Writers Block

[grahamsealby]

I couldn't find anything to do with Writer's mental block. I'm sure the subject has been raised before, but I couldn't find it, so I created a new one.

I'm writing a story about 3 young gay lads who have finished their National Service and split to follow each one's life's path. I envisioned that the book would end sometime in the future with a recounting of their adventures along the way. I breezed through the first lad's tale and started the second boy's story, and then it happened. . . my mind went blank. I tried leaving the story for 3 weeks and revisiting  - but no luck. I still can't proceed. Has anyone experienced the same problem? What do other writers do to overcome the fearsome writer's wall?

I've written about 20,000 words about the first lad and thought, maybe, I should just stop there. But I don't want to. I believe the original concept is sound, so I would like to continue. HELP!!

[Jason Rimbaud]

 

Here is my take on blocks and muses. Inside my post, from January 2019,  I linked to an earlier thread about Muse and blocks, if you want to check that out as well. 

On Writers Blocks & How To Avoid Them

Not much has changed since I first wrote this post. Except I'm actually posting stories again. I took a break from sharing my work for over 20 years, though I continued to write/right during that time. 

Many people are different, and they use all sorts of methods and techniques. What works for me might not work for anyone else because I'm crazy. But all the great writers say the same thing. You have to write every day, stretch your muscles, exercise your talent, and once you do, it will be there whenever you need because you trained your mind that when you sit down, it's time to write. 

Some people work from an outline, some people have a complete roadmap before they start, while others sit down and start writing without any direction, knowing hoping they will figure it out. Any of these methods are fine, and most writers use one of these three methods. I do a mix of all three. 

Some people post a chapter as soon as they complete it, wanting that rush of comments and interaction. Others write ten chapters ahead and then start posting. Or people like me, who finish a story, go back and rewrite it six or seven times, before they get help from an editor. Then they share it with everyone.

While I have my opinions on what is best, the idea is for you to find the method that works for you. 

My opinion only, and many on this site will disagree, but I believe when someone gets blocked, it's because the idea hasn't been fleshed out. I have great ideas all the time, but if I can't link the story beats together, have a beginning, middle, and end plan, even if it's loose, then you'll have blocks. Some authors write their entire story that way; they are popular and have many views.

But when I read their work, those who post a chapter as soon as its finished, there are entire chunks that could have been deleted as they don't really move the plot forward. Or plot points that were abandoned because they went somewhere else. Are they a good writer who has stories people love? Yes. But there is also a ton of filler work because they were discovering "it" as they went. A good 30-chapter story could have been 15 amazing chapters with a little bit of thought. 

JMS writing book Becoming A Writer, Staying A Writer is an amazing book. If you aren't familiar with the name, google him, you'll be surprised how much work he's done in books, comics, movies, TV. He's been everywhere since the late 80's, writing for Murder She Wrote. 

I've rambled enough, and as this is a touchy subject for some reason, I found it best to read a lot and write even more. 

[grahamsealby]

Thanks, Jason. I'll take a geek at JMS Becoming a Writer because the more you read, the more you learn. I definitely do not post chapter by chapter. Writing any story is a fluid procedure and may require many changes to text and structure until you're happy with the finished product. At least I'm comfortable with this approach.

I take your point about writing every day or at least as frequently as possible. Mia Culpa! I tend not to be that organised. However, I believe in planning because if you know where you're headed ( i.e the ending), it should make the lead-up easier.

I still don't know what to do about my unfinished scribbling, and it's giving me the '@#$%'s. I might try writing the ending and then fill in the middle stuff. Ive never done that before, so it's gonna be something of a learning curve. Anyway, thanks for all the good advice - I appreciate your responding to my post.

[Jason Rimbaud]

2 hours ago, grahamsealby said:

I still don't know what to do about my unfinished scribbling, and it's giving me the '@#$%'s.

If you want a different pair of eyes, mine are blue and near sighted, but I'd be happy to give it a once over.