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 Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:08 pm
Teh Shoujo The best thing I've learned to do from some English writing classes I've taken is to do the following:
Sit down and write. Don't think about what you're writing - just let the words flow from mind to paper. It doesn't have to be about anything or have any meaning behind it. Sometimes the best cure to a block is to simply break down the wall with words.
After doing that, I usually feel relieved enough to work on my writing. Though my current writer's block problem comes from the development of setting, so writing doesn't really help that sweatdrop See, I have a problem with this. I just can't write like that. When someone says "If you can't think of anything, just write 'junk.''' 'Junk,' apparently, is like writing the same word over and over again or just writing random phrases that come to mind. It's not a bad thing to do or anything, because it's useful to some people. I, on the other hand, am reluctant to do stuff like that. Why? Because it doesn't work for me. I don't know... it just feels wrong or something. When I get writer's block, I do something physical, like run or hike. Take a walk in the woods. That's really good for settings. People-watching is a good one for characters. Study people (without them noticing). As long as your best friend doesn't end up as your main character's best friend, it works (it gets really wierd when they can pick themselves out of your story). The last thing I do is study animals and how they act. Especially birds and insects. Birds are really cool if you watch them, too. If you have animals in your story, watch their species. If they don't live in your area... well, you can research, I guess. One last thing: a writing spot. Having a place where you can write without distraction is great, and sometimes really good for getting rid of the writer's block.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:45 pm
I have a few ways of tackling writer's block.
As a few other people have commented - just write! Don't think about what you're writing.
We did a writing exercise in one of my classes at uni last year. Our teacher gave us the starting phrase "I wish I was . . ." and we just had to write from there, not even stopping to think, even if it meant writing the same word over and over until you thought what to write next. The idea was to just be constantly writing. Every now and then, our teacher called out a random word like "crimson" or "grass" or "shadow", which we then had to immediately incorporate into the sentence we were writing. This was supposed to tap into our "unconscious minds" and draw out latent imagination and create scenarios we might not otherwise have thought of - kind of like The Beatles or Surrealism but without the mind-expanding drugs!
Also, I was lucky enough to interview childrens author Andy Griffiths (Just Annoying, Just Disgusting, The Day my Bum Went Psycho, etc) for the Melbourne Writers' Festival at the Malthouse Theatre. He said in the interview that he used a similar technique to break writers block. He would just pick an object in the room, be it a book, a coffee cup or a dead fly on the window sill (his words, not mine) and just write about it, non-stop. Soon, the words will just start to flow.
Several authors have been quoted as saying they set aside a time for writing and they make themselves just sit there and do nothing but write. This doesn't work for everyone though, forcing yourself to write, but if you can not think about what you're doing and just let your words flow, it can help.
Writing exercises can really help, because they get you thinking purely about writing itself, not necessarily about the particular piece you are stuck with. I will upload some suggestions from exercises I have done as part of my studies later on today smile
Also, if you are writing a novel, don't feel that any writing you are doing has to be for your novel. Take a break from it and write something else. Even just writing creatively about your day can be enough to break down the word blocks in your mind.
And lastly, any writing you do does not have to be intended to go in your piece, but it can help you to develop your character. For example, say you're writing a fantasy piece and you just can't think what to write next. Take a character out of its setting within your story and put it into a completely different situation and ask yourself "how would my character react to this situation?" "Would my character do this? Or would they be more likely to do that?" Creating an idea of your character outside of the confines of your story can help to both build a stronger character, and to help you decide where to take your story from here.
I hope someone finds something helpful here.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:31 pm
Writing exercises to help break writer's block:
Set a timer for 3 minutes, and attempt some of these:
* describe a character from a 3rd person point of view. A good way to do this is if you can observe people (without them noticing). I often did this in the library at uni during free time. Describe them any way that strikes you. Maybe they have an interesting appearance, or an unusual way of talking. Anything striking can define a character. Perhaps the thing that strikes you about someone is how boring and bland they are. Even that can make an interesting character.
* imagine a character or observe someone interesting - then describe them as a child would describe them. Seperating yourself from your own perspective really makes you think about appearances, description etc
* Describe yourself from someone else's perspective (same effect as above)
* pick an everyday item - eg: a computer, a plant, a biro, a sandwich - whatever you want, and describe it from the point of view of an outsider who does not know what it is. You could be a time traveller in a different century, or an adventurer encountering a new civilization.
eg: Imagine you are an alien who has never seen a flower or a cow before: "I encountered a strange life form on my reconnoisance mission on the blue planet. A very short, thin creature, its small green limbs appear devoid of digits. Its small, circular yellow face framed with colourful appendages, appears sightless and no mouth is evident. All atempts to communicated with the creature were futile. Shortly thereafter, startled by the sound of someone approaching, I concealed myself and observed with horror as the defenceless creature was devoured by a large, monochrome being. I suspect these wanton killers, which I later observed gathering in great numbers, are the dominant life forms on this planet and are potentially hostile.
Also, I rummaged through my assorted writing books and singled out a few which, if you can get your hands on a copy, you may find quite useful. I'll even give you the ISBN numbers (I work in a bookshop and know what a HUGE help it is to have the ISBN when trying to find or order a book)
Cahir, Sandy, 1998 "Make Sense: Creative and Critical Thinking" Oxford University Press, Melbourne, (0-19-553685-1 or 9780195536850)
McFarlane, Peter 2000 "Exploring the Writer's Craft" Macmillan Education Australia, (0-7329-6089-4 or 9780732960896)
Walker, Brenda, 2002 "The Writer's Reader: A Guide to Writing Fiction and Poetry" Halstead Press, NSW (1-875684-75-1 or 9781875684755)
Smith, Hazel 2005 "The Writing Experiment: Strategies for Innovative Creative Writing" Allen and Unwin, NSW (1-74114-015-3 or 9781741140156)
Hodgins, Jack 2001 "A Passion for Narrative: A Guide for Writing Fiction" M&S, Toronto (0-7710-4198-5 or 9780771041983)
Hopefully something amongst all that helps someone smile
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 11:30 pm
I listen to music and stare at paper after 30 minutes I get a new word to put in the place where the next word goes.I only use this method if I'm desprate with a lot of time.
Other than that I:
Talk to my best friend (who by now is used to my sudden fits of inspiration)Ignore the story
Play video games
Dance
Sleep
Stare at people (weird, I know but it helps)
Read books
Write a different story
Write a story that is UTTER CRAP to releive stress and because once in a while there is a good idea in there somewhere
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Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 4:38 pm
hana_no_mizu23 I listen to music and stare at paper after 30 minutes I get a new word to put in the place where the next word goes.I only use this method if I'm desperate with a lot of time. Stare at people (weird, I know but it helps) Write a story that is UTTER CRAP to releive stress and because once in a while there is a good idea in there somewhere these. <3 Something about writing a crappy story is to get the frustration out without losing your edge. You're still writing, but it'll build to something else, even if it's not the same story to which you were trying to commit in the first place.
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