I used to think writer's block was a myth

[Poppa1956]

Geez, write a short story about a writer with writers block.



Next.

[Worldwalker]

Write a story called "Packed with the Devilfish" (karma to the first person to get that reference).

[Poppa1956]

Write about the Nancy Pelosi, Glenn Beck “Wrestling for America Tour." Should refreshments be served?


"He strode into the venue like he owned the joint. He was a sight in his red, white and blue rayon body suit. Not a pleasent sight, but a sight just the same. The Star-Spangled cape and Ted "Cat Scratch" Nugent wailing on the guitar heightened the mood.
As he took his bows, he tried to remember which town he was in. It was important. If he was in Frisco, he was the bad guy tonight, Salt Lake and he was a saint.
So many nights, and so many falls. It was getting to both of them. Last night, Nancy even tried to use his chalkboard. That was over the line, even for her.
Maybe it wasn't last night, may it was a week ago, maybe this was a dream, maybe it was hell, Maybe he was in New York.
No, it was Chicago, and he was the bad guy tonight. He was the bad guy, but it was his turn to win. maybe.
The lights dimmed. One spot focused on her entrance, and the progressive rock started to play. The side of the house that had been cheering started to boo, and vice-versa. “Pelosi the Pounder,” she wanted to be called. She hated “Pinko Pelosi,” as much as he hated “John Birch Beck.” But publicity is always good publicity said both their promoters, and so the names stuck.
You take it from there

I apologize to everyone not up to speed on America politics and commentators.

[Vintage Season]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

Write a story called "Packed with the Devilfish" (karma to the first person to get that reference).

I once wrote a story (mercifully locked away in the seven-year vault) called "A Pict with the Duffel." Is that close enough?

- M.

[runtmms]

For me, writer's block is about me censoring myself too much before anything hits the page. It helps me to loosen that filter. I keep what I affectionately call my Absurd Journal. Note: I'm generally terrible at journaling... It's a place where I have permission to write anything regardless of how crazy, or if the wording is wrong, or if the grammar is off... (Sounds sort of like a message board...)

In some ways it's close to stream of consciousness - but that has never worked for me. That always feels forced and structured, and like I have to at some point judge the quality of my consciousness. My Absurd Journal is more like stream of consciousness tapped into the crazy. Two nights ago I wrote a bit about the majesty of fennel, and its lion-like green mane. Fennel, clearly the king of the strange underutilized vegetables. Fennel, it's what I had for dinner.

Giving myself permission to explore nonsense makes it easier to be creative about what I want to write. It works for me.

-M

[mjhudston]

thanks for all the feedback, comments etc. I've put the novel on the back burner for now. Chapter 8 has been 18 months in the making and has ten lines in it. Time ton pause and try something else.

I am currently putting my creative (sometimes rightwing and offensive) juices into my blog.

I am also going to try some new methods of working, like storyboarding and memory mapping for ideas, rather than just my note book.

You never know, now that I am not trying, it might just startup again.

[mjhudston]

Well since I started this thread I have not been able to progress my novel at all. It's in danger of going two years without a line being written.

It happens to all of us from time to time. My only suggestion is to do something entirely different for awhile - use the same part of the brain for a new type of activity. Learn to paint, learn a foreign language, etc..

If the story is there, it will come out. If not, perhaps one of the other activities will inspire a new, better one.

[DavidRM]

For me, it's self doubt.

No way past it except to get past it.

-David

[mjhudston]

I think for me it's not knowing why that's stressing me, even more than my job. I'm still writing in my blog, it's just the story has died. I wonder why I'm stressing over something thetas never going to make me any money anyway.

[M T McGuire]

Originally Posted by mjhudston

But apparently not. I'm trying to write my second short story and for the past 18 months, nothing. I know I gave a full time job to hold down and pay the bills, but I used to do a chapter a month.

Anyone any ideas as to a remedy?

OK, years and years ago, when you could find his e-mail address on line and he'd write back to you, I asked Terry Pratchett something like this. To paraphrase because I lost the original years ago, basically he said.

Write, write and write and when you've finished write some more. If there's nothing there write about how you can't think of anything to say, write about how bloody annoying it is not to be able to write. It's not important what you write just that you keep doing it, say something on paper every day, whatever it is, and the rest will sort itself out.

Second a quote from an interesting BBC programm I saw about writing. The guy said. "Nothing in plumbing is forced, so it is with writing." He went on to say that if you get stuck, put the thing you're working on away for a while and write something else, rest, relax, forget about it and the solution will come. Hmm... pretty similar to Sir Terry then.

For me, I know it means there's something direly wrong with the plot and I either don't know or can't face up to what it is. It usually happens a third or so into writing a new book. I'm there right now, with a scene I badly need to rewrite but at the moment it's not happening. I write, literally, a couple of sentences a day, so if I can't sort this it means there's something wrong. For me, the only way to solve the problem is to sit tight, put it to the back of my mind and let my subconscious sort it out. It may take months but usually it comes up with a solution or at the least some interesting scenes for another book.

Anyway, good luck chuck. I hope these ideas give you some food for thought even if they don't work for you.

Cheers

MTM

[Mimir]

That's a reference from a story in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction 20 years ago or so. In it, an author kept trying to sell Pact with the Devil stories to F&SF, using various ruses to get the published. Clever tale. Wish I could recall who wrote it and what it was called!

[Alm Hlgh]

Actually I've been kind of lazing about. To make up for my guilty conscience I've been proofing older work. Seems like there is never enough editing and proofing done in my case.cc

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by Tony_A20

Writer's block means you haven't prepared to write your story. I've found writing is 70% planning, 20% Editing, and 10% putting the words down. Authors who have "writer's block" need a writing process which includes some formal planning. Everyone is different, and the amount of planning and preparation varies widely, but it is a necessary step in the writing process.

I find it easier to just write and see where it develops from there. It's mostly just random scenes loosely tied together, with a vague overall story arc. There's plenty of time for planning out a proper plot when you start to re-write it and see what fits where. If I tried to plan everything out in advance I'd probably never write anything at all.

[mjhudston]

Well its on and off. I got writers block so bad that my blog had also suffered, but then all this crap with my neoighbour kicked off and that gave me something to write about.

That is still on going, so the story is still on hold. Ive put about 3 words to chapter 8 since I started this thread.

Does this mean that the story is not going anywhere, and I should put it away for the forseable future. It been in production since 1997 so its not excactly speeding along as it is.

Time for a complete change of idea i think.