okay, what do you do when you cant think of what to write? I have my outline of what I want to happen next, its taking it from the outline to the pages that is getting to me. but its been about 3 weeks since I have gotten a word that wasn't immediately backspaced...what do you do?
Over half the time whenever someone asks my advice I tell them, "When in trouble, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout!" Of course, sometimes people call the cops if I do that so, instead, I run around the room naked playing guitar and singing. Singing is actually just controlled screaming so it helps me to set my words free.
lol! that is how I feel!!! writing used to be a way to escape for me, and I could use the escape right now, but the words wont come....screaming and shouting sound like exactly what I need
Get your motor running, head out on that highway! Scream and shout driving down the road alone in circles! Are we there yet? Fuck off!
I've had writers block for a few years I feel like writing is a calling for me, that probably sounds stupid but that is how I feel, like it is what I am supposed to be doing. And yet, i'm so paralyzed with fear anytime I sit down and try to write. I just try to force myself through it, but it never compares to the writing I used to do before writers block took over. Words used to flow out of me with 0 effort involved. Now, it helps me to view it more as a craft than a talent and myself as more of an editor than a writer, only it is my own work I am editing, over and over until I turn it into something worthwhile. If that makes any sense at all.
That makes perfect sense to me. Often when people compliment my poetry I have to tell them I just do all the footwork and mother nature deserves all the credit for the artwork. Still, I take full credit for all the footwork which is considerable!
There's nothing much you can do, but to wait it out. I'm currently working on a movie script, the breaks between writing sessions are sometimes weeks long, because I can't immediately find a suitable solution to some of the issues that arise with plot twists and pacing, not to mention, some of the dialogue that I wrote early on fucking stinks. It describes my situation well that I began the whole process in late 2013, and only now have managed to complete the first 1/3 of the whole thing. My only real advice here: Try to draw inspiration and solutions from the things surrounding you. Datamine literary sources, real world events, TV, the Net and whatever there is to find your answers and the things that inspire you. When you can't write, study something that is related to the themes and topics of your project in the meanwhile.
I think it has to do with what you're writing? That being said, the things that I find help me with writers block are all about inputs. Think of creativity like a cup. The more ideas you put into it, the more you have to pour out on the page! So when I struggle to come up with things to write, I usually start reading more. Same with photography for me as well. When I'm struggling to shoot something that inspires me, I typically pull out the work of others and absorb it. Usually that helps me come up with ideas.
Just write! Tbf,,,,what you have to accept is most of what you is not going to be good enough...what I mean is most of what you read in a book or hear in a song etc is the by-product of both of initial creative impulse + LOTS of editing. It doesn't matter matter how talented you are, most most of what you produce is not going to be good enough. The trick is to realise that at least some of what you produce is gong to be pure gold & focus on that.....the rest, to quote Mel Gibson is 'School fees'.
This is great advice. I take a lot of my creative process education from photography, so I'll use that example here again. A well known photographer (Alex Webb) mentioned one time that "99% of street photography is failure." The best creatives know that most of what they create is crap. But you can only create something great by actually doing the act of creation. Write a lot, edit more.
I take the time to interact with anyone who bothers to read my Autobiography post. Your phrase "meaningful literacy in the deeper aspects of ethical and cultural consciousness" struck me as a very aware idea that we both share. So if we never make contact again, have a good life, lol
I spend a lot of time exploring inner space, sometimes because I have difficulty coming back to the surface., where most people live. But when I do manage to break the surface, I bring with me a lot of creative energy. I wrote some of it down in my Autobiography post but am really not trying to sell it as much as expose people to it. It's a way of reaching a higher consciousness level from which the world can't bring you down.
When this happens to me, I go into a panic. Especially if I've already spent the retainer check, then it's a full blown case of Writer's Panic. What has helped me quite often is to force myself to write about stuff I don't give a flying crap about. One place this works rather well is online comment sections about everything from knitting to making soap. I'll choose a side at random and do my best to justify my position. Another way is to look at advertising copy, usually written by people who have nothing in common with their target audience, and rewrite it. Anything that keeps me totally distracted from the writing that I absolutely HAVE to do (if I want to get paid and get additional writing gigs). Thankfully most of what I write is really boring shit that banks heavily on flat facts with no room at all for feelings of subjective opinions. My reasoning for this is that if I'm always writing Sergeant Friday material for a living, the creative aspect of writing is not getting any exercise. So when a client suddenly wants marketing copy or a 250 word bio on some person I've never met, I'm lost. It can really suck. If I'm writing about hammers for 3 months and suddenly they want me to write about coordinating drapes with wallpaper, I'm screwed. I have also found that having a few servings of absinthe can help.
To address the outline. I don't do one. I find it restricts the imagination. Sometimes I write notes about what I want to happen in the next paragraph when I wake up, and then it turns out I don't incorporate what was written in the notes until a few chapters later, if at all. I find if I'm following an outline, I'm not allowing the book to properly develop as it should. I wonder how many writers with an outline in mind have actually managed to freely write outside the outline when inspiration struck; after all, moving outside the outline at any point kind of messes up the entire outline. I personally believe it is better to simply write without resorting to the restrictive confines of an outline, allow the characters to make their own way without your hands restricting their freedom.
I sometimes write when I'm stoned or very drunk. Without an outline I can really go off the rails and end up writing stuff that looks foreign a week later.
I listen to music. I'm not a author by any means but when I do write things it's usually got a beat of music behind it.
