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WRITERS BLOCK SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by dailyfuzzone • 8/02/07 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Tags: block, blogging, content, writer, writers block, writing
Lately, I have had one hell of a time with writers block. I don't know if it is lack of sleep, willpower, or what but I just can't seem to get a decent idea for what to write.
Anyone else have this problem? What do you do to overcome it? God any ideas for me?
User Comments
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Two words: Google News.-
I've started hitting Yahoo news, but some stuff I think of I don't want to make too controversial. LIke I could write about 20-50 different funny "reasons" the bridge collapsed in Minnesota, but I'm not going to because it just happened 2 days ago. I think it would be poor taste.
So what do I do when all I end up thinking about that day is how not to cover a story? -
Another two words: Boing Boing -
Oh yeah, we heard the Minnesota news here in Indonesia, it's on today's front page.
I don't think you should make fun of it though... =P
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mine is that i know what to write about but i don't know how to write it, English is not my lingua franca and so I am a struggling Filipino writer, it is hard to grope for the right words and expressions, often, i just procrastinate, smoke, browse and attempt at focusing again,,,,^^-
I would be going through the same thing if I decided to write the blog in Spanish, but I think I would make a game out of it. I would be searching for the most accurate and the most off the wall ways of saying something so that by the time I am done with a story, I have like 7 different ways to say it. Ending up with a better vocabulary.
Note: I realize that I am weird. Languages don't normally excite people, but it does for me. Don't feel bad if this isn't how you operate because my brain is like quantum physics, it never knows which way it's going.
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lack of sleep can kill your creativity (or help it sometimes). I usually just write, anything, open textedit (notepad for mac) aand just write, whatever is on my mind, it usually works, there's usually 2 or 3 nice ideas in there when I go back and read it.-
I really think that it was lack of sleep because whenever I did have a few days in a row where I could sleep in, I slept for like 12-14 hrs each night. The day after that (today) I woke up at 6 AM because I just can't sleep anymore. I kicked out an article yesterday and I am starting early today...obviously. If I catch the writing bug, I am just going to flow with it and just put them in textedit (I have a Mac too). Though I prefer writing in an app called Bean. Its free and it has the ability to put pics in the stories. Check it out.
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Yes. I go through the same thing, it is one big vicious cycle. I try to write like crazy and build up my articles when I am kicking out good content. That way during my dry spells I have some solid stuff to fall back on.-
Exactly, only I hit a dryspell without anything to fall back on so I felt like I was drowning. I am on the upswing now and I think I am going to ride it as long as I can. I wish I had a starbucks within a 10 mile radius, I would be spending all day there today if I could.
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I general don't write on Sunday, so I visit blogs with similar topics to mine. I write a short introduction about a topic and link to all the posts with the same theme.
It's still relevant for your reader because you gather posts with similar theme in one place. The side benefit is that you are spreading your name and getting trackbacks.
www.moolanomy.com/-
that would be a good idea for when I have decent traffic coming in. Unfortunately I am not established enough to be sending my readers somewhere else on days when I don't feel like writing. I have only been up a month. I night use this somewhere between 4-6 months when I have more dedicated readers.
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Actually, it's actually a good way to get traffic because you are getting trackback links from more established sites.
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I just wait for the right moment. Try not to force yourself to write, it will come to you.-
That's good advice if I had posts saved up to use for when I have writers block but I didn't. I am new at this so I almost have to force myself just to get into the habit of writing every day. That way I experience writers block less frequently later on. More work now equals greater payout later.
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See if you CAN get some sleep. That can make a huge difference in how well the writing goes.
Also don't put pressure on yourself for this next blog to be the Best Blog Entry Ever... just take it easy and what comes, comes.
Try sitting down, choosing a topic, and just writing a sentence without any internal criticism-- don't re-read it, just continue writing. Then after a while, you can go back and edit, determine whether or not you want to use it, etc. I use this technique at my Real Job when I have to write content for clients that isn't necessarily personally inspiring. At least it gets things rolling enough so then I'm able to really get into it and focus on it.-
Awesome suggestion, I think I will try this next time I am hit with writers block. Until then, I am going to post with all my might. I recently got a break by getting featured by KillerStartups.com. They did a pretty good review of my site. If any of you want to check it out, got to the link at the end of this comment.
www.killerstartups.com/Blogging-Widgets/thedailyfuzz--Get-More-Fake-News/
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Hi dailyfuzz, I listen to conversations going on around me. I almost always hear something that sparks an idea for character development, or at least takes my mind down a new path of possibility. I too hit dead ends sometimes and frequently all it takes is some spontaneous conversation to jump start my imagination again.-
Good suggestion if I am talking with the right people. Most of the people I see on a regular basis are pretty dry and I end up being less inspired after I am through with the conversation. That's why I decided to come on here and chat with you guys
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jphillips brought on the point I'm going to make - from another part of view, sort of.
Three words: lower your standards.
Temporarily.
I'm assuming that your writer's block is similar to what I sometimes run into.
The idea is to write something, anything.
Quality doesn't count. Quantity does.
Just keep writing. Relax, or better yet, unplug that part of you that analyzes, evaluates, and/or edits what you write.
Don't post or publish what happens. Save it. Odds are that some good ideas, probably some good phrases or sentences, too.-
I have tried all of this, but I end up with a whole lot of gobbledygook. None of it makes sense to even put in a story. Eventually, I got to catch up on sleep and I found the writers block has disappeared.
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Do something completely different that takes your mind off blogging.-
Like what, pole dancing for midgets? Sorry, that was the only thing I could think that would be the farthest thing from blogging right now. I have a tendency to concentrate too much so this might help
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Here is a copywriter trick that helps ... browse the most creative and interesting sites/ads/photos/etc. (some ad guys keep files of stuff that really stands out) that you can find or get out and go to places that are creative like a museum, art store, etc. The best way to re-spark your passion is too not think about writing, but find something that gives you an inspirational hook. Even watching a movie that evokes emotion can help. Good luck! -
What Rich said. I've heard that somewhere before.
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Doh.
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Cool, so I can use this the next time to validate my need for watching the whole season of scrubs on DVD before I write my next post. I will call it creative research. *dancing*
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I will never in my lifetime possibly finish writing the notes I already have.
Writer's Block is a myth (and circular--you can't think of what to write because you can't think of what to write). Think of how infrequently you're speechless. Plenty to say.
Hemingway called the blank page "the white bull." Kill it. Just write. Babble. Freewrite. Ideas will flow--unless you just tell yourself that's all nonsense and choose--and I do mean CHOOSE--to stare at your computer screen instead.
You've already been alive far too long to have nothing to write about.
Best,
Writer-
Thanks, like I haven't put myself down low enough to ask for help about it. *sigh*
I'm kidding. This is a good point. Writers block is a figment of my imagination (like how my parents always told me the sliding glass door on the front of our house is really a window). I think my biggest problem I had was I had too many possible stories zooming through my head that they all got mixed together into meaningless slop. The only thing that helps this is a good nights rest.
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To misquote a gifted author, shoot for the shitty first draft. Write crap. Write lots of crap. Print it out. See if there is a nugget or two of useful stuff in there. Now start writing for real.
And yes, I agree with Writer. Forget "Writer's Block." You're just having a couple of bad days. Who doesn't?-
Look at my site, I think I should have gotten the shitty fist draft out of the way by now...j/k. Seriously though, I wish it was this easy. How many of these first drafts do I have to write before I get to the good stuff?
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You might have to destroy entire forests. Just make sure you keep writing something every day. Meanwhile maybe you should spend more time reading, but reading for pleasure, without taking notes or thinking about your own writing.
Douglas Adams can be a fun place to start. So can Kurt Vonnegut.
And if you're worried about your blog having posts, try adding some pix or embedding some You Tube Videos.
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I have the opposite problem; I have three books that I’m working on, two with working titles, which includes research and three others at the active concept stage. One of the books in research is a trilogy as well. So I’m busy.-
I think you need to put some of that on a back burner and just get a book done at a time...unless that is how you work best. Believe me, I have studied for finals in college, I know how sometimes throwing yourself into something can actually work better than the "one thing at a time" perspective.
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I think it really does depend on how you work best. I currently have...um...four novels in progress (in addition to four blogs and a full-time writing job by day). I know writers who can't work that way and who tend never to get back to the first book once they've started the second, but for me they are very different projects and one another might fit my focus and scheduling at any given time. I've completed five books this way, two have been published, and I sold a third but then had to back out of the contract because of a business conflict. Some of the books I'm working on right now might wrap up this fall (two of my books have been written in less than a month each), and some may take years (one of my novels sat for several years waiting for the last two chapters). My "right answer" is always that there is no right answer except whatever is working for YOU. -
I here you, I've been trying to be more focused over the last few weeks, however I still get some overlap with ideas.
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Fark.com always seems to help inspiration. The most absurd of the absurd exists there, and always seems to spark ideas or discussion.-
Fark, Digg, The Onion. Have been reading all of them religiously, but all I end up doing is getting amused, not inspired. Then I feel like I have wasted another 2 hours on reading when I need to put my ideas on paper...if I had ideas. I know there are bloggers who say they check out other blogs and surf the net for like 12 hours a day while they are writing, but I end up losing myself in the entertainment of it. FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!!
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How about logging out and reading a book in the park?
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Oh dear-- you're panicking now...
To borrow from Douglas Adams, "Don't Panic." It really does only make things worse. The more relaxed you can be about it the better things will go. Remember, every blog piece doesn't have to be Pulitzer-worthy... Go easy on yourself. Write a few sentences of nothing if you have to, to get started. You'll make it through. -
If you took just the stuff you've already written in this post and organized it, you'd have a piece.
Writer-
Sweet.
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This is going to smell a bit like self-promotion, but here's a short piece I did on full-screen editors. Using one saved my bacon more than once over the past couple years. The post is on a Mac site, but I also provide a link to a Windows application that does the same thing.
onmymac.blogspot.com/2007/06/writing-tools-full-screen-editing.html
Full-sreen editing is to get rid of distractions. Sometimes I am just plain confused. I have ideas, but I have no idea how the stuff fits together. In such cases mind-mapping can help me out of a tough spot.
onmymac.blogspot.com/2007/06/writing-tools-mind-mapping.html -
My way of overcoming writer's block is to write about my writer's block!! Give that a try and see if it works for you.
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