How do I overcome writer's block

#1
So... writer's block is a ****, I was going so well with my writings, I kept at least 3 episodes ahead to fill my review time... but then the fire nation invaded and everything changed. I actually have all the main events and plot guides written down, along with character progression for at least 3 more arcs, I just can't write the story anymore...

Help, please...

RE: How do I overcome writer's block

#2
So, there's many things that can cause writer's block and only a few ways to actually work around it.

Major Causes

  • Taking on the wrong writing style. That is to say, writing by the seat of your pants when you flourish as a planner, or vice-versa. I, for example, can't get more than 6 chapters into something before stalling out if I try to plan everything out. I have friends who are the polar opposite. Pantser vs. Planner, Planner vs. Pantser.

  • Flaws/inaccuracies in written or planned chapters. This type of writer's block tends to crop up because something isn't quite lining up in the overall plot you have planned, or there may be an inconsistency between a published chapter + your plans. It can take several re-reads and reviews of your plans to actually determine what's off.

  • External stress. School, work, etc. Stress can be an utter pain and block the creative process until you find some way to redirect your brain and attention away from the stress. Finding a way to take a mental break from the things that stress you can be an important part of working through writer's block--especially if writing doesn't give you that break.

  • Depression. A lot of this depends on the source of the depression. Some creatives (artists included) get depressed when they aren't writing, painting, etc. But being depressed makes people feel like not doing anything. So you have to force yourself to start creating again in order to work around the depression and the writer's block. In my opinion, this is the most sucky type of writer's block.

Fixes


  1. Brute force your way through it. Write something, anything, whether it's related to your main project or not. Sometimes it takes writing to break writer's block.

  2. Review & Revise. Look for errors, inconsistencies, or plans going astray. Try to find if something is wrong or just isn't working. Something may not work in the long-run and needs to be fixed before you get further in the story.

  3. Read something. Sometimes reading other works can bring your creative drive back and get you hyped up to work on your project again.

  4. Try a different style. Whether it's Planner vs. Pantser, 1st person vs. 3rd person, past vs. present--experiment and see if things flow better when executed under a different style. If you end up switching perspective or tense types though, make sure you fix all the existing chapters too!

  5. Work on something else. Sometimes we need a mental break from our primary project. Secondary or tertiary projects can come in handy since writer's block is often directed at a main project. Taking a break and coming back fresh gives new perspective on where to go or if something needs to be fixed.

Looking for stuff to read? Click below to navigate to my stories.

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RE: How do I overcome writer's block

#3
Is this the kind of block where you know exactly what you want to write and how each scene goes, while lacking the slightest bit of motivation to actually write it? If so, it happened to me a few times.

A few things I can say from experience :
-If it's the current chapter, on which you're supposed to work, that gives you trouble, but there are other scenes/chapters you want to write, skip this one and write what you want to write. Sometimes you just have to leave a chapter alone for a bit, while you focus on later parts. Maybe you'll find new ideas along the way, or maybe you'll get motivated to link the parts.
-I've had moments where I had planned a chapter so thoroughly I just saw no point in writing it because I felt it would never be as good as what I had in mind. Dunno what to say here, it just goes away eventually for me...
-If nothing makes you want to write, if there isn't a single scene that motivates you, then either force yourself or take a break. As far as I'm concerned, I rarely manage to write anything good when I force myself to write, but for some people it works. If you can overcome it, good ; if not, do something else that's not related to writing, or find new ideas/revise old ones (be careful about that though. I know for a fact that I spend unhealthy amounts of time thinking about things I want to change in past chapters, rather than actually writing, planning, or revising...).

Do whatever you need until you feel like writing again. Just be careful about rewriting if you've done a lot already, as more often than not starting from zero just helps killing your motivation. I'd recommend small revisions here and now instead. And if you feel like dropping it altogether and start another project, go for it. It's a shame, but if you really lost interest in your story, there's no point in forcing yourself. It's not cool for the readers of course, but honestly if you're not having fun, it'll probably show in your writing, so they won't have fun either.

Well it's up to you in the end. Most of us here write for fun, there's no deadline or anything that's worth forcing yourself 'til you end up disgusted with writing. Sometimes you just have to take a break, maybe you'll be motivated again in a few days.

edit: oh yeah, reading. Could be that you just lack the writing tools (style, vocabulary and whatnot) necessary for a specific scene. Published books always have something to teach you.