What do you do when faced with a bad case of the "Writer's Block"? I need some advice , please.

Write as poorly as you can: write horrible, nonsensical, grammatically incorrect, cliché-filled (Potty Mouth) for a page or three. See how bad you can make it. Somewhere along the line a thought will come to your mind what you could be writing instead.

Thanks Splicer. I will give your suggestion a try in a little bit.

Splicer has the right idea. I've been lucky in that I usually have something to write. Another technique is to keep two stories or projects going at the same time. Sometimes when one burns out, I'll flip over to the other and feel good about it, like visiting an old friend. Just a suggestion.

Its not just restricted to writing either .. I tell myself its my subconscious telling me that I am wasting time knocking on the front door & to go round the side & try getting in through a few windows, either that or the front door key was under the flowerpot all the time. Sometimes a change of approach works.

You can:

1. Do what Splicer says.
2. Start transcribing your notes until you realize the main point and have your lede. This is better for journalism, and risks getting bogged down in transcription.
3. Write down what you have to say in simple sentences. Use only one thought per sentence. Combine them later.
4. All three of those suggestions depend on one thing: Write something. You can edit it later but the important thing now is to make ink marks on paper, or rearrange some electrons on a computer screen.

Depends on the underlying cause of the writer's block. Believe it or not, there's multiple root causes. Fear of failure's a biggie, but having taken a wrong turn is also a cause (especially for fiction writers).

The best book out there on writer's block is On Writer's Block by Victoria Nelson. It's out of print, but it's still widely available last I checked.

Writer's block can sometimes be an issue with me. My usual solution is a bit odd. I grab my iPod and headphones, dial up some Coldplay, U2, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Beatles, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker or the like. Something a little quirky and creative, usually fairly simple (though not always). I then grab a legal pad and my nicest pen and start writing. Whatever is passing through my head. Once, I had about half of a page of variants on "Gee, this is really stupid." Don't censor yourself, just let the words flow out of you like the ink is from your pen. Don't stop. Don't lift the pen. Just go wild.

Usually by about a page (once you break through that initial "Wow, this is retarded" phase) I'm firing on all cylinders again. I'll then try to write something on subject, but not in the paper itself. Sort of a test run. IF I have all the juices running, I will pick back up where I left off. If I'm still having a hard time, I go do something else creative. Usually I will sit down at a piano and bang away for half an hour or so. Nothing sharpens one's concentration like playing Chopin.

Sometimes, I just get up and make myself a PB&J and by the time I get back it's all good.

My philosophy is, just do it.

Even if it is absolute garbage and you know it.

Then come back later and fix it in rewrite.

I know I can always shred the first draft, rewrite, second rewrite, third rewrite, and no one will be the wiser.

Best of luck with your project.......

Thank you all for your suggestions. I have tried a few today and things have improved.

My health is the root cause of the darned Block. I have been fighting brain cancer now for 12 years,and sometimes I am just sick and tired and angry about being sick and tired. This sometimes causes me to get writers block.

Sid, have you let yourself write a few rants about being sick and tired and being sick of being sick and tired? I know I block badly when I'm self-censoring because I'm trying to be "nice." Because, let's face it: sometimes none of us are even the slightest bit nice in the least.

I used to have some formulas for writing guaranteed bad poetry. Usually knocking out a few really, really rotten poems would help take some of the pressure off. Writing what I called "Squashed Stories" helped, too (e.g. Once upon a time there was an unbearably cute, fluffy, little bunny who loved flowers and butterflies, and one day he saw a beautiful, glowing field of daffodils across the road, and his cute, fluffy, little bunny heart leapt with joy, and he gleefully hopped toward the glowing field of daffodils as fast as his happy little bunny legs could carry him, and a big truck squashed him flat. The end.). Horrid stuff. Very effective.



Tucking you into prayers tonight.

I once read something by a writer who said he doesn't believe in writer's block. It made sense to me - I can always write something, even if it's just a long whiny complaint to my friends about how I can't write worth a damn. What it really means is that I can't write what I wanted to write, and how I deal with it depends on why I'm stuck. I have a whole list of methods that I heard about from some writing panels I went to. If you want more suggestions, I can dig them up for you, but here are a few of the things I've done that have worked at different times:

Put the pen down for a while and just try to visualise the scene you're trying to write. I find that the more clearly I can imagine the scene, the easier it is to write it.

You could try an outline. I've heard there are some strange people who like to write from an outline. It helps them organise their thoughts or something. Now me, I'm *very* non-linear. If I get stuck on something, I generally don't worry too much about trying to slog through it. I just skip to another scene, or another chapter, or another story altogether. I can almost always think of something to write... it just might not be what I intended to write when I picked up the pen and paper. If you haven't figured it out yet, try to find out which method works for you, and don't worry about how people say you're *supposed* to do it. They're all wrong.

Get bored. I know, it sounds weird. But seriously, boredom is probably the single greatest source of inspiration I have. Just try committing yourself to sitting down for an hour with a blank piece of paper and a pen, and no other distractions. If you can go for that entire hour without writing something, you are a far more patient person than I am.

The tried and true method which a couple of people mentioned already: just write. It might sound counter-intuitive, but sometimes even writing something that sucks can get the ideas (hopefully better ones) flowing. I find that the more I write, the more I want to write.

Some people like to write in isolation and don't want to talk about their writing. If you're not one of those people, you could try brainstorming. I have a couple of friends who help me a lot with my writing. I love brainstorming with them, bouncing ideas off of them, and getting ideas from them in return. Sometimes an offhand comment will lead to a really great scene.

And now for my favourite way to get un-stuck... Something that you see a lot in the fanfiction community is writing challenges. The challenger will usually set out certain elements that have to be included in the story, maybe one or two, maybe a whole list depending on how elaborate the challenge is. It's a lot of fun, and for some people it's a great way to get the creative ideas flowing. I found that when I started writing in my own 'verse, it worked well for me. When I say to one of my friends, 'Give me a word!' they know I'm stuck and need a little help. If you want to try this one, you might want to pick your helpers carefully. It can be difficult to work words like 'aardvark', 'defenestration' and 'sesquipedalian' into your story about gangsters with magical powers in Southern Ontario.

Actually, now that I think about it, 'defenestration' isn't that hard.

So, which character can I pitch out of a third-floor window today?

Thank you so much, Lucinda.
I appreciate your thoughts and prayers.
-Sid

hamadryad - thank you for your advice. I will try doing the outline today.
-Sid

When getting wound up I try deep breathing and mental pictures of mountain lakes.

You might want to look into those types of things, there are many around, it kind of sets the emotional state back to zero in a short while.

If you're doing a play or fiction, one thing to think about is to get up and pace or stand or what have you.

And/or "act," out the action yourself.

I know it may make you seem crazy, but when we were writing short-scenes in drama class we were told to feel free to go out into the hall, the theater, even the bathroom, wherever we needed to go, (it's a separate drama/theater/band building so we drama geeks and the band geeks had free reign of it,) and start talking the scenes.


We had all sorts of stuff going on.
I remember one girl, a brilliant actress, (look for her on Broadway in the future!) would change between a few different characters, doing all of their voices, in different parts of the room and everything.

You look positively insane, but it worked for all of us.

i buy myself new pen.

You are in my prayers.

I had beyond block---total burnout for three years. Don't know why, don't know how I came out of it.

These days, being in the shower miles from paper and pen is when inspiration hits.

I believe that it was Piers Anthony that said that said, " I do not have time for writer's block. I have too much to write." and, "One reason I don't suffer Writer's Block is that I don't wait on the muse, I summon it at need." I have yet to master the art of writing around the block, but I do find that changing directions helps. Whether that change is simply working on a different scene, or on an entirely different manuscript, it often helps me to regain insight on whatever I was blocked with.

My main problem is not block, it is having too much to write. Often the thoughts flow to fast for me to either write down or to even speak. I think I have lost more great ideas than I could ever use...

Hi Sid!

Writers need to write - every day. If you are blocked on a particular thing, write something else. Just put pen to paper. List favorite bands, places you've visited. Names of people you went to elementary school with. Keep it up and I'm sure it will get the juices flowing.