Thread: Epic Writer's Block

How do people deal with it? How do you get over writer's block that keeps occurring?
Where do you seek inspiration? Any special rituals? Exercise, drinking tea, hopscotch....?

I listen to music.

I think about what I can write next, even if what I'm thinking seems improbable.

Limitations you put on yourself will hold you back more then anything else.

Writer's block is like insomnia, nothing to lose sleep over. Just sit down and start writing. It's a simple physical act.

There's a cure: It's called not believing in writer's block. It's like the medical anomaly called "conversion disorder". If the mind thinks you're sick, it makes you sick. If you believe in writer's block, you will suffer from it.

Though there are cases of writers block that have lasted for years, if the Wikipedia article is to be believed.

But don't let that get you down! Just relax, do something you enjoy, take some notes here and there, and come back to it later. Why not read some of the materiel on the site while you think? Might help some.

I wouldn't believe a wikipedia article if it ran up and bit me on my, uh, foot. As Sam says, writer's block only exists if you believe it does. So stop believing.

Somewhere between the age of three and six you learned to write a word, then write another word, then write another word, and so on. Just sit down and write the way you learned to do.

I type fairly fast but there are many days when I can't get the words down fast enough to get everything said before it's time for sleep.

Writers block. I like the idea of it only existing if you believe in it. I really will have to work on not believing in it. Would save me a lot of cups of tea.

As for the original question.

I get over writers block by reading, drinking lots of tea, reading through old pieces, sometimes listening to music. In the end just writing one sentence, be it for the piece I want to work on or not, eventually gets me going.

=]

xxx

your not suffering from writers block
your suffering from believing in writers block

...wait...everyone said that....dam it

Don't stop beelieeevin' hold on to that feeeeeeeelin' lol just kidding...... stop being a believer!

I wrote down some notes from Jerry Cleaver's book "Immediate Fiction: A Complete Writing Course". It was very informative and helpful. He had a few "remedies". Write what's good about writing. What you like. What you want to happen right now. What you want to happen in the long run. Write down what you would like to write about once you get going again. Explore the story you "might" write. Possible characters, direction, the plot that "could" take place. "Dare to write badly." "Mistakes lead to discovery." "The less you care, the better you write." "Keep writing no matter how awful it feels."

But I agree with those that believe there really is no such thing as writers block. You honestly just have to sit and write. No matter what it is or how bad it is. Hemingway said it best. "The first draft is always shit." Either that or take a break.

I've found the best way to remedy writer's block, for me, is to meditate for a while, or do something relaxing (like reading a good book). If I want to do something active, I'll play an RPG or something (like Final Fantasy XIII; something to help you get into a storyline and help you 'get inspired'), or I'll write a fanfiction (usually incredibly badly done and incredibly loosely based, but it's fanfiction, so I don't view it all that seriously anyway).

The problems I have when I get writer's block is a boredom with what I'm writing or a lack of inspiration (or both, since getting bored with one's writing is often from a lack of inspiration). My (un-tested, possibly horrible) advice is to just find something to inspire you.

I've had a long writer's block (it's been 'round for about a year now) because of depression, so nothing has really inspired me, but as long as you don't have any severe problems like that, it should work.

(The act of writing itself often inspires people, but sometimes it's easier to just find something else that inspires you, IMO.).

James

Edit: You could also try caffeine to get your brain working, since it's been proven to be a performance enhancer for both your body and your mind. (A cup of coffee or a Pepsi should do the trick.).

Taking a long walk/jog helps me think through story ideas, sift through what could work, what probably won't. The physical exercise reduces the stress I might otherwise feel doing this, and so I can actually think a bit clearer.

That's because physical exercise releases endorphins into the body. These are the feel-good hormones. There's actually a proven link between exercise and creativity, though I'm damned if I can find the article on it.