forum The Epidemic: Writer's Block

Started January 30, 2018 by @Mere

tune

Hey guys! I was just curious to read how you combat writer's block. I normally set a timer for five minutes and write whatever, whether it be good or garbage.

I haven't really encountered writer's block that couldn't be cured by a few days of break or talking it over with my sisters, actually.

Lucky you! Mine will go for days until I have to force myself to write something. My sister has two jobs, so she isn't always available to talk through my work. She's still pretty supportive though. She likes to tag me in writing memes hahaha :)

Well I don't have a sister, so I've never talked to her about anything. Since. Y'know. She doesn't exist. Wow, this is just getting really sad…I'm going to stop now…

Aw, I'll be your sister in spirit!

Awww :)

what do you guys do when you get an idea but lose interest after a while?

Usually I put it aside and then come back later when I feel inspired to continue it.

I've done that soooo many times…. I normally store it somewhere, like on my computer or phone that way I can go back to it later. It sometimes helps if I make shortcuts to the document I'm working on so when I open my computer I'm like, "Oh yeah, that's a thing." Or I watch a bunch of Netflix/Hulu or read, but you have to be careful with that because you want your ideas to be your own.

Yeahhhh for me it's not "writer's block" it's "laziness." Heh.

I kind of agree with @Masterkey here! I write and draw, so in theory, switching things up should make it more interesting for me, but I've been guilty of this too. It really all boils down to laziness (that sounds so harsh, but we need some tough love, myself included!).

Inspiration can be drawn from anything around us. My best ideas have come from the most absurd things… you can take any object, idea, situation and build upon, transform and mould! Recently I read Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury, a very illuminating read, I seriously recommend it to any writer. It's a short read, but very beautiful and inspiring, it had a huge effect on me. Bradbury honestly transmits his joy of writing. I'm paraphrasing now, but he said something along the lines of not being able to understand how some writers spoke of writing as a chore, when for him it was such a passion.

So one way is to start looking at writing as something you love doing, something you can't wait to do, the thing that gets you out of bed in the morning.

Another tactic he suggested in the same book, start writing lists of nouns… example: The Glass, The Phone, The Mirror, these are all objects around me but of course these will get more creative as your brain warms up. I did this, and within a week I had the bones for three short horror comics I'll be working on when I finish my current comic project.

Long post, I know, but I hope you find something useful here :)

That was seriously inspiring, thank you ^.^

Sometimes writing prompts work really well.

Jane FM, when I lose interest in something, I'll talk about the story and person that I've formed, as much as I have formed them to someone else and for me, that is all it takes to rekindle the interest. I had this issue with one of my characters, and by connection his story, and started to feel like he was dull but talking about him, his thoughts, background, aspirations, and story to someone else who didn't yet really know him like I did, made me gain a greater appreciation for him and the story he had to tell. With that appreciation came a renewal of interest in him and his tale.

I store all my ideas in a bunch of different notebooks. I have finish the word limit on five notes on my phone. im on my 6th and then I have some other notes where i only write ideas for that universe. I has to write down all my ideas from my phone down to a notebook for hand bc i'm afraid to lose it like i did sometime.. it sucks when you write a fanfic on the notebooks and then your phone crash…