what do you do?

[Mowgli]

What are supposed to do when you don't feel like writing? I mean how do you write anyway when you know what you're going to write in your story, but you just don't feel like writing right now? Like sometimes I think I'm going to write on the story I'm working on, but when I sit down I can't get the story to come out.

[kitten]

What are supposed to do when you don't feel like writing? I mean how do you write anyway when you know what you're going to write in your story, but you just don't feel like writing right now? Like sometimes I think I'm going to write on the story I'm working on, but when I sit down I can't get the story to come out.

 

I know exactly that feeling. Sometimes I can write 6,000 words in 24 hours but sometimes months go by when I know what I want to write but it all just seems too much effort.

 

All I can do is jot down notes of my ideas so I don't forget them and just wait until the 'drive' to write returns. Sometimes it returns in a few days, sometimes in a few months, but thankfully so far it's always come back eventually. In the meantime I do other things I enjoy.

 

Yes, I guees that's probably not very useful advice, but at least it lets you know that you're not alone in this!

 

Kit

[Graeme]

In the meantime I do other things I enjoy.

This is what I do, too. I've been recently going through a time where I haven't been able to match up the opportunity to write with the inclination to do so. What that means is that the story has kept churning away at the back of my mind, and it eventually found it's way into words on the screen. It took its time, though.

 

Don't worry too much about it.

 

Another thing you can do is to write something else. Sometimes the problem is the story itself, not the desire to write. Try writing a short story about something... such as a possible entry into the next GA anthology Whatever you write doesn't have to be made public, but getting into the habit of writing will help. It doesn't have to be writing on your current story.

[Cynical Romantic]

I'm a strong believer in the 10% inspiration / 90% perspiration adage. So when I don't feel like writing, I force myself. I set small goals, like "I have to write 500 words today". And I just write whatever comes out. Maybe it's the next scene in my current project, maybe it's a scene ten chapters in the future, and maybe it's something totally unrelated. I don't edit or second-guess the words, I just get them onto the page; editing can come later. The hardest part is to get started, after that I'm usually okay to continue for a while.

[kitten]

I'm a strong believer in the 10% inspiration / 90% perspiration adage. So when I don't feel like writing, I force myself. I set small goals, like "I have to write 500 words today". And I just write whatever comes out.

 

Different people obviously have different attitudes to their writing!

 

I suppose that's certainly the attitude to have if writing is one's job or a source of income. However, for me, writing is just an enjoyable way of spending my time, like watching TV, playing games, walking along the coast, having a glass of nice wine, etc.

 

Certainly, I wouldn't dream of doing any of those things if I don't feel like doing them. If I had to force myself to do any of those things, including writing, then what was once a pleasure would become a chore, and I'd stop doing it.

 

My view is that life is far too short, so there are only 3 reasons to do anything:

necessity - e.g. getting food, earning enough to live on, eating, etc.

duty - e.g. caring for one's children, keeping a promise, etc.

pleasure - e.g. drinking fine wine, eating good food, sex, writing, hiking in the countryside, etc.

 

Now some things can be in more than one of those three classes, and if one is fortunate, necessary activities (e.g. eating) and dutiful activities will also be pleasurable. However, IMO any activity that is not in at least one of the above classes is a waste of time, and there is already too little time in our lives to waste it voluntarily.

 

There is no necessity or duty for me to write, and (as I'm not a masochist!) if I have to force myself to write then it isn't pleasurable, so just I wouldn't do it.

 

Kit

[David McLeod]

I'm a strong believer in the 10% inspiration / 90% perspiration adage. So when I don't feel like writing, I force myself. I set small goals, like "I have to write 500 words today". And I just write whatever comes out. Maybe it's the next scene in my current project, maybe it's a scene ten chapters in the future, and maybe it's something totally unrelated. I don't edit or second-guess the words, I just get them onto the page; editing can come later. The hardest part is to get started, after that I'm usually okay to continue for a while.

 

 

This, and Kit's comment about being sure to capture your ideas are the notions that resonated most with me. The "hardest part is getting started" is a key idea. I take a ruled, yellow tablet and fine-point pen to a place away from the computer on which I do most of my writing: into a coffee shop, the library, the kitchen table, or occasionally the driver's seat of the car (not while moving, thank you); put the pen to paper; make a paragraph mark; make a set of inverted commas/quotation marks; and write whatever comes to mind. By the middle of the first sentence, I usually know who is talking and at least where the next couple of paragraphs will lead. This process is good for a scene or vignette that, often, has to be put on the shelf until I can find others with which it fits. Sometimes, it's the exact scene I need for a current story. Almost always, it breaks the logjam, and I can get back to 'serious' writing.

 

"Semicolons and colons never go inside quotation marks." --The Punctuation Possum

[hh5]

I have those days.

I sometimes have to figure what up with me.

Sometimes you have to be a switch hitter.

 

Maybe today is not to writing day for your your story.

Its maybe time to write something else like Graeme suggests.

That I do a lot.

Or I sketch out bits and pieces of stories.

 

Maybe all together - its not a writing day.

 

There's something on your mind or on your bodies mind.

 

You have to figure it out.

 

Once you figure it out then writing comes out.

 

Other ideas, maybe think about your favorite space.

The perfect place.

Example: your swimming meets or practices

 

Try imagining your writing space just like your swim meets - putting yourself in the perfect place to play. or in this case write.

[Jack Scribe]

...However, for me, writing is just an enjoyable way of spending my time, like watching TV, playing games, walking along the coast, having a glass of nice wine, etc...

 

...There is no necessity or duty for me to write, and (as I'm not a masochist!) if I have to force myself to write then it isn't pleasurable, so just I wouldn't do it.

 

I echo Kit's thoughts.

 

The most productive time for many writers is first thing in the morning. Your mind is fresh of litter and chances are that you've been thinking about the story while sleeping.

 

If I have a block, resolving a detail/direction/character often comes about while I'm lap swimming or cycling. For others, gardening, cutting grass, driving, etc. are good catylists. But as Graeme said, "Don't worry about it too much." I've sometimes have only written a few paragraphs and a small dialogue exchange at one sitting.

 

To get the creative juices going, also try reviewing previous chapters that lead up to your current state. There have been a couple of instances when I've made changes to the earlier material so my story will traverse that literary crossroad.

 

Above all else, have fun.

 

Jack

[Duncan Ryder]

I think it depends on why you write.

 

If writing is what you do for a living, then you rely on dicipline or caffeine, or deadlnes or whatever it takes to write through the times when it's not coming easily.

 

If writing's your hobby and something you do for pleasure, if it's not pleasurable, do something that is until it's pleasurable again. ..)

 

But either way, I recommend a book called The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. There's a website as well. http://www.theartistsway.com/. Whether you're a pro, or are working out your relationship with your muse, or working on giving voice to your inner artist, you may find it helpful.

 

It has a lot of exercises and things to really get you unblocked and thinking creatively. You may feel a little wierd doing some of these things at first, but ... try it. Seriously. I have been using this book for five or six years now, and I have found some of the tools amazingly helpful. In particular I really recommend what she calls "morning pages" and "artist dates". (though you may want to ignore the bit about doing morning pages by hand. I think that's a generational thing...)

[J_Ross]

I think it depends on why you don't feel like writing. Like, for me personally, I always want to step away when I get to the part where I have to start working out all the conflict I've built. Or even some of it. It feels like the fun parts over and now it's time for work. It's always more fun getting into trouble than it is getting out of it. *shrug* If that's the case, I agree with Cyn and I push through, but if I'm really struggling; If I've put words on the page multiple times and it's still not working because I'm really NOT that into it, I jump around. Not literally, but I skip ahead to a part of the story that IS fun/interesting and write that instead. Or, I tell myself 'I won't be able to write that, until I finish this'. It helps to know where I'm going, if that makes sense.

 

Not so much with the story I'm writing now, but with some of the urban fantasy I use to work on, I found it helped to grab a book off my shelf and read it. Get away from my world and into someone else's for awhile and see what they've done so I can get excited about mine again. About having created a world of my own (hopefully) just as interesting. *shrug*

 

Everyone is different, and I think part of me agrees with Kit and Duncan and the others who've said it depends on why you write but a BIG part of me says that there are always parts of writing that aren't as easy/fun/exciting as others, but you have to get through them if you ever want to finish the story.

 

Or, if you're just having trouble getting the words down in the 'right way', I say just throw 'em down anyway. Even if it's just a cluttered mess of nonsense, I think it helps to be able to 'see' the words/thoughts/ideas/etc. on the paper. You can work out getting them into the story afterwards.

 

Just my two cents. Hope it helps!

[Procyon]

I do force myself to write sometimes because even though writing isn't my profession, I have to force myself to write in order to finish my stories, and since I enjoy seeing my finished stories I have to choose between the displeasure of forcing myself and the dissatisfaction of not having finished them... and I prefer the former. Hmm that sounded complicated. But that's how it is, the lesser of two evils... And besides, it feels good when I've written my 500 words (or whatever I've decided), and as Cynical Romantic said, it's usually easier once you get started. So the displeasure isn't that great.

 

 

And interestingly, many professional writers seem to decide a certain number of words to write each day, and I think the routine makes writing a lot easier. That's how it was during NaNoWriMo (when I didn't finish a novel, but did write half of it) and that was actually very enjoyable, in a way.

[AFriendlyFace]

Different people obviously have different attitudes to their writing!

 

I suppose that's certainly the attitude to have if writing is one's job or a source of income. However, for me, writing is just an enjoyable way of spending my time, like watching TV, playing games, walking along the coast, having a glass of nice wine, etc.

 

Certainly, I wouldn't dream of doing any of those things if I don't feel like doing them. If I had to force myself to do any of those things, including writing, then what was once a pleasure would become a chore, and I'd stop doing it.

 

My view is that life is far too short, so there are only 3 reasons to do anything:

necessity - e.g. getting food, earning enough to live on, eating, etc.

duty - e.g. caring for one's children, keeping a promise, etc.

pleasure - e.g. drinking fine wine, eating good food, sex, writing, hiking in the countryside, etc.

 

Now some things can be in more than one of those three classes, and if one is fortunate, necessary activities (e.g. eating) and dutiful activities will also be pleasurable. However, IMO any activity that is not in at least one of the above classes is a waste of time, and there is already too little time in our lives to waste it voluntarily.

 

There is no necessity or duty for me to write, and (as I'm not a masochist!) if I have to force myself to write then it isn't pleasurable, so just I wouldn't do it.

 

Kit

 

This makes a lot of sense and I completely agree!

 

Everyone is different, and I think part of me agrees with Kit and Duncan and the others who've said it depends on why you write but a BIG part of me says that there are always parts of writing that aren't as easy/fun/exciting as others, but you have to get through them if you ever want to finish the story.

 

Err, but so does this :wacko:

 

Perhaps, for me, it's a matter of figuring out a good way to balance the two.

 

I personally tend to be a very extreme sort of writer. I'll either spend hours, or the entire day, doing nothing but plugging away writing and I'll do that for weeks, or else I won't write a word for months.

 

I think getting started is the hardest part. For me it's not so much starting to write once I've decided to write, it's deciding to write in the first place. Once I've actually got my story open and I'm committed to writing it, I can usually do it pretty easily. It's getting to the point of opening it and deciding to write that's hardest for me. Of course I'm like that with most things. I never have any trouble actually sleeping, but I have a really hard time deciding to go to bed. I don't mind being at work, but I hate going. I love spending time with friends and family, but I hate actually getting out to do it. Pretty much every activity in my life is fun and easy once I get started - working, socializing with friends, making dinner, going out, going on trips, etc. - but I rarely ever actually want to go do those things until I'm doing them. I have no trouble whatsoever working up enthusiasm and finding enjoyment in whatever it is I'm doing. I usually have a great time and throw myself into it with a zest. However, I do have a really tough time "looking forward to things." I very much live in the moment in that way.

 

 

So when it comes to writing it, unless I'm already writing, I probably won't want to.

Edited February 22, 2009 by AFriendlyFace

[kitten]

I think getting started is the hardest part. For me it's not so much starting to write once I've decided to write, it's deciding to write in the first place. Once I've actually got my story open and I'm committed to writing it, I can usually do it pretty easily. It's getting to the point of opening it and deciding to write that's hardest for me. Of course I'm like that with most things. I never have any trouble actually sleeping, but I have a really hard time deciding to go to bed. I don't mind being at work, but I hate going. I love spending time with friends and family, but I hate actually getting out to do it. Pretty much every activity in my life is fun and easy once I get started - working, socializing with friends, making dinner, going out, going on trips, etc. - but I rarely ever actually want to go do those things until I'm doing them. I have no trouble whatsoever working up enthusiasm and finding enjoyment in whatever it is I'm doing. I usually have a great time and throw myself into it with a zest. However, I do have a really tough time "looking forward to things." I very much live in the moment in that way.

 

This is incredibly spooky... it describes me exactly... have you been peeking inside my head???

 

Kit

[brokenwhole]

Hmm, I'm faced with that problem every day! On the one hand, I'm revising my book - a memoir with some pretty harrowing stuff (subtitle is "A Journey Through the Wormhole of Mania - first chapter is here.) Even two years after the crisis, I struggle to write about it with humor. I've spent about six months completely revising the first quarter of the book, and was largely successful at introducing humor. But now I'm beginning to dry up, and run out of inspiration on that front. It's a real problem for me! The best I can do is to try "flash writing", which is: I try to write a section completely afresh, without censoring myself, from a somewhat mordant point of view, and then try to integrate the new writing with the original.

 

The other area in which I face writer's block is in writing my daily blog. I suppose I'm a little bit of an elitist when it comes to blogs. I'm sure there's a market out there for interesting discussions of what I had for breakfast, or trivia about Janet Jackson, but I prefer to write only if I have something to say. Every blog entry is on a specific subject, and written in a "writerly" way. However, since I've also set myself the goal of blogging every day, in order to build readership, it's challenging! I try every day to see odd things in the way people relate to one another, I rummage through my own sodden neurons and lay my heart on the line, or I write about what I'm reading.