# Hello fellow writers!



## EmilyCook9410 (Jul 1, 2014)

*Hello! My name is Emily. I was an avid writer but, the reality of the real world kind of took me over. I went to an online writing school that didn't help me too much but, I'm not going to complain. My dream is to become a best selling author. That takes a lot of hard work but, I'm willing to try and, go for my goal. I've had really bad writers block for a couple years. I'm hoping that joining this forum will help me out a little!*:concern:


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## J Anfinson (Jul 1, 2014)

Welcome, Emily. I'm sure you'll find this place friendly and helpful. It becomes a second home after a while.


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## Plasticweld (Jul 1, 2014)

Emily just think of the Writingforums as summer camp instead of school, you will have fun learning the craft, make friends for life and learn the most important lessons in life from those around you who consider you family, tuition is also  very affordable ...Welcome to the forum..Bob


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## Greimour (Jul 2, 2014)

Hello Emily,

and welcome!

Of the million ways to counter the infamous writers block, people on this forum are not in short supply. 
Personally; I find the state of mind that is 'writers block' to be none-existent. A myth... and yet years ago, I could not put pen to paper and blamed this fabled condition. I searched online for answers and cures, but, alas - there was little or nothing to be done. In vain I stared for hours at a blinking cursor on my screen... the writers block was a mountain, unseen yet apparent. Unmoving and unyielding to my efforts, I gave up. At the time - writers block was definitely no myth in my opinion.

The change then, that reduced this obstruction to a legendary beast that did not exist...

Nothing at all. >.<

If memory serves, it went something like this:

"OK, Kev. Write two words."

*Pink Elephant.*

"Good job. Now tell me something about this _Pink Elephant._"

And so I went on... and on... 

I did the same thing for subject after subject until I eventually did this:

"OK, Kev. Tell me... if you were going to write a story, what would it be about?"

*Either Pirates or Dwarves,* I write...

"Why not both?"

*Dwarves were Pirates Too?*

"Excellent, why not?"

And so it began... my conversation with my fingers came to an end. I started writing a story about Dwarven Pirates. After that, my passion for writing picked up and before I knew it, the passion alone was enough to completely destroy the non-entity that had obstructed me for so long.

***

I expect it is different for different people. But I hope, like me, you are able to destroy writers block to the point that it no longer seems to exist. Equally, I hope you succeed in becoming a worlds best seller. A creative writing 'teacher' I was once introduced to (who taught at a local college) said to me; 'I believe there is a story in everyone waiting to be told. If I could have a wish come true - everyone would successfully tell _at least_ that one special story.'

That's paraphrasing a little bit, I can't remember his exact words but that's basically what he said.

The point is - I believe him... and I hope it is true. 
Equally, I hope all those that have passion for writing and desire it, successfully achieve their dream of writing and publishing their stories.

Regards,


~Kev.


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## aliveatnight (Jul 2, 2014)

Welcome! Just as Greimour said, I also no longer believe in writer's block. It affected me for about 3 years before I found that the best cure was to just write something, no matter how much it may suck. The most important thing is to just do it.
I'm sure that if you keep trying then you will beat it!


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## Pandora (Jul 2, 2014)

Hi Emily, writer's block passes, keep busy with your heart open, listen and soon you will be writing again. I found if I get uptight about not writing it makes it worse. I guess faith see's me through the dry times. I believe in dreams come true, welcome!


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## aj47 (Jul 2, 2014)

They're right, there are a zillion answers about being blocked.  Someone (I've heard it attributed to Stephen King) said that writer's block isn't having nothing to write, but rather having too much and not being able to find a starting point.   

Amongst the things I do, is composing short, syllable-count poetry.  Like Haiku or Senryu or Cinquain.  Because in such a short form, there has to be intense focus and exploration of the idea. It's a good "focus" exercise for me.  And sometimes, I get good poetry.  

The reason for syllable count is it's more prosey than rhymed and metered work. I find if I try to write rhyme when I'm having block, my head gets rhyme-worms and I find myself saying, "oh and <foo> rhymes with 'two'!" and so forth till I've gone through the alphabet multiple times as well as consonant blends, multisyllabic words and near-rhymes.

Note that I'm not suggesting you try it unless it answers your specific issue.


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## EmilyCook9410 (Jul 2, 2014)

Wow, This Is Like A Huge Family. I Feel So Welcomed here. I'm Sorry That Every first Letter Is Capital, It's My Stupid Phone!


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## Nickleby (Jul 2, 2014)

Sometimes you get busy doing real stuff and you lose track of your muse. I tell people with The Block to stop worrying about it. At some point you'll feel the urge again, and you'll write that much better after you process the real stuff.

Welcome to Writing Forums.


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## EmilyCook9410 (Jul 3, 2014)

You Guys Are Wonderful. I Hate That My Husbands Laptop Is So Messed Up That, You Can't Save Word Documents Anymore. I Either Have To Write It All ON Paper, Use My Phone Or, Suck It Up And, Use My Dads Mac. I Dislike Appleworks. I Don't Know Why. I Got This Cool App On My Phone That Generates A New Writing Prompt Everytime I Open It. Each Time I Have My Mind Fills Up With Ideas, I Love It. Also, I Have A Writing Prompt Book, I Need To Do It Everyday. Get The Creative Juices Flowing.


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## Pidgeon84 (Jul 3, 2014)

Hello Emily, welcome to the forum! I'm sorry to hear about your writers block. Have you tried drinking the blood of your enemies? I find it rather stimulating and simultaneously quite inspirational. I would also suggest just whatever gibberish pops into your head and just rework it. Have someone here help you rework. I'm sure most people would jump at the chance to help you. If none of that works, I suggest moving on to human sacrifice.


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## EmilyCook9410 (Jul 3, 2014)

I Think I Have Tried The Blood Of My Enemies But, Not The Sacrifice Yet.


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## Pidgeon84 (Jul 3, 2014)

Boom, that's your next step. It has to be worthy though. You can't just sacrifice any old Joe schmo. I'm talking at least some kind B list celebrity.


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## EmilyCook9410 (Jul 4, 2014)

Hmmmm, Gotta Think Of A B lister


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## T.S.Bowman (Jul 4, 2014)

Hi, Emily.

You could always try sacrificing the last short piece you wrote. I have found that burning a piece of bad writing always does wonders for my peace of mind. 

Seriously, though. Welcome to the forums. You were very accurate in seeing this place as a family. 

We have the proverbial black sheep at times, and there is always the one family member who thinks he's gonna take over the world (ahem...BISHOP). Then there is that one cousin who no one admits to having invited over.

But no matter what, this place can be a whole lot of fun.


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## jnamake3 (Jul 4, 2014)

Hi Emily! Yes, I too have suffered from this apparently imaginary condition known as 'writer's block'. It usually happens when I run into a kink in my plot, or a tricky part of the story where I find myself asking "wait, if he does this, then this would have to happen, but it couldn't because that person would have known about it, but they can't know because.." or something to that effect, so I then have to return to the drawing board and diagnose the structural integrity of my story, which is easier for me to do in my head rather than at a computer screen. But then one day I decided something - rather than crumble up the pages and toss them in the waste basket, I should keep everything I write, even if it's not consistent with the plot or substructure, or perhaps outdated from a recent revision. It all makes for good practice, and who knows? Maybe something you thought to be no good before can be salvaged or edited to fit (with care, of course). Every word you write is worth saving.


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## LunarFuror (Jul 4, 2014)

I like the idea of "Let the words come to you".

I believe it was Salvador Dalí who said he held a key above a bowl, then when he fell asleep the key woke him up as he was beginning to dream. Then he painted what he saw.


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## EmilyCook9410 (Jul 4, 2014)

Do You Guys Find More Inspiration From Writing It On Paper Or Typing It. I Know Typing Is Easier.


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## Pidgeon84 (Jul 4, 2014)

EmilyCook9410 said:


> Do You Guys Find More Inspiration From Writing It On Paper Or Typing It. I Know Typing Is Easier.



However the mood strikes me. I like to move between the two, like a will of the whisp.


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## EmilyCook9410 (Jul 4, 2014)

It Seems Like A Good Idea Then, Retype Everything But, It Also Sounds Like A Pain In My Toosh.


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## aj47 (Jul 5, 2014)

I type.  I have for ... forever.  I learned on real typewriters in fifth grade.  I also have Really Nice handwriting but only write longhand when I'm in class or otherwise away from my computer AND tablet.  I have only written two very short pieces on my phone, but the tablet is where I composed my double acrostic (the acrostics spelled out the first lines of each other).

The thing about writing longhand is I leave blank lines between what I write for revisions.


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## John_O (Jul 5, 2014)

Hi Emily, welcome to the group. Heck, I'm writing non fiction and sometimes the only banging on the keyboard I do is with my forehead!  :icon_silent:


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## EmilyCook9410 (Jul 5, 2014)

Oh Man, That MustSuck John.

What Is Longhand Writing?


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## Greimour (Jul 5, 2014)

Heh, how to explain... the two main focal points of longhand usually equate to either Cursive writing or simply writing words and sentences in full.

For example, in shorthand, you can use symbols or abbreviations or phrases or letters to define meaning. Shorthand is most common in courts where the stenographer writes everything that is said, but the method is a form of shorthand to accurately record everything in a quicker way. The machine used (a stenotype) doesn't even have every letter of the keyboard available, so you really have no choice but to use shorthand.

Though I don't know all the forms of shorthand by any means, the simplest example would be texting. 

TY 4 UR Rspns bt its OK now

Thank you for your response but it's OK now. 

~~~

My writing in pen is cursive and I always write in full, so I guess it would be accurate to say I write in longhand too... but I never really thought about it. Shorthand is just ugly to me and I like my handwriting too much to make it ugly ^_^

I find I am equally proficient (or inefficient, whichever the case may be) whether it is pen or PC. 

If there is another type of longhand, I don't think I am aware of it. ^_^


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## J.T. Chris (Jul 5, 2014)

Welcome.  It takes more than hard-work,  unfortunately.  Luck has a lot to do with it.


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## Kingstonmike (Jul 14, 2014)

EmilyCook9410 said:


> Wow, This Is Like A Huge Family. I Feel So Welcomed here. I'm Sorry That Every first Letter Is Capital, It's My Stupid Phone!


Don't Sweat It...LoL...


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## Gumby (Jul 19, 2014)

Hi Emily, welcome to WF.


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## Elvenswordsman (Jul 23, 2014)

Complaining is how things change. Welcome to WF! Enjoy your time here, and keep writing.


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