Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2019 8:20:01 GMT
I've got some really bad writer's block at the moment, I was wondering what tips/hints writers (fiction and non-fiction) might have for overcoming it?
|
|
shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
Likes: 5,649
|
Post by shutupbanks on Jun 19, 2019 11:52:14 GMT
I haven't written regularly for just under a decade now so you can take this advice with a grain of salt.
I used to have multiple projects on the go. At any one point I had a bunch of short stories cooking, a a couple of novels on the go (I only ever completed 2 (published one, self-published the other)), a very-occasional blog, edits of stories, articles, reviews and anything else that took my fancy. If one project wasn't working, there were plenty of others that could take their place on the front burner. I wrote pretty much non-stop between 1996 and 2011. Not a lot of it got published but by the end of it I was getting a better quality of rejection letter.
The only writing advice worth a damn that I've ever read was that writers read a lot and write a lot. David Gemmell, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman all got their start in journalism and described their experience as being "write or starve." Editors don't care about existential crises, they just want something to fill a space on page 6. If you can keep filling that space they will keep employing you. Writing lots of different things down for lots of different purposes helps that. To put into two other contexts, The Beatles went into the studio every day and wrote and wrote and played and played and produced eleven of the best popular music albums ever recorded. Doctor Who survived its leanest years simply because the production team knew that they had to fill a slot on Saturday evenings or get fired.
|
|
|
Post by doctorkernow on Jun 19, 2019 22:53:54 GMT
Hello again.
Oh dear Wolfie, moi aussi. Mine at present is partly due to my bipolar. However, while writing when I've come up against blocks, I've found going for a walk the best remedy. I often have ideas for resolving problems while walking or cooking.
I also found having another project to have a go on and then come back to the initial one with a fresh eye helps too.
Some writers set a goal per day. I write on my phone and have had ideas while on the bus which I jot down. Listening to music is one thing that really helps me.
All the best Wolfie.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2019 0:19:23 GMT
Yeah, might be time for me to switch on some jazz and go back into that reading phase. I've recently come off another project (nothing too big) on discussing writing craft and the gearbox grind between fiction and nonfiction has, erm... stuck, this time. It happens and it'll dissipate in its own time, but the problem is I want to finish this fiction project now. I'm extremely close to getting it finished. Mmph. *tap* *tap* My brain's not cooperating at the moment. I'll just have to wait it out. They're all really good suggestions, guys. Thanks!
|
|
|
Post by TinDogPodcast on Jun 30, 2019 14:52:57 GMT
A massive bit of paper.
5 Random words from a dictionary.
See if you can connect them
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2019 0:22:26 GMT
A massive bit of paper. 5 Random words from a dictionary. See if you can connect them You want to know what finally broke through the writer's block? Asterix and Cleopatra. I'm not even kidding. Seems some of the most left-of-field books prove to be the best for shaking the brain loose.
|
|