# The cursed Writers block.



## Silen (Jan 27, 2013)

Im sitting here in front of a blank MS word document. 
My WIP is almost a year old now, and i really want to get through it and get it done and dusted. 
Any tips on beating the old foe, that is writers block?

Coffee and cigarettes has not helped ;P


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## newkidintown (Jan 27, 2013)

People will say that you just have to keep writing, but I'm having the same problem, and somehow, just spitting words out isn't helping. Maybe try some short writing exercises using some of your plot elements and characters to get things going. Maybe this is just me, but I've found that if I give a piece long enough between planning and actually writing it, when I do feel ready to write it, it practically writes itself. Just keep writing SOMETHING during the in between moments, it'll come.


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## Sam (Jan 27, 2013)

Search your keyboard for the presence of a gremlin. If said gremlin cannot be located, contact a spiritualist at your nearest convenience. Request that said spiritualist perform a seance to determine if a ghost inhabits your keyboard. If said ghost cannot be located, contact a witch when the opportunity presents itself. Ask that the witch conjure a spell to determine if a curse has been placed on your keyboard. If no curse can be discerned, promptly seek out a mentalist. Inquire of the mentalist if an unseen wall has been erected in your mind. If no such wall exists, you will have at this point forgotten the problem which caused the onset of your "writer's block" and will be cured. 

That will be £1,000.


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## squidtender (Jan 27, 2013)

Step 1. Locate your nose

Step 2. Get yourself a grindstone

Step 3. Combine the two

The only way through this is to write it out. So sit down, and plow ahead.


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## JosephB (Jan 27, 2013)

I went through a maddening and frustrating period where nothing seems to come together. The more I just sat down and tried to pound stuff out, of “just write” as all the experts say, the worse it got. This went on for a few weeks. I actually just gave myself a break for a while -- and took the pressure off myself. One day, I just felt something was different – had an idea for short story and wrote most of it in one sitting. I had a lot going on at the time -- but had nothing to do with a lack of discipline or professionalism.  And yeah -- when I've described it, I've gotten some of the same simplistic, smart ass answers you tend to see in these threads.

PS -- sometimes when something worthwhile isn't coming, I'll write some poetry or music or just do something that needs doing. It may work for some, but I've found that pounding stuff out that you have to scrap or rewrite extensively is not a good use of my time.


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## ppsage (Jan 27, 2013)

When I get writer's block, and it's not from physical incapacity, it's almost always a block on a specific project. Almost always I can sit down and knock out a bunch of writing that I like and think is worthwhile, but I can't always do it as progress on a WIP. A lot of the time, what I think has happened, is that I've learned something about writing, or about my writing, or about what I want for my writing, since I started the WIP, and now, down deep, I feel like it's missing something vital and I don't like it anymore. I am disciplined enough to keep poking at the WIP, but I think it's good to allow some time also to explore what's exciting at the moment. I think that often, by doing both for a while, bringing the old one back into enthusiasm is easier. Or maybe it really turns out that now I'm just always going to think it's a bunch of junk and good riddence.


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## moderan (Jan 27, 2013)

I think I'll go for the "I don't believe in writer's block" tack this time around. I find a way around it. Get into something else, something uncreative, let my mind rest up a bit, and I'll sure as Shi'ite get to thinkin'. Sometimes a certain piece doesn't want to come together, sure, but never words fail altogether. Even something like writing these posts can get it going. Visiting the LM is a sure cure, or the various flash contests that go on. Them are quick fixes

edit:yeah, 'sage advice above. Great minds, man.


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## VickiW (Jan 28, 2013)

When I get writer's block I know, deep down, that I'm not on the right track. I've got three or four such novels sitting in my unfinished folder. The problem is that usually I have a good beginning and know how it will end, but getting from here to there is something I can't get a grip on.
Do something else for a while—I design a websites, create blogs, edit a newsletter, join forums—if your work is going anywhere, it will still be percolating in the back of your mind and one day, you'll start writing again. 
Read through what you've already written to see if it still sings to you and you may find yourself adding little bits here and there, thinking about it as you fall asleep, and suddenly you're off again.
If not, maybe it's not really what you want to write, and you have to put it aside and try something else.


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## Akoya (Jan 28, 2013)

Writers block is a consistent plague to me.  To fight back on the lack of productivity I reread a few chapters ahead of it, to see if that helps.  If I have no hope of getting any further on writing I will just start at the beginning and start editing.  I'm the best editor when I am avoiding something else, and I hate editing.  Although, nothing makes me feel more powerful than a Red Pen on paper.  Just a few days ago I rewrote my prelude and today I spent editing it.  I have been itching to write something new, add in things I was missing before.  
Editing(on paper) is my cure for WB almost every time.  Chocolate and kettle corn works well too.


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## shadowwalker (Jan 28, 2013)

If you're able to write anything, you don't have writer's block (and no, I don't believe in it either). If you're stuck at some point in a project, it just means you're stuck and have to do some deep thinking/brainstorming to continue. Words don't just magically float from your mind to your fingers to the keyboard.  

It's a bit like trying to get to sleep. The more you worry about not getting to sleep, the harder it is to do it. It's not that you can't sleep - it's that you're not letting yourself sleep (and this from a habitual insomniac). So either work on something else for a while, or step back mentally and take a deep breath. Relax. Then start thinking about what has happened in the story, what could happen, what should happen, etc.


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## Tettsuo (Jan 28, 2013)

What exactly are you stuck on?  Are you at a point where things aren't adding up?  Do you not know where to take the story next (generally an outline problem)?

For me, as long as I know where I'm taking the story, I can plow ahead even when I know it's not great. I'd suggest making the path forward clearer on your WIP.  Make the outline clear so at the very least, you know what must happen next to move the story forward.  So even if those pages suck, you've gotten the path to the next point down and you can always improve it. 

You can't improve something that isn't there.

A good trick is to schedule your writing and stick to it.  For me, everyday at around 1:30pm, while I eat lunch, I write.  I also write each workday on the way home while I'm on the subway.  Of course there are days I really don't feel like writing, but as soon as I open my laptop, the fingers start going because I've trained myself to do it.

But if you still stuck, write something else.  Just make sure it's habitual.  Writing should be a habit, something you do religiously if you want to finish such a big commitment as a novel.  I'm on the final run of edits on my novel and it never would have happened if I didn't schedule the writing and make a detailed outline.  I know everyone doesn't write like that, but for me, it's impossible to do it any other way for a tale with serious amounts of plot and character detail.


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## Terry D (Jan 28, 2013)

Silen said:


> Im sitting here in front of a blank MS word document.



No, you are allowing yourself to be distracted by the internet.  You are doing something other than working on your WIP.


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## rotsuchi1 (Jan 28, 2013)

I am having the same problem. ^^' Cant seem to stay focused due to the constant ticking of the clock. i think its mocking me.
Just stay with it, and what always helps me is to daydream - thats how most of my ideas come to me


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## Brotherlobo (Jan 28, 2013)

Time for me to chime in. Writers block...ugg, the dreaded explanation for when your Muse takes a coffee break. It actually took me 16 years to complete my 1st novel - an epic fantasy. Part of that was not know where my stories was going from the beginning, ie poor planning. I knew how I wanted it to end but the journey from where I was in my writing to that point wast lost to the void. And whenever i would get bogged down, I would stop writing and time would pass by...a year, five years, a decade....I always dusted it off and worked on it for a while but I wasn't progressing or at least not very far. But there was light at the end of the tunnel. 

Although it took me 16 years for the 1st novel, it only took me 6 more months for the 2nd, and 3 more for my 3rd novel (different series - Sci Fi) and 9 months after that for the 4th novel (2nd in the Sci Fi series). And at the moment, I have another fantasy novel 80% complete and book 3 of my epic fantasy 50% complete, and the next 3 in the Sci Fi series plotted and even some rough drafts/ideas written down. And this isn't counting the numerous other stories started and filed away for further development at a later date. How did I accomplish this? 

I found that my cure was....(wait for it).....writing. 

I guess I just have a busy mind. It isn't the lack of ideas that slow me down or stop me, it's the timing or the words just don't 'sound' right. When I have an attack of the dreaded 'writers block' - I simply switch gears and work on a different story. I have found that working on 2 or 3 stories at the same time has actually increased my production. This might sound odd to some but I found that if I stop writing for any length of time, it's hard to get back to writing. It is almost as if I lose my voice when I take too long away from writing. Now don't get me wrong, I might not sit down in front of the computer to type for days. I work a full time job plus extra off duty work, take care of a small farm, self-publish and try to balance spending time with the wife and getting enough sleep in all that....plus writing. But, as my co-workers will tell you, I always have a legal pad with me and I scribble on one of my stories throughout the day. 

This works for me and my Muse has to grab her coffee whenever she can because I'm not letting her out of my sight.
I hope this helps. :grin:


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## Morkonan (Jan 28, 2013)

Silen said:


> Im sitting here in front of a blank MS word document.
> My WIP is almost a year old now, and i really want to get through it and get it done and dusted.
> Any tips on beating the old foe, that is writers block?
> 
> Coffee and cigarettes has not helped ;P



Like Shadowalker, I don't believe Writer's Block really exists. 

But, I do believe that you can be so preoccupied with other things or perceived dilemmas in your writing that you can't create effectively. This goes hand in hand with my disbelief in another writer's myth, that of a "troubled writer" being the most easily capable of writing great works. That's baloney. If you can't think clearly or are caught up in emotional turmoil, it's darn hard to write well!

First off, clear your noggin. Nothing clouds a writer's skill more than a head full of junk that doesn't have anything to do with writing the story they're trying to craft. Get rid of that stuff. If you have to go to the bathroom, go to the bathroom. Don't sit and squirm in your chair. Similarly, if you have to pay bills, go get a real job or something and leave the writing for a time when you're making money...

Next, some practical advice : 

Your Magnum Opus will get finished when it gets finished. But, it might not get finished today. Be at peace with that. Unless you have a publisher threatening to sue you, you're OK right now. What you need to do is to reacquire that creative spirit that has given you the ability to craft such an amazing work! (Or completely horrible one, whichever applies.)

Go get something to eat. Eat a sandwich, sandwiches are good for you.

Go walk somewhere. It doesn't matter where, though someplace that is relatively safe and free of radiation or gunfire is preferred. Don't walk down lonely back roads that have a lot of twists and turns in them, or you'll get run over by a truck. Go to the park or the mall, walk, observer the people, browse a store, get a cup of coffee or a sandwich or something.

Next up, you're looking kind of pasty. The Sun is out there, most of the time, you should go look at it every once-in-awhile. But, don't stare at it, just look at the results of all that shining and feel its warmth. (Get a heater, if it's winter in your area.) Look at some plants, see life and growing things, watch puppies play with rubber balls or watch your wife brush her hair or something. Go visit a friend and do something together. Go on a date, if your so inclined and have someone equally enthusiastic. Eat a sandwich! LIVE! Writing is a lonely pursuit and writers can get disconnected from the living world around them, if they're not careful. So, get reconnected, if even for a day.

Now, you're at peace with your inner self, the world around you and sandwiches. It's time to drag the muse out from hiding! But, what does that for you? Everyone's muse is different and not all will respond to the same prompts. So, let's give you a few to get your Muse's juices flowing:

Music - Listen to some appropriate music. I don't mean that pop-rap-rock crap. I mean something with some feeling behind it, something that is inspiring and pulls at you. You know the music I'm talking about. You like it and when you hear it, you "feel" something. Writing has a lot to do with being able to "feel." If you're writing for other human beings, you have to be human or be able to effectively masqurade your writing as having being written by one. One of the ways to do that is to get your "feelings" moving. Emotions demand a physiological response from human beings. For writers, emotions often demand that we write.. something. Anything. So, go get a box of emotional pulls from music, rustle through it and pick out some of the music that seems to generate a response in you. For myself, it's certain sorts of music that are instrumentals and don't have words I can readily understand. I want the music to help me speak to myself regarding what I want to write, I don't want it guiding me to write something in particular. Go listen to some music that does that for you.

Writing Exercise - OK, you have pulled and tugged on your feelings and now, as a writer, you're ready to react to that by writing something. But, we don't want you working on your Magnum Opus, just yet. Instead, you have to get over the "stigma" of writing on your Magnum Opus by returning to a realistic view of writing: To write. So, you're going to do that by writing something that doesn't have anything to do with your Magnum Opus. It's time to do a Writer's Exercise and get that Muse used to working, again. Here, you are: https://www.google.com/search?q=writer's exercises Search Google, find some interesting writer's exercises and do a few of them. Then, go have a sandwich.

Your Magnum Opus - If you have been successful at the above, you should now be brimming with ideas and strategies that will demand you return to writing your Great Work. If not, rinse and repeat. Seriously, if you aren't ready now, then you need to go through the steps above, again. Get out, get connected, live a little, learn to tweak your own Muse and have some fun and let loose some creative juices through a few writer's exercises. Keep doing that until your Muse screams at you and demands that you return to finish your Magnum Opus. It will come, eventually. And, when it does, you'll write at a furious pace. Hopefully, most of it will be decent enough to have written in the first place and you won't smear the pages with the mustard dripping off your sandwich.


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## garza (Jan 28, 2013)

Promise the publisher who holds the cheque that will pay your rent and buy your groceries for the next month that the promised article, with photos, will be on his editor's desk by nine o'clock tomorrow morning.

End of 'writer's block'.


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## JosephB (Jan 28, 2013)

I do something creative for a living -- including copywriting -- I have deadlines, so I know what that's like. You always try to compare your work as a reporter to someone who's not paying the bills with creative writing. Who knows why. It's apples and oranges.


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## moderan (Jan 28, 2013)

Garza is a minimalist. But he really knows that one note. Gotta hand that to him.


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## JosephB (Jan 28, 2013)

As long as people keep buying it, he'll keep playing it.


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## shadowwalker (Jan 28, 2013)

However, there's a basic truth to what he says, regardless of what type of writer one is. Heck, take college classes and try to tell the prof you can't turn in the assignment because you drew a blank. One can look at those blank pages and throw up their hands in defeat, or they can start typing. It's a matter of what one _decides _to do.


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## moderan (Jan 28, 2013)

Quite true, and on the level of _writing is writing_, I agree with Garza. Just sit yo'self down and pound it out. Quality control is secondary to deadline when it comes down to it.
I used to have to create artificial deadline pressure for myself, to _get after it_. I don't have to anymore. But I remember how.


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## JosephB (Jan 28, 2013)

It's different if you don't have anything at stake. If you have a deadline and your job or a client or graduation is on the line -- it's a completely different dynamic and type of pressure that you can't just manufacture. Obviously, you need to come up with your own motivation -- you need to "decide" -- but it's a silly comparison. I've sat up at night in a sweat -- worrying about whether or not I was going to be able to pull something off with my job on the line -- and it's not the same as saying, I'm going to finish a chapter of my book by next Thursday.


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## moderan (Jan 28, 2013)

It _isn't_ silly (that's just your opinion of it). We went through this before. I was able to create _exactly the same urgency_ that I had with deadline pressure. Maybe _you can't_. But I did, for years. Down to the sweats and the elevated bp and all of it. Just like firewalking.
Letting myself down is MORE of a stake for me than outside pressure.


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## Foxee (Jan 28, 2013)

I'd have to agree with something Joe said on this one. With article writing there are formulas to some extent (both 'how, when, where, what, why' and 'intro, body, conclusion') and then you're given a concrete assignment. It's a pain to get it done on time, no doubt, but it's a different animal than mentally building a world, timeline, characters, and plot.

I've tried powering through when I get bogged down (usually in NaNoWriMo), sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't it's usually a huge relief to set it down and work on something else for a while.


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## JosephB (Jan 28, 2013)

moderan said:


> It _isn't_ silly (that's just your opinion of it). We went through this before. I was able to create _exactly the same urgency_ that I had with deadline pressure. Maybe _you can't_. But I did, for years. Down to the sweats and the elevated bp and all of it. Just like firewalking.
> Letting myself down is MORE of a stake for me than outside pressure.



No, I can't create it. Because one involves actual consequences for me. "Letting myself down" over a piece of fiction that no one cares about but me just isn't quite the same as not paying my mortgage. If it works for you -- great. But that would require a level of self-delusion that I haven't been able to reach.


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## shadowwalker (Jan 28, 2013)

Anyone who's had creative writing classes knows what creativity comes out when an assignment is due. It's not "formula" work (although I'd question if that's any easier than fiction). And yes, creating one's own deadline can be just as much pressure as one imposed by someone else. It just depends on how lenient one decides to be.


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## moderan (Jan 28, 2013)

I dunno. I gave up on one NaNonovel cuz I just didn't feel well physically. And article writing and fictioning are two different sets of requirements, true. But the mechanics of writing, the application of pen to paper, that's the same thing.
How many of these threads in this section are from people who just can't get it done at all? Cuz self-doubt and lazy and just whatever get in the way. I understand-that's why I learned to generate the internal stuff I did, to get over that. It was actually emulating the feeling I had when a book report was due-it was that long ago. So it was ingrained to a high degree. I learned about big people deadline pressure later...when writing articles for money and proposals for office equipment and ad copy and reports that whole groups of people depended on for their livings. And, you know what?
It was the same stuff, psychologically and physiologically. At least it was for me. It wasn't _silly_. It was real.


JosephB said:


> No, I can't create it. Because one involves  actual consequences for me. "Letting myself down" over a piece of  fiction that no one cares about but me just isn't quite the same as not  paying my mortgage. If it works for you -- great. But that would require  a level of self-delusion that I haven't been able to reach.


It does have actual consequences for me, or did, when I indulged the process. It was my bennies, my cocaine, my X-Sports.


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## JosephB (Jan 28, 2013)

shadowwalker said:


> Anyone who's had creative writing classes  knows what creativity comes out when an assignment is due. It's not  "formula" work (although I'd question if that's any easier than  fiction). And yes, creating one's own deadline can be just as much  pressure as one imposed by someone else. It just depends on how lenient  one decides to be.



Good for you if that works -- and that sounds real pithy and everything. But for me, a real honest-to-god deadline is not going to be the same as one I make up.


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## Kyle R (Jan 28, 2013)

For me, writer's block results from, mainly, one of two things:

- Being distracted

or

- Being too critical of my writing.


The first problem is easiest to counter. Just get away from the distractions. The second one is a bit tougher, as it involves not a change of behavior, but a change in thinking. Jennifer Egan said it well: 

_. . .this is probably the most important thing for me— is being willing to write really badly. It won’t hurt you to do that. I think there is this fear of writing badly, something primal about it, like: “This bad stuff is coming out of me…” Forget it! Let it float away and the good stuff follows. For me, the bad beginning is just something to build on. It’s no big deal. You have to give yourself permission to do that because you can’t expect to write regularly and always write well. That’s when people get into the habit of waiting for the good moments, and that is where I think writer’s block comes from. Like: It’s not happening. Well, maybe good writing isn’t happening, but let some bad writing happen. Let it happen!

_So, in that line of thinking, one could argue there's no such thing as writer's block, except for a writer being discontent with what he or she is producing. Maybe a better term should be, "writer's discontent."

"Help! I can write, but I don't like what I'm writing," seems to be the most accurate description of the problem that I face. But that one's easily fixed, too, by drafting and rewriting.

Keep at it, pound away, and treat it like a sculpture: your first broad chisel cuts can be total crap if you allow them to be. Most statues require extensive reworking to get them from a block of material into a piece of art. :encouragement:


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## moderan (Jan 28, 2013)

*polite applause*
Well-said.


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## Saeria (Jan 29, 2013)

This is really super terrible advice but tequila is amazing for busting up my writet's block. Once i am drunk i become a literary wonder woman throwing a lasso of wordsmithing. I am a freakin' word ninja... or at least I believe I am. Once i sober up and read the incoherent wreckage I have created I suddenly have a strong urge to fix it. That gets the writing started again. Usually that little push is all I need and I am back to obsessing over my project again.


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## garza (Jan 29, 2013)

Joe - But aren't many of the people here who complain of 'writer's block' hoping to be commercially successful? You say it's apples and oranges, but I see it as the same process. The person out there who's writing a fantasy novel he hopes will be a best seller and make him a million dollars should be under the same pressure to put one word after another as the working journalist.   

moderan - Minimalism is my way of life - always has been. I love to read Faulkner, but when I write fiction my model is Hemingway.

shadowwalker - Exactly.   

Foxee - With those words, 'mentally building a world', you have touched on the difference between myself and the person writing the fantasy novel. My writing never involves building a world. My fiction stories are about the real world I live in and my characters are modeled after the kinds of people I've known. I would never try to write a story set in France. I've never been there. With both settings and characters I model myself after both Faulkner and Hemingway. Both wrote about the real world they knew, and their characters were the kinds of people they met in that world. So people creating a world from scratch have what for me would be an impossible task. On the other hand if they have the requisite imagination then they are not bound by the limitations of this world.    

Kyle - All good writing is the result of good editing. Only Mozart sent out first drafts for the orchestra to play.


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## Foxee (Jan 29, 2013)

garza said:


> Foxee - With those words, 'mentally building a world', you have touched on the difference between myself and the person writing the fantasy novel. My writing never involves building a world. My fiction stories are about the real world I live in and my characters are modeled after the kinds of people I've known. I would never try to write a story set in France. I've never been there. With both settings and characters I model myself after both Faulkner and Hemingway. Both wrote about the real world they knew, and their characters were the kinds of people they met in that world. So people creating a world from scratch have what for me would be an impossible task. On the other hand if they have the requisite imagination then they are not bound by the limitations of this world.


Technically, you are correct. My meaning, however, was broader than fantasy. Even if I write the world and people that I know, I still have to 'build it' by deciding for myself what the 'how, what, when, where, why' are. Those aren't given to me. I should have been more specific.


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## garza (Jan 29, 2013)

But deciding on the who-what-when-where is easy when the choices are limited. I can write about Mississippi because I grew up there. I can write about New York and Bangkok because I've lived there. I can't write about London or Moscow because I've never been there. My choices for setting are limited to those places where I've lived. 

Same with characters. I can only create a character on paper by using someone, or maybe several someones, that I've known as a model. The policeman, the drug dealer, and the boy in 'A Man Called Changsai' are modeled after types of real people I met in the East. The characters in stories like 'Venus in Transit' are modeled after the types of people I grew up with in Mississippi. The characters in 'A Pinch of Salt' are modeled after people in my family. I'm in there too, as a matter of fact. And the settings and characters in my recently completed novel _A Missionary's Tale_ are modeled on places and people here in Belize. My most recent entry in the LM Challenge is an abbreviated extract from the novel. 

So while the who-what-when-where are not fixed, as they would be in writing a news story or a magazine article, my choices are limited. I admire very much the people who can create from the whole cloth and make me believe it's real.

And my efforts at fiction I take just as seriously as any writing I do for money. It may be a hobby, but it's an important part of my life now and the pressure to start, finish, and edit a story is equal to the pressure arising from the economic need. 

Writing is writing.


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## moderan (Jan 29, 2013)

It is. And Philip K Dick and Jim Thompson produced _masterpieces_, first-draft, little-edit.


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## Tettsuo (Jan 29, 2013)

garza said:


> Kyle - All good writing is the result of good editing. Only Mozart sent out first drafts for the orchestra to play.



Completely disagree with the above sentiment.  Good writing is made clear with good editing.  You need to start with something good for editing to be effective.  No amount of editing will benefit a craptastic story.

I see the above comment so often I believe it really has become totally and destructively overblown.  Good writing starts and ends with the writer, not the editors, not the cover artists, not the publisher nor any other outside influence.


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## Sam (Jan 29, 2013)

This isn't a debate about whether writer's block exists; it's a thread posted for help solving the problem of writer's block. Please refrain from debating.


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## JosephB (Jan 29, 2013)

OK -- how about getting more fiber into your diet.


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## moderan (Jan 29, 2013)

Can't fix what doesn't exist. You'd end up cutting your own throat with Occam's razor.


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## dolphinlee (Jan 29, 2013)

There is a small quiet place in your mind where your creative genius resides. 

Sometimes when conditions are perfect your genius comes up with the most marvelous ideas and helps you to write them down in an eloquent way.

When you get tired your genius gets tired as well, but if there is a deadline you have to meet, he will pull on his reserves of energy and put on an amazing burst of creativity just to help you out. 

One of the problems your genius has is that he gets 'battered' by all your negative thoughts. Did you ever wonder what happened to all those "I can'ts" and "I'm not good enoughs?' Well they end up in that quiet place in your mind where your genius resides.  Poor thing, he is doing his best and you are drowning him in dark, black negative thoughts. No wonder that sometimes he can't help you!

So first you have to help him. He needs to find a way out of the darkness, a small opening so that the both of you can start communicating again. It can be something simple like word association. Think of one word and then free associate for a minute of more. 

Once there is a small opening you'll want to help your genius make it bigger. So maybe write a daft poem or a limerick - make it as silly as you want. By this time the opening will be bigger and your genius will be able to throw armfuls of darkness out of the quiet place. 

Make up a story. Rework an old fairy tale ... and Cinderella lived happily ever after until they got back form the honeymoon by which time Prince Charming had shown his true colours. No longer was he the caring considerate man she had fallen in love with. Now he sat on the couch all day drinking lager, belching and watching horse racing on Sky TV and demanding anchovy pizza from the take away place down the road....................

Play around for a few days and have fun with your genius.  He'll thank you for it.


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## Leyline (Jan 29, 2013)

Harlan Ellison on writer's block: (language warning for the interview)



> *Have you ever had writer’s block? *Oh, I absolutely have.
> 
> 
> *Really? When? *From four until about five o’clock on a Wednesday in January of 1973.
> ...





Absolutely brilliant, entertaining and wise interview with Ellison, there.


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## moderan (Jan 29, 2013)

Harlan's a great interview and a great writer. I'm still mad at him though.


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## Leyline (Jan 29, 2013)

moderan said:


> Harlan's a great interview and a great writer. I'm still mad at him though.



Wait...you don't have a story waiting on _The Last Dangerous Visions_ do you?


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## moderan (Jan 29, 2013)

Leyline said:


> Wait...you don't have a story waiting on _The Last Dangerous Visions_ do you?



No, but only cuz it closed to submissions two years before my first sale. But I have wanted to read the thing for 40 years now.


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## Leyline (Jan 29, 2013)

moderan said:


> No, but only cuz it closed to submissions two years before my first sale. But I have wanted to read the thing for 40 years now.



Same here, and I only turned 40 last September. I popped out of the womb annoyed at the delay.


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## moderan (Jan 29, 2013)

[ot]





Leyline said:


> Same here, and I only turned 40 last September. I popped out of the womb annoyed at the delay.


I was on the SFWA boards when Christopher Priest's book came out. What a crapstorm! Have you read it?[/ot]


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## J Anfinson (Jan 29, 2013)

Something that usually works for me is to take a break from my WIP and take a look in my rainy day idea folder. I'll take some of those ideas I don't plan on using for my WIP and write a short story with them. By the time I get done writing another short story I'll usually figure out a new technique that opens new doors for the WIP. But even if I don't find inspiration, I'm gaining added experience so it's a win/win situation.


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## Leyline (Jan 29, 2013)

moderan said:


> [ot]
> I was on the SFWA boards when Christopher Priest's book came out. What a crapstorm! Have you read it?[/ot]



No -- I've read excerpts and it struck me as an ultra-long, very public sort of tantrum. I can understand Priest's anger but it just seemed overkill.


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## moderan (Jan 30, 2013)

[ot]





Leyline said:


> No -- I've read excerpts and it struck me as an ultra-long, very public sort of tantrum. I can understand Priest's anger but it just seemed overkill.


I thought it needed to be said. The whole of it isn't really ranting, but it isn't worth a hundred bucks either (current pricing). What drove the value up was Ellison's incessant ranting against the book, causing Priest to pull it from his website. I have a pdf copy somewhere.
Christopher Priest is a notorious blockee...so it isn't completely ot. [/ot]


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## Flith (Jan 30, 2013)

drink however much it takes for you to be buzzing, write, fix/edit it later


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## Saeria (Jan 30, 2013)

Flith said:


> drink however much it takes for you to be buzzing, write, fix/edit it later


i am glad I am not the only one that does this.


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## moderan (Jan 30, 2013)

Saeria said:


> i am glad I am not the only one that does this.


I'm glad it isn't more widespread.


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## Mike63031 (Jan 30, 2013)

Silen said:


> Im sitting here ...
> almost a year ... now, and i really want to get through it and get it done and dusted.



I think you've found the problem.  If you've been sitting there for a year you should get up and stretch a bit, have breakfast, walk the dog, take a shower, put on some clothes, brush your teeth, tap dance along with an old Gene Kelly movie, bake some cupcakes, call a friend (anything you can get away with, but make sure it's a friend), eat the cupcakes, then sit back down at your computer.  If you still can't write repeat above cure.  Whatever you do, DO NOT sit there for another year.  :geek:

R/Mike


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