your story. When this happens, go back to a place that makes you feel like writing. I like going for walks in dark/mysterious wooded areas, and I also like going to the Australian outback. Sometimes you need to get more in touch with the 'real' world in order to focus more on your writing, rather than being caught up in your own little 'fantasy' world.
If you have trouble following things through (like me), just think about how your story is going to end. If you can see an end in sight, then you will be less likely to give up. You don't have to stick to your plan, but it helps to have one. :)
And lastly, don't pressure yourself to write. That just makes it become a chore rather than a creative outlet. With me, I will be doing something (usually listening to a class at school :P ) and then an idea will just come to me. I'll have a sudden urge to write, and I just write down the scene that comes to mind. If this happens to you enough, you can eventually piece together a novel.
What you're doing with your characters sounds really good. :) Characters are a really important part of a story, and if your characters are well-developed it will be easier for you to write. Ii fyou think about their background, how they interact with each other, etc., scenes will usually follow.
If you're itching for a creative outlet, why not try something like drawing or music when you can't bring yourself to write? That way you won't get irritated with yourself. Just write when you feel like it, and I'm sure you'll come up with something good. :)
Hope that's helped. Although I probably shouldn't be the one giving advice. You're a much better writer than I am. :) :P
Thank you so much avialle for the advice [act]grugs[/act]. You're right, I'm absolutely over-thinking it. I will try examining the reasons I want to write this one particular story and just take it back a notch. And yes, focussing on the final chapter would be a really good way to make me finish something ;D good idea!
[act]sigh[/act] I might try going back to the piano or guitar too...
Again thank you for the suggestions!
Mystic Ward
15 years ago
Mystic Ward
Twentyfamilies Gypsy
Another thing you couold try Min is to take the characters you are writing about and put them into everyday situations like catching a train or having a shower and see if that helps to get them where you want them to go.
I accidentally stopped writing once (not that I was doing a good job in the first place :P). I couldn't find the time, until about 6 months later, I told myself: My friends want to read this, I've got to do this. So I forced myself to write and then once I started I couldn't stop, and now I finished it yesterday, all I have to do now is re-edit it. Unfortunately, I've lost a few "fans" after those six months, but I'm slowly winning them back. I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else.
Oh and btw, I like deb's suggestion, I based the characters in my story as my friends, so we sometimes call each other by character name, it's fun! :D
Mystic Guilden
15 years ago
Thu Oct 23 2008, 07:15pm
Mystic Guilden
Mage
Good luck with your story Min. I can sympathise with pretty much all of what you were saying above.
I havent written anything in ages. I always did my writing late at night, but with working mostly early shifts now, I cant stay up and still function at work the next day.
Right now my creative energy is going into photography (which I suck at but... meh :P ) and increasing my productivity at work. Boooooooring!
I have still been making rough notes if I have any ideas, but much of it has been loose fleeting thoughts, or work related items. Plus, I really havent had the time to sit down and do anything lately :(
Anyway, hopefully I can get back into the spirit soon. If i can sit down and watch a good DVD, read a good book or take a nice long walk along the beach....then I should have a new story line soon :)
Oh, and my dreams play a big role in inspiring my writing, but lately I either havent recalled them, or they have been to weird to write about.
I really couldnt get a story out of my friend her husband and I robbing a bank with a camera and 2 memory cards. Last nights dream was a Harry Potter one (Dont ask me how it became Harry Potter) but I have a feeling that story already exists :P ;)
Ha! I've been dreaming about Pokemon a lot recently :P I dont' know why, but it just comes. I won't go into details, because its sotta embarrassing |:( :P.
I've also recently become addicted to photography too, but then I became addicted to filming and becuase my mum and dad didn't want me to kill the family digital camera, they decided to buy me a video camera, its soooo awesome :D its touch screen and tiny (not really tiny, but tiny for a normal sized video camera). I
love it, I gave it a nickname, Robby. I don't know why, but it is lucky. I've been using it a lot recently, most of my work ends up going to assembly, I'm going to release a few new ones too, lote progect and then my music project and one for fun :P. My favourite is.....wait for it......Fat Cat shuffling.
For the people who don't know what shuffling is, its like this street dancing. My video is harlarious, I showed it in the Middle School Expo. You can't believe how many people were laughing at it, I plan to put it on youtube, but I can't because my school blocks it and it takes forever on dial-up, I really need braodband :P.
I should stop talking now, bye ;D
Oops, my post is irrelevant, um....
I you don't have the inspiration, try to force the inspiration out of you, um...like finding a good song that suites your writing. I've managed to find a few in my time, it works :D!