Writers Block...

[Funngunner]

Has anyone else suffered, or is suffering, through what feels like an incredibly long stretch of writer's block?

I joined National Novel Writing Month, back in November, and basically got a quarter in to my story, then ran into a major road block. I can't seem to get past it, even though I have these ideas for later chapters, and even sequels. Of course, right now, the idea of a sequel seems pretty far fetched since I cant get through the first story.

Now, it's February, and still, I find myself staring at a blank word document and feeling well, trapped.

I guess I'm looking for some inspiration, or some personal experience, so that I don't just say 'well, I'm not meant to write this anyway,' and walk away from it again. (Last time I walked away, it was for nearly a decade.)

Help? Anyone? Please?

S.M.S.

(Save. My. Story...!?!?

 

[Ursa major]

I thought it was writer's block when you couldn't think of anything to write. You're not in this state. (Or do you think there's a rule that says you have to write your book in the order in which it will appear?)

You say you have ideas for later chapters. Why not simply write them? Don't worry too much about continuity at this early stage. Let's face it, you're going to have to go through the book ironing out** inconsistencies anyway, so you won't lose anything; not compared to getting back to putting words on paper (or the hard disk).


Anyway, Good Luck with your book.



** - often a euphemism for major structural work

 

[ctg]

Dear oh dear, you're in deep trouble. The only way you can get over your block is by forcing yourself to write. Think about that quarter you wrote, it's the beginning, and think about where it is leading. Seize the moment you are in, and write about consequences. Write about what happens next, don't stop until you are at the end, and then start again from the beginning.

In other words, if you were at the end of action sequence, then you calm it down and move on. If you were in middle, you raise the pace until you reach the climax, then calm it down and move on. You have to live the lives of your characters, and in same time you have to be the voice that creates the atmosphere and shapes the world. You have to be able to see what comes around the corner. If the scene is too difficult for you to write, then don't do it, hop over it and move on to write what happens next. You'll find a way to tie down those loose ends.

Know that not everyone can write an novel. Many people try, but only so few get to the end. At the end stands the problem of getting your story in publishable form, and it is not that easy. There are so many people who fill the agents mailboxes and only very few lucky ones get to selected to be published.


PS. Without knowing more about your story, and the point where you are in, I only can give you these vague points.

 

[power to the J]

I'd say just write. if it sucks it sucks, but you can change that later and make it very unsucky. Go for it and keep writing until you get through it. When you're off writing what you said you already know will happen, perhaps an idea will hit you then and your sucky writing you do now can be changed to great writing. Just don't stop going.

 

[Lith]

If you can't write something good, write something bad. Make something happen, anything at all, just as long as somethings keep happening. Doesn't even matter if its utterly boring or repetitive, as long as you keep those wheels in your mind spinning. Your story, or another that you like better, will eventually develop. Don't be too adamant about sticking to exactly what you have in mind, either.

I hold that anyone can write a novel, if they want it badly enough. And that's the key, wanting it so badly that you put in all the time to study the art of writing, to study yourself so you know what you want to write, and to study the story you are crafting. Doesn't matter how much time it takes, provided you are actually working on it, and not letting it sit in a drawer for long periods of "thoughfulness". If you find you actually have to set the manuscript aside, by all means, work on something else, so you don't lose the time.

And this is also why it's better to start the NaNo with nothing planned or pre-written. That way any direction you go is the right one. I've had problems on my stories trying to get from A to Z without knowing what all fell in between. You might find that knowing less about where you're going works better for you. Writers fall into opposing camps on this, but you need to know which one you belong to.

Anyway, keep rolling that ball up the hill. And if you need quotes from bona fide writers, here they are:

"I always believe that being a writer meant only one thing: that you write. [as opposed to merely drawing up outlines.]" -Isaac Asimov

"The most important factor of writing is this: cheeks to chair. [Paraphrasing here...]" -George R. R. Martin

 

[alternicity]

The only way I managed to keep going at first, on my current WIP was to tell myeslf to write it as crap as whatever, just so long as it got finished.
Another thing that helped me immensly is getting a tiddlywiki and filling it with all the information of your story. Once its nicely crosslinked it can be an inspiration - kinda your own personal world encyclopedia but one that looks amazing. Now when I can't write in my .rtf file, I worldbuild in my wiki. At least the overall project is still moving forward that way. Also some sections can be written into the tiddlywiki, then cut and pasted into the master file.
Good Luck, keep going, or at least... stay committed.

 

[Lith]

What's a tiddlywiki? It sounds intriguing.

 

[alternicity]

A single html file that is a wiki - user editable thing that basically looks like a website, except its just that one file on your hdd, or pendrive. Might wanna make sure you are using firefox with it, but its a *boon*.
You need to use its internal save button though, not File>SaveAs on your browser. My kids are addicted to writing their stories in it as well. Give one a go Lith, it might help out. (..and its free..)

cheers,
Stuart

 

[Lith]

It sounds like what I've been looking for- none of the programs I've seen do cross-referencing well. Where would I find it?

 

[alternicity]

I can't post the link, I haven't been a member long enough. There is a tiddlywiki dot com.

Find the download software link.

Good Luck

 

[Triceratops]

I'm having a tough time with this, too. But I find that you've just got to slog through it and damn that pesky muse who keeps filling your head with doubts. Even JK Rowling admitted that she found herself actually hating her books in just about every stage of the process. But her inner light won out and she continued on bravely. And, this was after the fact that she'd made it big and been vindicated as an exceptional storyteller.

"No sacrifice--no victory." Sam, Ron, and Archibald Whitwicky--Transformers.

Tri

 

[Green]

Been messing around with TiddlyWiki all afternoon - it's great! Exactly what I needed to keep my plotmap and notes in. Nice one, alternicity.

 

[chopper]

ooh, more software.... must try it... seriously, it does sound very useful. god only knows mrs chopper is getting vexed with the amount of scrawled notes i possess.

up to the main point:
funngunner, this is natural. my main WIP got stuck through writers block for about 5 or 6 years. it needed the structural equivalent of ex-lax to get it going again. but others above are right: don't write in a linear fashion; tackle other chapters if you can, as long as you KEEP WRITING.
Again, the main WIP has got itself stuck, but a new idea has invaded my head....and i've had to start writing it backwards from the cliffhanger ending, because i can't figure out where it starts.

argh.

everybody has these moments, i guess; you just have to keep plugging away until it makes sense.

s

 

[Lith]

Another thing that can happen is realizing you simply haven't got the writing chops to be able to write your story well. This isn't an admission that you will never be able to write it, only that you can't currently write it. I had to set my "magnum opus" aside a few years ago because I simply couldn't write it- it was too broad in scope for my knowledge or skill. It's going to take a lot more knowledge of history and culture to be able to write it well, as well as a better grasp of language and an ability to write a lot of interweaving events.

But I didn't just drop it, I decided to get out and write other things, in order to get what I needed. And now I'm so busy on the new stuff, I haven't even taken notes on the other story in about a year (not to mention that the high fantasy field is already saturated and it really doesn't seem as original now as it did then). I started with a story I knew I had a much better chance at getting right.

But you can't learn this stuff without banging your head against a lot of walls. Repeatedly.

 

[chopper]

still exploring tiddlywiki, but it looks good so far. easy to use.

 

[power to the J]

Even JK Rowling admitted that she found herself actually hating her books in just about every stage of the process.

This happens to literally everybody, from what I've gathered. From Stephen King to Francis Ford Copolla, people loathe their work either while their writing it or afterwards. The world would be missing a lot of classic literature if everybody quit when this kicked in, so just keep pushing, no matter what.

 

[Hilarious Joke]

Well that's encouraging! I just finished a chapter from a new POV in my story that I started about a week ago and though I thoroughly enjoyed writing it I read it back and thought that it needed a lot of work and had only moments of the mood and the character I was trying to create. Rather then dwell on it though, now I think I'll just plough forward.

 

[Nik]

"...realizing you simply haven't got the writing chops to be able to write your story well."

Thanks, Lith, very well put...

Yup, been there, done that. I've been lucky, 'caught the wave' with some tales, but incidentally set bar so very high for others...

Sure, I've got 'writers block'. Both my fantasy *and* space-war tales are log-jammed. Also, I've got the 'Winter Glums', family are clawing clear of 'flu-like lurgies, I can't make my 3D Apps do what I want, and there's a tunnel-war in my sinuses...

Give it a couple of weeks, and I may wake up grabbing for notebook...

 

[alternicity]

What 3d apps do you use Nik?
I'd pm you but I'm too new here as yet.

 

[Lith]

Give it a couple of weeks, and I may wake up grabbing for notebook...

Heh, yeah, it's the dead of winter. Our house has been so cold that writing is a very unpleasant activity right about now. I've half put off writing anything until it warms up a bit. But give yourself a definite restart date, and a definite goal. Ambiguity can be your friend within the text, but not in your schedule.

I just finished Orson Scott Card's How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, and one of his useful bits (among a whole book of useful bits) was that a writer must hold two beliefs simultaneously: 1. That your novel is the best ever written. And 2. Your novel is the worst drivel ever. He says it's highly useful to be able to remember one, then the other. And I can agree wholeheartedly, from experience.