marvel_phoenix
07-31-2011, 11:17 PM
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. :-)
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. :-)