The Writer's Block Thread

[Homer Potvin]

Sometimes, I get hung up on character motivations.

Overrated in my opinion. Or maybe overcomplicated. They don't have to be complex or grandiose. Not saying that's the case with you, but I see too many writers faceplant on that. Like zombie stories with characters who need to overcome their trauma, prove their worth to their parents, or something, where not getting killed by zombies is plenty of motivation to keep the plot moving. Depends on what you're writing of course, but what Frodo's motivation in LoTR? Destroy the ring and not die. Bing bang boom.

 

[Jay King]

When I am blocked, it is usually because there are things that I must do, should do right now or in the very near future. Sometimes it's something as mundane as getting the the oil changed in the car, getting the lawn mowed, and washing the vinyl siding--- all demanding to be done soon. I can't write unless I have a clear calendar.

 

[alzie]

I suffered from writer's block and its nasty partner in crime, Imposter Syndrome. Early on in my novel (my first, so I didn't know what the hell I was doing) my mind was a blank slate. Everything I put on paper sucked. I didn't know where to go. I couldn't push the story forward. I didn't know where it was going.

Then I had an idea. I had been struggling writing in third person, so I rewrote the scene in first person through my protagonist's eyes. And I realized what the problem was. I was trying to tell the story from a distance. My writing style changed and to this day, that little experiment helped push me through the story. I'm still writing third...but standing over the shoulders of my characters.

 

[Homer Potvin]

I suffered from writer's block and its nasty partner in crime, Imposter Syndrome. Early on in my novel (my first, so I didn't know what the hell I was doing) my mind was a blank slate. Everything I put on paper sucked. I didn't know where to go. I couldn't push the story forward. I didn't know where it was going.

Then I had an idea. I had been struggling writing in third person, so I rewrote the scene in first person through my protagonist's eyes. And I realized what the problem was. I was trying to tell the story from a distance. My writing style changed and to this day, that little experiment helped push me through the story. I'm still writing third...but standing over the shoulders of my characters.

I've said it here before, but POV is hands down the most important technical aspect of writing, in my opinion. Not the 1st vs 3rd thing, but the understanding of how information is vetted from writer to character to reader. Airtight intimacy is great if you know its strengths and weaknesses. So is distance with its own caveats. The key I think is recognizing the spectrum and which parts of the story are most effective at which distance. Sometimes the reader needs to feel like a voyeur and sometimes they need their head held under water.

 

[Brandon S. Pilcher]

I'm feeling blocked on my current WIP. Partly it's because I'm about to enter the story's second act, so I'm experiencing that "murky middle" issue a lot of writers do. The other part is that I can be a perfectionist when it comes to writing first drafts. I want the draft to be as good as possible early on to minimize the revisions I need to do. Unfortunately, this has the effect of making me feel insecure over how good what I've written so far is. Any advice on dealing with these problems?

 

[CatrionaGrace]

The other part is that I can be a perfectionist when it comes to writing first drafts.

Wow. Give yourself a stern talking-to and get over that soul-crushing, self-defeating attitude.

Revision is at the heart of good writing. Embrace it instead of regarding it as a hassle on the way to wherever it is you're headed with a story. No, no. No whining about how dreary it is or how hard or how it impedes the path to publication and greatness. Revision is a fascinating process wherein many wonderful things can happen to one's work.

 

[Link the Writer]

I overthink a lot, which is detrimental to my writing. Just yesterday my brain went off on a tangent about one of my characters' eyes. Like... what?

 

[Richach]

When I started out I had I had a high word count and I was thrilled by everything as it was all new to me. I was blissfully unaware that the reason for my high productivity was lower quality back then. The remedy at the time would have been to improve quality and address technical issues but I was not aware of that then and I was also producing nothing. This was double trouble. Once I recognised I needed to fix issues I worked through them but still the word count was only a trckle. That was because I was too deep into fixing technicallaties and so strict was I about doing this that I shut down two key things; sponteneity and intuition.

The way that I improve my productivity and quality these days is simple. I plan places, place names, characters and names and all the kinds of things that make me stop and think (because I don't know what the character’s name is or whatever) alongside a very, very rough draft of the story. Then I write hopefully without having to stop and think too many times. I don't over plan as I don't want the whole piece to sound contrived and over engineered. If I run into a detail that makes me stop (as I cannot plan nor want to plan everything) I use the QT hack that I saw some guy on YouTube suggest so I can word search “QT” and go back and add later.

Essentially, I remove some of the obstacles ahead of time instead of being defeated by them and interrupting my flow. This works for me.

Really critical imo that the essence of creativity which is sponteneity and intuition are not surpressed. Infact all efforts should be made to let them blossom. Although the writer that does not plan and only uses intuition is likley heading for writers block!

Thats my opinion anyway

 

[Richach]

I'm feeling blocked on my current WIP. Partly it's because I'm about to enter the story's second act, so I'm experiencing that "murky middle" issue a lot of writers do. The other part is that I can be a perfectionist when it comes to writing first drafts. I want the draft to be as good as possible early on to minimize the revisions I need to do. Unfortunately, this has the effect of making me feel insecure over how good what I've written so far is. Any advice on dealing with these problems?

Hi,

Thanks for sharing where you are at. I note the post is a month or so old but hope this might help.

Imagine we have a dial in front of us. Turn it to the left and it’s all about technicalities, detail and structure (let’s say it’s the thinking side of the brain). Turn it to the right and it’s all about productivity, word count and flow (let’s say that this is the creative side of the brain). In the middle of the dial we compromise a bit of both. We produce a good amount of work to a good standard. If we turn too hard in one direction we lose productivity, the other way we lose quality. So we have to turn the dial both ways. It does not have to stay in one position. The horse has to come before the cart. The writing must flow before it can be edited.

If we only seek technical perfection, I would guess productivity would be low to none existent? Every writer has to compromise on quality otherwise they would produce nothing.

 

[Luxuria]

I am stuck on part 2 of a book. Because I want it to be good and not sag or drag. PM me if you have any advice.

 

[sierraromeobravo]

I used to think it was a thing until I found something I really wanted to write. Now, the only real obstacle to my writing is work/family obligations. In between those, I'm writing all the time. I just needed to discover what I love to write. I have found moments where I didn't want to write a particular chapter because it wasn't as fun as some of the other scenes, but I still knew it needed to be done and go to work.

 

[Naomasa298]

I used to think it was a thing until I found something I really wanted to write. Now, the only real obstacle to my writing is work/family obligations. In between those, I'm writing all the time. I just needed to discover what I love to write. I have found moments where I didn't want to write a particular chapter because it wasn't as fun as some of the other scenes, but I still knew it needed to be done and go to work.

I have a slightly different problem. I know what I like to write the most - I love writing Jack Vance, but it's a very marmite style, and not terribly modern. Because it's at odds with what modern sensibilities say writing should look like, it's very, very difficult to place. Plus, although it's my favourite thing to write, it's not the only thing I want to write. Vance, I can knock out without thinking about it, everything else, I have to think about.

I'm not a pro - I'm not even published, so I only write when I have an idea and a project in mind. But when I am writing, I can write 1500-2000 words a day, if I'm awake enough. Having said that, I haven't written anything today, and I should have done.

I actively look for story ideas that inspire me, but they're not easy to find. Sometimes, random things spark them. I do have a load of half-finished WIPs that I often go back to though, if I have nothing else.

 

[Link the Writer]

What helps me, I think, is reminding myself who I'm writing for. I'm not writing for an invisible audience. I'm not writing for money for fame. I'm writing for the teenager I was who would've loved to read the stories I'm writing.

 

[sierraromeobravo]

I'm writing for the teenager I was who would've loved to read the stories I'm writing.

WOW, isn't that the truth!!! I think everyone would love to be the next JK Rowling or Brandon Sanderson and make lots of money... but I'm very much content writing stories I wish I had when I was a teenager. Who knows, maybe I'll be like Van Gogh and one day they;ll discover my stuff and love it. That'd be kind of cool too.

 

[Mogador]

Writing is unnatural. Keyboards are weird and pens aren't much better. Letter glyphs are bizarre and staring intently at an arrangement of them 18" in front of your face for hours trying to make them multiply is even more bizarre. You're all very impressive for *not* having writer's block some of the time. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Madman Starryteller]

Right now I seem to have some issues getting to open my writing laptop... I also seem to be having issues reading what I want... Bah!

But I have no issues sitting in front of my main computer and basically doing nothing. Just, as the kids say, doom-scrolling.

What useless energy I have right now and it really needs to change!


I remember years and years ago, when at one sitting I put down thousands of words in one go. I wrote half a book in a week. But that may have been due to inexperience.

I'm going to try to create a writing schedule on my phone, just a simple "write today reminder" that doesn't disappear until the end of the day.

 

[Richach]

Tony Robbins is a pretty good watch. A good motivational coach in my opinion. Push pull motivation and all that. Signal vs noise. If it works then might be worth a try just to get back on the bike!

 

[sierraromeobravo]

Another thought just occurred to me... sometimes when I'm not writing and I've got a few minutes I'll listen to a "writer's advice" video on YouTube. There are lots of them out there. I could recommend a few I follow but really, any of them will do. Most of them talk about the theory of writing, character development, or storytelling, they mention editing, character arcs, etc. This almost always motivates me with that, "I WANT TO DO THAT!" feeling. Then I remember the great idea I was working with and how excited I initially was to write those characters, scenes, world, etc. Without a doubt, I always leave those videos with a greater desire to write my own stories.

 

[DLC]

Maybe writer's block is your brain telling you there's a problem with what you've already written.