forum Games I play to combat writer's block

Started July 21, 2020 by @ccb group

tune

(please share your own here as well because i only have 2 right now that aren't just "what if" prompts)

1. if you have a big cast or cast with lots of side characters like i do, take your whole list of characters (or a decent amount of them), plug them in here, set it to "generate groups by number of names per team" and 2. no matter who ends up with who, either come up with a trait that those two characters share (beyond just "they both know so-and-so" or "they both live in [somewhere]", OR write a little scene between those two characters.

2. go to tv tropes (you know i love tv tropes) and press the "random trope" button at the top of the screen. think "who/what does this apply to in my story?" "who/what could this easily apply to without any drastic changes to my story or characters as they presently are?" if the answer is nobody and nothing, you don't have to try to fit a square peg in a round hole, but for me, this exercise helps bring light to a lot of appropriate narrative choices that i might otherwise ignore.

It's not really a game but sometimes I'll write out a scene that doesn't happen in the story. Usually, it's a pivotal moment in a character's backstory that's brought up in the story but not really discussed in great detail. It's never my best writing, but idk, I find that it helps sometimes .

It's not really a game but sometimes I'll write out a scene that doesn't happen in the story. Usually, it's a pivotal moment in a character's backstory that's brought up in the story but not really discussed in great detail. It's never my best writing, but idk, I find that it helps sometimes .

yes i love to do that!!

I like to pop characters that I'm having trouble with into Dungeon AI and mess around with them in there (thanks @Starfast for mentioning the site on another thread!) or otherwise do things like little personality quizzes (anything from MBTI tests to random ones)

Oh I need to do this later.

I like to pop characters that I'm having trouble with into Dungeon AI and mess around with them in there (thanks @Starfast for mentioning the site on another thread!) or otherwise do things like little personality quizzes (anything from MBTI tests to random ones)

oh i love taking personality quizzes for my characters! open psychometrics is my favorite site for that! (also i haven't heard of dungeon ai i'll check it out :D)

I like to pop characters that I'm having trouble with into Dungeon AI and mess around with them in there (thanks @Starfast for mentioning the site on another thread!) or otherwise do things like little personality quizzes (anything from MBTI tests to random ones)

oh i love taking personality quizzes for my characters! open psychometrics is my favorite site for that! (also i haven't heard of dungeon ai i'll check it out :D)

I'll have to try that one!!

I like to pop characters that I'm having trouble with into Dungeon AI and mess around with them in there (thanks @Starfast for mentioning the site on another thread!) or otherwise do things like little personality quizzes (anything from MBTI tests to random ones)

You're welcome :) I've also found that playing around in AI Dungeon can be pretty good for writers block. Sometimes when I feel like writing but don't know what to write I'll pull it up and write something that's just really ridiculous. It's kind of a breath of fresh air to write something completely nonsensical, and to not have to think too much about what it is you're writing.

This isn't much of a game, but I set a timer for thirty minutes, put on some ambiance and write as many words as I can, pretty much adding to the story what ever comes to mind, it could be anything. Then after I clean up whatever I wrote and use it in the story.
Also it forces me to write, which if I don't have a timer I often stop at insignificant points to find the right word or just rewrite some dialogue, or just to overthink the whole plot.
It helps me to stop thinking about writing and write.

I pick an object in the room I'm in, the more ridiculous the better, and write a scene surrounding that object.
I will pick a debate topic and fit a character to each side and have them argue. (A great way to make decisions really)

I like to go looking for draw the squad pictures for example and try to imagine the story behing. I know its very bad but i wanted to help :v

I usually get my ideas when I'm supposed to sleep, so I usually just lie down with a topic in mind and let my mind go crazy from there.

Ash i do that too! :)

I'd pick a random thing and then write a story for that things point of view.

I haven't tried this out yet, but I've been thinking about writing a story where I roll a dice to see the outcome of the protagonist's actions, kind of like D&D. A high roll would be a success and a low roll would be a failure, with certain advantages or disadvantages depending on the character and situation. It's fun if you want to try a story where you have less control over what's going to happen and you have to exercise your creativity if the story doesn't go where you want it to.