Writers block can happen to all writers of all levels of experience in all genre’s. This is the thread to break down the walls! What do you do to get on the writing trail again? Writing exercises? A long walk? Beer? Find some help and/or give some encouragement to a fellow writer to get their pen moving again.

_________________
Learning to be unrepentantly me.

Wow, hey, this thread popped up right in time... I'm totally having the worst case of writers block in the history of the world! I think it might be because I have too many fics going at once and my brain is on overload...anyway, whenever I sit down to write anything, I just end up staring at a blank screen, with my mouth hanging open, while a little line of drool excapes out from between my lips and the sound of DUHHHHHHHH fills the air.

Any suggestions for a poor fic writer?

xoxo
Emms

_________________
G Wing

Hmm. Well, a few things that work for me at least...

Sometimes when I can't work out what's next, I try to think what music would match the events that need to come next. If I can't even think of what needs to happen at all, I go back to the start and start trying to design a soundtrack. That can then tell me which piece of music comes for the next piece and suddenly the words can come.

I also find that trying to summarise my story tells me things I may not have thought of. If I've got a vague idea of what's meant to be in a chapter, I try to produce a synopsis. Might literally be brainstormed words. I find once my fingers start moving, even I begin off topic it eventually gets back around to being on topic.

Back on music, I also have writing music that helps focus and forget the world. Actually I have a whole ritual sometimes. Might go something like this...pick an episode of the show I like and run through DVD highlights...quick flick through the board...find a favourite story that captures those W/T emotions...little read through...select some appropriately quiet music...read a little more...reach a suitable breaking point...pull out the last chapter of what I wrote and review the last page....leading nicely into the next page of the next piece...at which point the great outlining or brainstorming begins.

I learned one thing from my beta which was that scenes don't need to come out in order. I might know where I need to start but not be able to think how to do it, yet I might have clear insight on another scene. So I do that and work it around.

I came across an interview with Louis de Bernieres where he talked about how he writes every chapter of a novel as a short story and then arranges them at the end. I thought that was rather interesting.

Sorry that was a bit of a ramble.

_________________
There's nothing very merry 'bout going round and round.

Originally posted by Insanity[hr]

I (like some other kittens) have participated NaNoWriMo 2004.

When you try to write 50.000 words in one month you surely reach a wall end of the second week (a littel sooner or later maybe).

To overcome this writerblock there were used some techniques. Maybe some can be used here in BetaPens.

First: the 5 minute exercise

Someone gives a rondom theme (only a word maybe; wihpped cream for example) and everyone (who wants to) has to write 5 minutes straight, without thinkinh, without editing or pondering about the exact words. The word must only be mentioned it must not be crucial.

Then everybody can post the outcome here.
It's only a writing exercise, to get kinda started. (Maybe someone even gets some cool ideas for a new story this way)

Second: Look for a wrinting buddy

In NaNo it works really well, trying to beat someone in the wordcount each day. Here where quality is nessecary (and a given), maybe there are other ways.

Soo, just my two cents.

Insanity

_________________
Check first line for the name of the Original Poster. This post has been moved by a moderator to this thread.

Originally posted by raspberryhat[hr]

Very interesting. I find I just need to write. If I look at a blank page I just need to start brain storming and almost any subject is good enough to start with because the big subject of what I really want to write about is always in the back of my mind.

The writers's block thread was meant to cover among other things the many and varied types of writing exercises that a writer might use to get the creative juices flowing again.

_________________
Check first line for the name of the Original Poster. This post has been moved by a moderator to this thread.

I am a Natalie Goldberg disciple. You guys will hate me after a while because I always reference her books. I highly recommend Wild Mind:Living the Writer's Life. It's full of great exercises for slaying writer's block and I swear by it! I recommend it to people all the time and have even given it as a gift a few times.

If I'm stuck on something I just try and keep my pen moving on the subject for 10 minutes. Doesn't matter if I write "blah, blah, blah," for a while, eventually something comes out about the subject and it leads me to where I need to be to get over whatever hurdle has presented itself.

As far as writing W/T goes specifically, I have found that telling myself, "Write one of Willow's dreams for ten minutes. Go!" does wonders. The most amazing writing experience I've ever had was free-writing a Willow dream and then coming back to it a week later and free-writing and analysis of the dream. I told myself I just had to go for ten minutes, but ended up writing for an hour both times. My very one dimensional Willow and Tara suddenly took on three dimensions and souls. It was exhilarating!

_________________
Learning to be unrepentantly me.

best cure for writers block I've found is to read something else (doesn't have to be fic) from start to finish, then come back to your fic with some fresh inspiration.

Failing that actually go watch a few episodes.

That's what works for me anyway. Neither are "quick" remedies, but they always get my (creative) juices flowing again.

_________________
"Bugger, I thought you'd gone!" - Ethan Rayne

Well, I used to just fantasize about a certain voluptuous blonde with gorgeous deep blue eyes and luscious lips who just happens to share a name with fossilized tree resin...and then presto abracadabra alakazam...all manner of ideas for scenes would just pop into my head

Sadly, this only works when writing smutfic...

Sandi/Umgaynow

I have a smut block. Not because I cant get my mind to think about smut and not because I don't have any great ideas. I think the main reason why I have smut is because when I started writting it, my ex was like my muse, the one who made the thoughts turn to peices of art....and I can't bring myself to write smut anymore, this sucks because I love smut....Grr....

_________________
-Rose

man...it must be the month for writers block. I too have found myself afflicted by this horrible and insane disease... so I'd like to offer my condolences to all those suffering from it.





I've read your smut sweetie...very good stuff. But if you want my opinion though...you don't need a muse to write good sh*t, all you need to do is eat some chocolate and listen to inspiring music sung either by people whos lives are more depressing then your own or by irritatingly cheerful people all hopped up on designer lattes (chocolate and music act as a perfect conduit with which to channel the smut queen inside yourself ) then...just let your fingers do the talkin'

xoxo
Emms

_________________
G Wing

I'm perhaps blessed that I never suffered from full-blown writers block - an inability to come up with anything - but maybe thats because I'm so long-winded that the ideas I do have take me a long time. However there are times I just CAN'T write what I should be writing. Usually parts of fic that aren't directly involving the girls.

I have this advice from that perspective. Write something - anything - that you want. It doesn't need to be a good idea. Write a fantasy. Write around a joke. If you can stick in the same world, the same characters. Write out of sequence, stuff from far in the future in your fic - it'll give you something to write towards later. Write something you may never use but is just cool. Don't tie yourself to the structure of your fic. Anything is better than nothing and you can enjoy yourself and occasionally come up with something really cool that you'll alter your fic towards.

Motivationally I have a word target per day OR a time target (for redrafting.) I always try to meet one or the other - so you can just spend time redrafting or polishing existing parts.

This might not help full blown writers block - or it might! I've never had it, so perhaps one tiny part of this, or all of it, can help some people avoid it?

But I admit, it's probably cos I'm so long winded.

Katharyn

_________________
-------------------------
If I wanted a little pussy, I've got my own to play with.

Chance in *Chance*
-------------------------

Create an imaginary place you would go just to relax and describe it. For example mine is a river bank. The river is small but not quite a stream and its current changes at my will. The banks are steep and most times you'll find me sitting under a tree a few feet from the water. The grass is green, the air is warm, and there is a breeze. There is no person or object in sight. Anywayz, just make up a place and start writting about it. Sometimes that's enough to wake up your imagination.

_________________
All evil needs to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
- Edmund Burk

OK I am totally blocked...well not totally, I just can't figure a way to go on with the story for one reason...I need a way for two characters from different time periods to communicate, when they can't understand each others' language, spoken or written...and no, it can't be the language of love...not in that place at this point...the thing is, due to a spell, when Willow speaks it sounds normal to her but comes out as nonsense sounds to others...something like Giles' fyarl speak...how do I write that language as the other would hear it so that 1) it doesn't look ridiculous to the reader and 2) they can begin to understand a pattern in it and communicate to some degree at least...please keep in mind that Willow cannot draw for crap, so Pictionary cannot be a basis for communication Also, the spell has altered her appearance to others, so she can't really do Charades type thing because to the beholder she has more gnarly paw kind of things than hands...suggestions? Help please...cuz I think Speaking to Silence has the potential to be a really good story and this is the one thing holding me back...that and worrying about Willow's interacting in the past my affect the present...oy

Sandi

It looks like your asking two very closely connected questions.

1) How do you present it as a writer
2) How do I work the rules of the language in the story?

The first could be as simple as you show the "conversation" from two perspectives. In Willow's perspective you show her asking her question in "English" - at least partly. And in the other characters perspective they hear something else. So you start a line:

Willow asked the question that had been building in her for a long time now. "Where's the bathroom - I really - "

And you end the line in the other language from the other perspective ie "need to go" might become something that reads much harsher like "ek lig tak!"

You can also bring both some consistency into that and a quick way to generate the other language by using an online translation program and picking an obscure and perhaps slighty guttural language (if you want something like the Fyarl demon.) I would pick obscure so you don't have as much chance of kittens who actually know the language and wonder what your talking about!!

By having Willow 'think' about what she's saying from time to time you can show the reader what she meant. i.e. Why can't they understand I want to go to the bathroom??

I think that about covers item 1, but item two is the story side of it, rather than the mechanism.

Since you're dealing with separate time periods I think one of the simplest ways is to convey it as an obscure language from the past. Let Giles have a vague inkling he heard it before, something to go on. He's an expert in ancient languages - maybe he even needs to ask Wesley or someone from the Council? Then they can research, perhaps find something like a modern day descendent of the language, similar with a few words that match, before getting full on translation later on when you need it. Magic might also help if you need a quick fix - even if it just gives them a few minutes, and then they have to go back to other methods.

The one thing I would say is that you also need to ensure you justify that Willow 'hears' the English when someone speaks this language to her. If she is hearing what the others are saying in English and understanding it then you need to justify why she isn't only getting it when they talk in her 'new' language. This is one thing they glossed over in the ep where Giles changed where I think they let him hear English, just not speak it. All Spike did was understand him. - Spike spoke English. Whedon used the Chewbacca solution from Star Wars - he can understand English, but can't speak it due to the nature of the vocal cords.

You can do the same or similar - but you need to be sure to set the rules. Can Willow understand them - and why? I would say you pretty much have to let her or else you'll have a nightmare writing it. But then you need to have that justified even if it just takes a line somewhere.

Hope some of that helps, even if it shows what you don't want to do!

Katharyn

_________________
-------------------------
If I wanted a little pussy, I've got my own to play with.

Chance in *Chance*
-------------------------

Well, the thing is...Amy has cast a spell on Willow which has sent her back in time...so there is no Giles or anyone else to help her there...also the spell has made her appear to the world as she sees herself...in this story Willow is wallowing in self-loathing and therefore she appears to others as an ugly monster...and where the language barrier comes in is that no one can see her, hear her, touch her etc. as she truly is...as a young woman and not a monster...except for someone who loves her and she loves in return...see my problem? I am just afraid that whatever made up language I create is going to come across as silly...I have never been good at that sort of thing...always makes me think of those cheesy Saturday morning cartoon critters...you mentioned there are sites where you can get obscure language translations? Could you perhaps point me in the right direction?

As for the past having an effect on the present, the thing is that of course Willow is going to meet up with one of Tara's ancestors...who has a child and therefore it isn't something where she can just be plucked back into Willow's time without consequence...need to figure that out...oy...this is getting to be one of those it seemed like a really cool story idea at the time things

Sandi

Take a page out of Chomsky's book and remember that all languages have "nominative/subject" parts and "verbal" parts. This is true of even the most exotic languages, such as Chinese or Basque. As an example, if were to write something like "Hanglech blampted gootily", you could figure out which word is a subject/noun, which a verb, and which an adverb--because I followed the basic sentence structure of English, wherein meaning is derived in large part from word position. Other languages, such as the so-called "inflected" languages (like Latin, or modern Russian) can move words all over the place and still retain the meaning of a sentence.

You just have to decide what sort of language you want to invent, and stick with it consistently! Probably the best at this was the late great JRR Tolkien, whose "invented" languages are based on real languages such as Welsh and Finnish, but have a definite identity of their own.

In any case, I really wouldn't worry about it all that much. Just plunge ahead and go with it...it's a really good idea

I have to agree this is a really nice idea you have here, with lots of potential. Personally I'm not usually a fan of self-loathing (but I'm a hypocrit because I spent ages writing just that in my fics!) in fics for Willow, but I think this has a bold new way to deal with it.

Well just for example here is a English-Ukranian dictionary. You can type a few words at a time and it can translate it for you. It won't be grammatically correct but your not aiming for that, after all it's not real Ukranian you want, it's some other language. All this gives you is chance to get 'strange' but consistent words easily without making them up.

http://lingresua.tripod.com/cgi-bin/onlinedic.pl

I just googled Online Translation Ukrainian to get that, you can do it for all sorts of languages (though many results offer pay translations services, which you don't want.)

On the other hand... How far back in time are you sending Willow? You can brush over it, but if you were looking pre-America then maybe far enough back that you could find Willow in a time/place where Tara ancestors (if you extrapolate that Maclay is a Scottish/Irish name) were gaelic speakers or something. That would also give you a communications barrier but from the other side. Just something to consider if you find the barrier is more important than the reason. The thing with that is that there is at least a hint of gaelic still in English, so you have a natural basis to build from once they no longer see Willow as a monster. But it really is a change to what you suggested you want to do.

Either way, I don't think you need to worry too much about the language itself being silly. As long as you apologise to any Ukranian kittens (or whatever language you chose) you'll be okay.

Your plot 'problems' - don't give up on this. Yes, its a toughie, but it could be very rewarding for you and readers. There are all sorts of challenges you have here - both Willow existing effectively in the past and Tara in the present when she comes back. Their experiences can be mirrored to some extent. I'd love to see you explore more than the monster issue - I think you can stretch it and explore the worlds they find themselves in to the resolution of their problems. I can even see, for example, they might find some records that'll suggest the child 'died' or 'vanished' at the time along with Tara-(just to explain the disappearance) - and thus they've done the right thing in the end. They always had come through time.

Then you get into temporal paradoxes but stay away from those as much as you can and just write your story. This isn't Star Trek!

One thought that does occur to me from your potted summary is that if someone who loves Willow is the only person who doesn't see the monster then your in a little trouble. Until she does see Willow how can she see fall in love and NOT see the Monster? You might need to tweak the reasoning behind that.

And there's another reason. I think you might need to have this not be Tara's ancestor but Tara. In some way it needs to be Tara - stated as such. I only point this out cos of the Pens FAQ - all fics are about the girls, together. AU is one thing, but Tara needs to be Tara. Somehow. But you can clear that up with reincarnation/preincarnation or something! Perhaps into this life without being 'aware' of how it happened, or that it has. Willow awakens her too perhaps? The benefit of that for what I mentioned about needing love not to see the monster is that Tara, truely Tara, already has/will/does love Willow. You therefore create a perfect reason why she see's Willow and not the monster.

Two plot problems cancel out and solve each other potentially. In which case you might want that second, say gaelic, barrier between them so that can explore that rather than just the monster barrier?All this is just off the top of my head. Keep, ignore or curse any or all of it.

Last thing I'd say about potential plot logic... what does the child see? Is she going to be happy with Mom falling in love with a monster. You need to stretch your logic there if the child also needs to see Willow.

Don't mind me picking holes, I only bother because I think you have a good idea here. As long as you review the Pens FAQ to make sure you write within the guidelines (and I'm sure you were anyway - but it's just the wording of your summary) and can find a way around the logic then you can create something very interesting here.

I've rambled enough... see what you think of what I said. Happy to clarify anything that's badly explained.

Katharyn

_________________
-------------------------
If I wanted a little pussy, I've got my own to play with.

Chance in *Chance*
-------------------------

Thanks for all the advice...has given me some ideas...mostly whether or not to lose the kid in the first place and just focus on the relationship between the two women...dunno...the thing that is plaguing me at present is that in order to get back into Willow's dark space I'm going to have to watch the horrible parts of Season Sux again...that's how I started this story in the first place...I know I shouldn't have watched them...but I caught a little bit of Dark Willow being all snarky and sarcastic on tv and it made me watch the rest cuz some of the stuff she said was too funny...I know it's wrong but I'm a big fan of sarcasm...what can I say I just don't know that I am up for getting into that dark space right now...cuz real life is kinda shaky at the moment, ya know? I do have a fluff piece I could work on though...it's about half finished...about what would happen if Willow and Tara unknowingly ate "special brownies"...maybe that would get me back in writing mode...we'll see...I just feel like if I can't get into Willow dark place, the story won't ring true to the part I have already written, ya know? Hmmm

Sandi

I recently took a page from one of my own fics. Really. I went to the laundromat! I've often said I've written 50,000 bestsellers and solved the world's problems a million times over while staring at my clothes spinning round and round. There's something about the laundromat that gets me thinkin' and this time it helped me blast through an 18-month case of writer's block.

Anyone else have some place where they know they can go to banish the dreaded BLOCK?

_________________
Learning to be unrepentantly me.

For whatever reason, I can write while riding the Metro, even on days where I can't put a sentence together anywhere else.

There's no place for inspiration like a really boring lecture on something you really should be paying attention to. The lights are dim, the voice drones, the powerpoint takes away any motivation to take proper notes... and suddenly I have margins full of thoughts about all the stories I have on my back burner. If only I could direct this better- I never seem to daydream about the things I need to finish my current fic.
I guess I'll have to wait until my review course next week. ^_^

Never

_________________
Changes

Last time I had writer's block, I went to the mall and wrote this.......viola! no more writer's block. just a headache from writing about writing and the obnoxious crowd >.<

Writer’s Block
It is loud here, I suppose…
surrounded by a crowd - I hate - the mall
but here my mind
recedes to silence
and I can do my work

In solitude
my aptitude
for writing leaves down the drain
my mind will babble
and all that rabble
will keep me from writing a word

I guess it is
not silence I need
but the absence of company
including my own

First, I am so new that my kitten fur is still wet! I also have a serious problem over-doing the kitten metaphor! ;o)

Seriously, I try to find what excites me. What is the scene/moment/line of dialogue that I want to tell; then I work on that. I can get tangled up in endless explanations that really aren't needed and that's my main writer's block.

Other things to do are go take a walk, jump up and down, or play best and worst. Best and Worst is where you think, she's in this moment and the worst thing (or best thing) that could happen is . . . and you work from there.

I am at the Tara-tech level and this is my first post - it's exciting!

Thanks for asking the question; we all go through this. I once had to write a play in two hours for a morning rehearsal and sheer terror got me through it!

Ariel