MagiStream

It is the bane of writer's everywhere and anyone who's written anything before has been here before, probably more than once. Show me someone who says they've never hit writer's block and I'll show you a blatant liar. It's inevitable that you hit it, even if you've mapped out and planned what will happen, there are still times during the 'here-to-there' (getting from where you are in the piece to where you want to be) phase that one just get flat out stuck and cannot think of what to write.

Every author probably has their tips, tricks and methods for dealing with this issue and I figure, why not share, help some fellow writer's out. So, in this thread you can share any tips for getting out of writer's block, find some tips/idea on how to deal with yours...

So, here are some of the things I do when I get stuck:

1. I put the piece down and/or away and come back to it later. If I get hit and cannot think of anything else to write, or am not sure how to move the story forward, I close up the book (or document if I'm typing) and put it away. That's it, I just put it away and come back later, maybe an hour, a day, a week, even a few months if it's really bad. By the time you come back you'll have given yourself time to relax and think some more, and you'll look at it with new eyes.
During the time while not working on it do something else, like watch a movie or some television, or listen to music, or go for a walk, you never know when an idea might just come to you. Or just use that time as a break from your piece.
I did this while I was writing 'Shadows of Twilight' I actually put it down for around 2 months before I acme back to it because, I had hit writer's block and didn't know what the heck to write.

2. Work on something else/start something new. This sort of ties in with the first one, putting it away. You can do many things while your piece if put away; read, watch tv, surf the web, or, work on something else. It can be another poem, a story, even homework, hell it can even be an art piece. Just, work on something else other than the story that is giving you writer's block.
This is part of the reason that I have so many short stories and un-finished pieces though, so be careful.

3. Introduce a new character. They don't have to be a major character, or even a villain, they can be 'tissue characters' aka easy to dispose of characters like random citizens, guards, whatever. They can be a permanent addition to the story if you really like them or find they work well but whatever they do, they'll help to move the story forward.
Since I write fantasy they could be, coming in to warn of danger, or have a job/quest for the hero(s), or could just be looking to start a fist fight. Something to break the tension and ease the plot forward.

4. Change perspective. This can be taken as one of two ways, one, literally, switch from writing in third person to first(and visa versa) or simply, follow another character around.
When I write third person I think of myself as an invisible being that can read the minds of which ever people she's 'following' in the story and write from that point of view. If I get bored I may switch and decide to see what some of the other characters are doing/thinking. It's still in first person but I am no longer reading the mind of Character A to see how s/he reacted to something, I'm reading the mind of Character B. If the group is split up, the occasional shift in you're following is useful to find out what they are up to/how they are doing-think, Lord of the Rings.
Be careful with the first one though, it can be often abused and using poorly and easily mishandled. If you're going to switch to first person, perhaps do so in the form of letters, or diary entries if it's for the same character.

A good example of, what I found to be interesting use of this was in 'The Bartimaeus Trilogy'. He uses two points of view through out the novel(s). When following Nathanial he writes in your standard thirds person narrative, but when switching over to see what Bartimaeus was doing, it became first person, complete with amusing footnotes. However, be careful with this method. If you're going to use it, either use it sparingly, or be consistent with it's use.

Now, I cannot take all the credit as the basis for these ideas I never would have gotten had I not visited Tamora Pierce's website. Under her FAQ she had a section about writer's block, which I found helpful, and I'm sure you will. Some of them are similar to my methods, and that would be because, this is where I originally got my idea on dealing with writer's block. So, here it is.
http://www.tamora-pierce.com/faq.html

How do you deal with writer's block?
Here are some fixes I use when I get stuck:

* Introduce a new character, a strong one with an individual style in speech, dress and behavior--one who will cause the other characters to review their own actions and motives to decide where they stand with regard to the new character. Don't forget that with me, at least, new characters include animals: most characters will react to an animal intrusion of some kind in an interesting way.

* Have something dramatic happen. As Raymond Chandler put it, "Have someone come through the door with a gun in his hand." (My husband translates this as "Have a troll come through the door with a spear in his hand.") Machinery or vehicles (cars, wagons, horses, camels) can break down; your characters can be attacked by robbers or pirates; a flood or tornado sweeps through. Stage a war or an elopement or a financial crash. New, hard circumstances force characters to sink or swim, and the way you show how they do either will move things along.

* Change the point of view from which you tell the story. If you're doing it from inside one character's head, try switching to another character's point of view. If you're telling the story from an all-seeing, third person ("he/she thought") point of view, try narrowing your focus down to one character telling the story in first person, as Huckleberry Finn and Anne Frank tell their stories. If down the road in the world you've created someone has written a book or encyclopedia about these events, insert a nonfiction-like segment (that doesn't give the important stuff away) as a change of pace. Try telling it as a poem, or a play (you can convert it to story form later).

* Put this story aside, and start something else: letters, an article, a poem, a play, an art project. Look at the story in a day, or a week, or a couple of months. It may be fresh for you then; it may spark new ideas.

* If you have an intelligent friend who's into the things you're writing about, talk it out with him/her. My husband often supplies wonderful new ideas so I can get past whatever hangs me up, and my family and friends are used to mysterious phone calls asking about things seemingly out of the blue, like what gems would you wear with a scarlet gown, or how tall are pole beans in late June?

* Most important of all, know when it's time to quit. Sometimes you take an idea as far as it will go, then run out of steam. This is completely normal. When I began to write, I must have started 25 things for each one I completed. Whether you finish something or not, you'll still have learned as you wrote. The things you learn and ideas you developed, even in a project you don't finish, can be brought to your next project, and the next, and the next. Sooner or later you'll have a story which you can carry to a finish.

So, I hope you find this helpful. And if anyone else has their share of tips and ticks, feel free to share.
(And I really hope this is in the write area, it seems it being a general literature discussion)

My solution to writer's block is to power through it. Sounds weird, I know, but I typically try to fill a goal of 400 words a day, which is pretty easy to do-so even if I'm blocked I can squeeze out that much.

There have been times when I'm really stuck, and when that happens I tend to re-evaluate what I'm writing and where my story is going. If I get writer's block it's usually because I'm bored with the story, which means something is wrong. It's a pretty good system, because it works the other way too. If the story is going well, I can't bring myself to stop writing sometimes.

There have been instances where writer's block defeated me utterly-I can't write fanfics at all unless I'm really a fan of the work I'm writing in. When someone wanted me to write them a fanfic of some band I didn't particularly like, I straight up couldn't do it. I researched the band and got the information needed to write the fic, but I couldn't write anything.

I have taken the "step away from the work" approach too. This works in two ways, because when you come back you can often spot a lot of problems with the writing that you would have missed the first time. Then again, that can lead into an insidious form of writer's block, where you keep editing what you've written but don't add anything new. Thankfully, I'm too ADD to keep editing the same things over and over.

Bottom line is, writing has to be fun. If you aren't having fun writing, the reader isn't going to have fun reading. Writer's block is a good symptom that something needs to change.

what i do is thorw things at wb. it is qute fun and it really works

A good writer, one of which I am a major fan because of one of his books, said in an interview that there is no such thing as writer's block. If you hit a dead end, you back track and take the left hand path, and not the right, so to speak.

Not quite right, in my opinion, but the idea is worth a try. Actually, I truthfully don't think I've ever had writer's block. However, this is likely because the most I've ever done is write a few short stories and a few chapters of a book that I discontinued, along with 500 word max histories for characters in roleplays. xD

I am starting a novel which I hope will get some 'press' so to speak. Already I don't really have any idea where it's heading so when it's time for me to introduce the antagonist, or the first antagonist, I'm going to have a big problem and a major writer's block. Lucky me.

Have you read Cornelia Funke's Ink Trilogy? (Inkheart, Inkspell, Inkdeath) One of her characters is a writer. Here I quote him (Fenoglio with Cornelia Funke's words) on writing: “You really don't understand the first thing about writing...for one thing, early in the morning is the worst possible time. the brain is like a wet sponge at that hour. And for another, real writing is a question of staring into space and waiting for the right ideas.” So yeah. Don't write in the morning unless you're a morning person. And staring into space helps me. I get stuck, and stare at something. My mind wonders and poof! I get an idea. Sometimes. Other times I go completely off topic and end up veering back with the same problem.

Also, if you have any friends you can ask who have vivid imaginations, it might work. One of my best friend's has a very imaginitive mind and sometimes gives me a few ideas. Though often unintentionally.

Maybe sitting a scribbling ideas can help. Never tried it, though I do often google things and look stuff up. It helps me sometimes too. Though honestly the staring into space bit helps me most. But I classify myself as a "Dreamer". I am constantly zoned out and in my own world, which may be why I suddenly have two story ideas rolling around in my head as well as the one I am going to try for NaNoWriMo, and at least two other's I have started already...

I loved that series(the ending was kinda disappoint but, I still loved it)

Haha, I write hen ever the inspiration strikes me, which is why I carry my book to class, just in case. I have a bad tendency to get ideas late at night, usually right before going to bed, and need to write them down just in case. Or when I'm RPing I'll get an idea for a character or something. I actually use my RPing to help get rid of some of my excess ideas since I don't have time to write stories for all of them.
I have tons of books ad loose leaf paper with short stories, story ideas, character ideas and what not scribbled down in them. I occasionally go to those for ideas.

Sometimes I just push through it, or if I'm stuck on a specific scene I'll put a note like XXX Ruin and Belmos track down the Brotherhood and simply skip to the next part of the story.

Other times I'll take a break from writing to recharge the creative well, as it were. Read some books, watch some tv/movies, play a video game, go to an event, learn a new skill, etc. Sometimes I'll just take a long shower or go work out and use the time to let my mind drift. Spending time outside always helps me, particularly the beach when I'm overstressed/tired.

As a general rule I don't work on more than one project at a time so I don't spend all my time jumping from shiny new idea to idea, though occasionally I'll write flash fiction or short stories on a whim. Sometimes working in a different format from my norm helps kickstart my writing mind.

I get writer's block so easily.

Most of the time it depresses me to have it. I put it away, doing other things as you suggested, but I do like the "add a new character" idea. However, if I added exactly one new character for every time I got writer's block during a story (a character that would stay and isn't temporary, mind you), I'd have about fifty or more new character additions.

For me, I usually get an idea for a plot, and I get insanely excited to write about it. This is why I have almost a hundred novels in the process, and only one is finished. Whenever I get writer's block, I tend to get depressed, leave it alone, attempt to think up new ideas but fail, totally forget the story even exists, and start a new one. Scrolling through old flash drives reminds me of how many attempts I've made to write a story, but ended up with writer's block and completely given up.

It's an awful habit, I know.

What I like to do sometimes, however, is get obsessed with a song. I tend to love classical ...yes, I said classical because there are no lyrics. I like the tunes of some classical songs, and some of the instruments and the way they're combined is just so beautiful to me. I like it not to have lyrics, because I can think of the song however I want to without words being forced into my mind. What does this have to do with writer's block? Well, from certain classical music I can get the strangest yet most entertaining ideas. You can listen to whatever you want, but music is a good idea. Music gives you certain emotions and that are almost indescribable, but sometimes we can explain those feelings by turning them into some sort of story.

It sound weird, I know. But it's how I've managed to plow through writer's block. However, lately this method has only worked for a few pages before I get writer's block all over again. I suppose my problem is the fact that I'm lazy. Lazy, yes. I don't care to think of any more ideas or expand on the ones I already have because I'm lazy. I have so many bad writing habits to break, but when I break them I think I can become a much better writer.~

...Sorry about the rant. OwO

Anyway, good luck to everyone! Even though at times it seems you've killed writer's block, it revives itself. The solution is to kill it again. How you do that is up to you.

Truthfully, for me, writer's block happens when I don't "spend time" with a story.

I worry over, twist, maul, day-dream, replay over and over again, and quite a few other things when it comes to stories. I find that the best way for me so far is to just kind of develop the story in my head first before writing it. Only major ideas, details, scenes, and characters are formed, however, so writing is still fun because you have to invent ways to connect everything and put what was once a dream into writing.

Because this is how I write for the most part, I can have writer's block when I am working between "fun parts". For example, in a story I am kind of working on, I am trying to work up to the part where the characters leave the city, but it's difficult to get there because there are several important things that happen first. Writer's block (and laziness) hit me because I know what the important details are that I want to be shown early on, but no way to display them. I am slowly working on it, though.

I think, however, the thing that helps me most is not only does writing with pen and paper help (less computer distractions), but just taking a walk with your mp3 player or ipod to listen to and working over your story in your head helps a lot. Even if you don't go for a walk, just getting up and moving around helps, even if it's to do a chore.