Mike C

Waffle...

There's a difference between 'being at a loss for ideas' and the mythical writer's block - or maybe there's not. It's how you deal with it that matters; you either get on with the job, or you indulge in some self-pitying angst and hand-wringing.

If you lost interest for a whole 15 seconds, we obviously didn't deter you that much, so yes, cheesy, no, not stupid, but you have to realise that if you write for a living - like, it's your sole source of income - you may or may not "spend all day pumping out crap stories" - that's down to what you write - but you will spend many hours per day pumping out words, and writers block will become either something that you no longer have time for, or something that stops you getting paid.

If you find that idea faintly distasteful, or it doesn't fit with your lofty ideas of what a writer should be, consider another career.

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Wallmaker

Writer's Block when it comes to ideas isn't really something I buy either. Whenever I'm at a loss for material... I go get material. Research is also part of the process (actually one of my favorite parts!). I have a whole notebook full of cool news articles that spart ideas in me. I have pages of quickly jotted sentences for me to go back to or I need to look into.

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JMStone

Er... When I have writer's block I don't indulge in "self-pitying angst". I try to work through it, however it's not always possible right away. I certainly don't start feeling sorry for myself and it's unfair to imply that people who get stuck on an idea do so. For myself, it is not usually part of a main theme, but a section in a chapter where I don't know how to express exactly what it is I want to say at that point in time. If I just force myself to crank something out, it will be crap. And I know crap won't be okay with a publisher, so why would I force out something? I fully believe in writer's block. I just move to another section of the story and go back when my mind is clear.

However, I do understand that professional writers have to pump out stories frequently and don't have time for writer's block. That does not mean they do not suffer from it occasionally. Having no time for something doesn't make you immune to it. Are you going to honestly tell me that, while writing, you have never found yourself momentarily stuck on something? Something that nags at you and you have to stop writing for a bit and switch gears to work through it?

Something as simple as being over-tired can trigger writer's block and you can't go back and look at the story again until your mind is refreshed. So I guess what I am saying is that it's rude to assume people are feeling sorry for themselves and call it "writer's block"

- Jen

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