Writers Block

[JesseB.]

Hi,

I am an avid writer, but lately I have been getting writer's block. Can someone give me tips on how to smash this monster?

[darkest_red]

I only write lyrics (though I have dabbled in a few books, never got any further than 8 chapters though!) but if I'm struggling, I always find it helps to take a break, maybe go for a walk, have something to eat, whatever you want to do, then go back to it, or I work on something else for a while then go back to it.

If I'm really struggling, I leave it for a few hours (or even a day) and try going back to it when I'm more refreshed.

[jesussaves]

Sit down at your typewriter or key board (I personally think it gets my thoughts working better to use a typewriter)...anyway...try brainstorming for a bit...when you touch on what you want to write about don't break the flow...and if you wake up with an idea or can't sleep because you thought of something...get up and write.

Hope this has been of some help.

[Keith]

Writer's block. The second worst enemy of a writer, right after procrastination!

Taking my mind off of my work and going for a walk works.

Something else that works for me, if I need to overcome it right away, is to take a clean sheet of paper and free-write. I'll write the last sentence or two before I got stuck and then just write and keep writing, for 10 to 15 minutes. Whatever comes to mind, I write, not worrying about grammar or punctuation. Here's an example. The story (I write fiction) is in bold and what follows is one minute (I won't subject you to 10 minutes!) of free-writing.

David sat with his hands gripping the steering wheel, staring at the Check Engine light that illuminated the dashboard. "Not now," he groaned. "Not when I'm so close!"

i have no idea what to do with david here. all i know is that i needed some kind of conflict. this is probably dumb anyway because i don't know what's going to happen once david gets to the hospital. ummm ummm ummm... maybe someone could pass by but then again it would be interesting to see how david....

That was one minute of free-writing. For me it helps me to "think out loud." Even if I free-write something like... "i'm getting hungry. should i order a pizza right now? think think think. dum de dum... can't even think of any actual words to write! Mary had a little lamb...."

One other style of free-writing is to just keep writing according to the story and don't worry about it being dumb or impossible or anything else. Sometimes once you get a few really bad lines down, or take a story down a ridiculous path for awhile, a great idea may spark in you and cure you of the writer's block. Then you can go back to where you left off and start writing again.

The important thing is to keep writing and don't let writer's block win.

Something else I used to do, but haven't in awhile, is this... I had three jars filled with slips of paper. The three jars were three different categories.

#1 A person, people, animal, thing or an object of some kind.

#2 An action of some kind.

#3 A location or a place.

I filled out some of the slips of paper and had friends, coworkers, etc., fill out a few from time to time. As a writing exercise I would draw one slip out of each of the jars. (At least #1 and #2. #3 isn't always necessary) Then I would make up a short story, poem, a mock newspaper article, etc., about those slips of paper.

For example, the randomly picked slips of paper might say...

Slip #1: A turtle with a backache.

Slip #2: Trying to escape from the circus.

Slip #3: In the desert.

So, I would write a story about a turtle with a backache who was trying to escape his awful life in the circus in the middle of the desert. Maybe his back ached because the strong man would stand on him while lifting the heavy weights. He just wanted to settle down in a nice pond somewhere where he could swim anytime instead of getting desert sand all over inside his shell? Mock newspaper articles are fun to write, too.

It sure gets the creative juices flowing by giving you ideas that would never have thought of before!

[Iryssa]

I just sit for a while and do freewriting. I set a time for myself, and refuse to stop writing for that amount of time. It usually starts out with "wow, you've really got yourself in a bind now, don't you? Just keep going, something will come up, if you let it. Man, there's a little ding in my wall, I should really fix that. Wonder what my dog's doing..." and so on and so forth. Usually I don't even worry about punctuation. Just write whatever happens to come to mind. If this doesn't help, then I take a break, get a drink, do whatever it takes to let myself relax.

Hope that helps...I know sometimes Writer's Block can get really stubbourn, though...

[Guest RJD Servant]

Hi JesseB

Sorry for the writers block. When ever I have writers block I am usually have something to attend to with God or life and it distracts me from the flow of writing. could that be the problem?

Also what do you write? As I am looking for a ghost writer or co writer depends on what you write and how. I have 100 stories that need the lift of life in them. I always can come up with the meat of it but I can not come up with the format of the world around the story. Do you do this? Let me know I am serious as I am going to get them printed.

they are youthful stories with meat to the way life is out in this world and how Christ is the Answer for all the Life's Journeys in our walk.

Please get back to me on this, maybe you need new insight!!

RJD Sevant Reach me at hotyarn@yahoo.com