Thyroid Posted May 29, 2009 I know a lot of you guys are writers, so I'm going to ask you for your advice. How do you deal with writer's block? I haven't been able to write anything for the past three years, save for the occasional ten-minute period that brings-out the uninspired review or two. It's gotten to the point where my writing in ninth grade was better. I don't get it. I used to love writing so much, and when I read articles by Lester Bangs or plays by Shakespeare, dialogue by Tim Schafer or Charlie Kaufman or Joel and Ethan Coen I immediately pick up a pencil and write...for ten seconds. Seven words a day. Even this post seems to have been written by a retarded five year old. I'm not usually a miserable misanthrope but my writing is the only thing I ever prided myself on and this has gotten me down. Any advice at all would be great. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nachimir Posted May 29, 2009 Even this post seems to have been written by a retarded five year old. You're being overly harsh on yourself, for a start. I do quite a bit of writing for work. Not all of it is stuff I'm proud of or entirely happy with, but even with the enjoyable stuff it can take me an hour to really get into it. I'd advise just writing about something, anything, and committing an hour to doing it. Also, did you ever have to edit yourself extensively? IMO it's rare for anything to come out great as a first draft. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben X Posted May 29, 2009 I'd recommend not stopping after ten seconds. Just keep writing, no matter what comes out. It can be crap, or even just free-association, it doesn't matter. DO NOT STOP, keep on writing - just a string of random words if necessary. No one will ever read it but you, and you don't have to feel bad about it being crap because you know it's just an exercise to prime the pumps. Do this every day for an hour or so (or whatever). Hopefully, you'll eventually get back into the habit of writing, and be able to start working on editing, structure etc without second-guessing yourself to a standstill. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OssK Posted May 29, 2009 My recommandation would be to have something to write handy at all times. For instance, at the very moment you're falling asleep, an idea that is half dream half not might come up and make you write or in the street you come up with some sweet stuff... The hard thing in my opinion is knowing what to write, then you'll be willing to write it down. If you just sit in front of a blank page it'll sure be harder to fill... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DanJW Posted May 30, 2009 I'm only just getting out of a long period of such paralysis. My advice is to write about something that doesn't matter, something fun, and something which you have no intention of letting other people see. If you have ever considered fanfic, now is the time... Just make sure it is something you enjoy writing. After a while on that, the "proper" writing won't seem such a hurdle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Salka Posted May 30, 2009 I just write anyway even though I know it's crap. Then when I'm done I leave it a while, then look over it a day or so later and usually it's either not as crap as I thought it was and I can edit it to make it good, or it's really rubbish and I can see exactly why and set about writing it again. Then again, I'm a rubbish writer, so don't listen to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spaff Posted May 30, 2009 you aren't a rubbish writer at all - so says Tim for one. I find that it's about writing the style or feel that you are most comfortable can get you going - for instance i had to write all kinds of press releases and boring copy fo manuals and websites - and I'd struggle and it would take ages deliberating over it, But one time i had to set the style of writing for the intranet, and i thought I'd try something silly, and wrote in a more relaxed less formal style, and wrote half the intranet in an hour, and it was allowed to exist. it felt natural to write like that for me and so things came out. so think about what you are witing, what its for, why you want to do it, and just write things until you find your style again. I found that I liked writing in rhyme, and it helped me to find a discipline for instance. overall i found that writing a blog post for something internal, and now for the Media Molecule blog, where I can be more free to play, allowed me to spit out writing much faster and not worry as much. err that advice seems disjointed but, whatever. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gdf Posted May 30, 2009 Like everyone else said, just keep writing. If it's shit you can chop it to bits when you proof read. [This is rich coming from me, because although I'm confident my writing is alright, I'm incredibly lazy. I'll write a third of an article, then stop and come back to it a month later, it's not so much "block" as "distracted by internet".] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OssK Posted May 30, 2009 Just like you wall-nut, sometimes I wonder myself what is happening to me... I'm asking myself what word I'll put there and in the blink of an eye I'm on youtube watching crap / kittens / videos I've already seen a thousand times / yufster dancing naked and drunk... It's a sad life I'm living... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twmac Posted May 30, 2009 What I used to find helped me was to play games with my writing, I treated it like it didn't really matter, which is sort of true, and come up with random stuff. I wrote a whole load of short stories that were rubbish. I also liked to sit and listen to music and write down random words from the lyrics, setting myself certain rules before I listened and wrote. Like only writing the second word of every stanza. Nothing ever directly came of doing that but it did help me focus on words. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jake Posted May 30, 2009 My solution was to stop writing, and it was a shit solution. While previously I was mediocre, I could at least churn out the words and publish something. Now I have trouble forming a cohesive, interesting paragraph. Heed my words! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrHoatzin Posted May 30, 2009 Start a journal. Grab a book by an author you admire and just start copying the thing word for word. Do some extensive research to some writing end. I really suck at getting off my ass too, tho. Since graduating I have been in a weird consumption of culture mode; hopefully I will snap out of it and add something to said culture sooner than later. I have a shitload of really neat projects that I should be working on, but I am being lazy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Salka Posted May 31, 2009 Just like you wall-nut, sometimes I wonder myself what is happening to me... I'm asking myself what word I'll put there and in the blink of an eye I'm on youtube watching crap / kittens / videos I've already seen a thousand times / yufster dancing naked and drunk... It's a sad life I'm living... Hey... what? You're confusing me with Marek I think. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OssK Posted May 31, 2009 Hey... what? You're confusing me with Marek I think. Oh god, did I miss the one where he was naked and drunk ? Oh... no, well, another failed joke today... It's a sad life I'm living... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thyroid Posted May 31, 2009 Well, thanks everyone. I've been trying out various pieces of advice and managed to write an entire page today (it's a start), and while it isn't exactly Shakespeare it's not bad either. Practice practice, got to practice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderPeel2001 Posted June 1, 2009 Just keep going Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SignorSuperdouche Posted June 2, 2009 "Ug" is too distinct as a sound, you want more of a nondescript grunt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OssK Posted June 2, 2009 WORDS ARE FOR GIRLS Actually that has been pretty true for me once. I was so lazy that I just couldn't write or draw anything... And then I fell in love and everything seemed easier, i wrote a shitload of perfectly decent poems Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
