Writer's Block

[marvel_phoenix]

How do you deal with Writer's Block, or just plain stay motivated?

I ask this of those of you here on AF who like to write, especially those of you with completed (or even published) works. I am looking for suggestions on how to break through blocks and to just plain get motivated to write. Too often have I found the time to write, but lacked the inclination to do it.

I enjoy fiction writing and have been doing it as basically a hobby for the past 10+ years. Yet, in all that time I have only completed 1 first draft work, and that was a 3 page short story. I have lots of ideas for stories, and functional, if not very basic, outlines for many of them. My biggest problem is that when I do write, I very rarely work on the same project 2 days in a row. I write until I either get stuck, hit a slow spot, or get cruelly interrupted.

As of this time, there are 6-8 stories that I am in various stages of progress on, yet only 2 of them could be considered to be in chronological order. (I tend to jump scenes when I get stuck or have a plot devise that I am excited about.) And don't get me started on the drafts that I have begun to re-write before the first draft was even finished...

When I write, it's in longhand (pen on paper), which seems to help me to stay on task better than writing on a computer seems to. I don't really do outlines as that they seem to hinder my creative process more than help it. Plus, Free-Flow writing just feels more organic to me. Don't get get me wrong, I do make notes on things I would like to include in previous or future scenes. I just don't let them dictate my process.

If you have any suggestions, advice, anecdotes, or just happen to share some of my writing quirks, I would love to hear from you. :-)

[dunnodot]

If you have a writer's block then try to read the definition or book to find a word, if not then relax a little then your mind may pop in idea.

[th_afuro_samurai8]

When I get writers block, I just write everything I see down in a list, then try to image a scene with the items. I then get in idea. Read some very deep fiction works also help me.

[ghostthegreat]

I would say just keep writing. Even if it is a completely unoriginal idea (vampires falling in love with mortals comes to mind), just keep going. You don't know what you will come up with as you write. Another method I like to do is to just let my mind wander, especially right before I go to bed. I play out some fun scenario in my mind, maybe like surviving a zombie apocalypse, and see if any images really strike me. From there, ideas build.

[blueangel06661]

I usually just listen to music.. It opens up my mind a bit.. Whatever type of scene I think of while listening to that particular song might be relevant to whatever I'm writing.

[marvel_phoenix]

I usually listen to music when I write. However, if I'm in a mood, I'll often spend more time flipping through my collection than writing... :-S But I do have several story ideas and many scenes that had musical inspiration. :3 Most recently however, it has been the opening sentence for the short story challenge that has got me going for a little bit. It's only one page front and back so far, but that is the most productivity that I have seen all month! :-S

[HamsterGod]

I don't know why, but I find a ciw's mooing very inspiring. I started writing again this summer after hearing a cow. I usually listen to music when I write, but sometimes I prefer quiet. When I get a writer's block, I read parts of my favourite books or watch movies that inspired me originally. I usually get ideas that way.

[CoRRuPTioN GaRDeN]

Whenever I get writer's block, I just write down a bunch of random words, then try to write a short story involving all of the words I listed.
Usually it gives me ideas :3

[Tragic~Romance]

Well, I'm a little strange when it comes to writer's block. I get the opposite of it (I just don't know what the word for it would be) where I come up with too many ideas and the story I write gets complicated or overly detailed x.x In this case I just write a little bit at a time so I don't get infused with my work =x

[3mO.AnG3L.La3La]

What i like to do is to read about other people and how they are writing there own books. it gets me inspired again and reminds me of the reason i wantr to write in the first place..because i love it.

[GX7]

Whenever I get writer's block. It's usually for only one story. I usually write something else and either come back to the story or forget about it until later. By the time I get back to the previously said story. Time has passed by so much that I should put the story on hiatus. Then I can work on other stories in the meantime. Usually I end up coming up with absurd ideas, Gundam White Knight anyone? That whenever nobody leaves a review or even going as far not reading it entirely. I usually abandon the story and remake it as something else. Which is how Gundam White Knight came to be. A work that was born from writer's block on a Gumball Rally story I'm working on. I still haven't even made a dent in Gumball Rally 2 for a couple of months. I've been working on the remake for Gundam White Knight. Which took only a short while to do it. Heck I should update my Super Robot Wars story. But have been unable to do, due to writer's block.

[OtakuInu!!!]

If I'm looking for a certain word I try to look it up in the dictionary (sometimes randomly) or try to Google it. But if I'm looking for inspiration I read others' works or I try to find stuff related to my topic.