One thing is a must, and that is, not to put pressure on yourself. I have found the best way to write, is to be comfortable within myself. Start by picking out a subject, such as a tree (don't laugh) and write what you know about. It's an Ash. It's green, It blooms in Spring and sheds it's leaves in Autumn. Birds nest In Ash and there learn to fly. The young birds learn to tweet and then they retreat. Like I said, writing is easy, when the ink is wet and you hunger for words with feeling and not for words appealing to others.
Well, there's getting stuck, and then there is writer's block. When I'm stuck, I do research, and overload myself with possibilities, until one just falls into place in the story, and I'm off again. Writer's block is more serious. I haven't found a work-around for that yet. I usually work on 5 or more stories at a time, so if one gets stale, I pick up on another one. Sometimes a story takes me years to finish. Other times I can start and finish one in a day.
Stop masturbating.
Not sure about you - but when I'm happily sexed up the last thing I care about is writing down sexy thoughts. I need to reserve my sexual energy for writing if I want to get anything done.
lmao!!Yes Your right that's a good idea too,thank you Metilda.= *-)
Take a break. My production rate has never been high. Part of it is time and part of it is that I find I kind run of steam when I start "pumping them out".
My best advice is to read. Take advantage of the slump and read. Reading was most likely what brought you to writing.
Step outside of yourself for a while and just let your imagination go. Read for fun, read about writing, even read bad writing. It inspires thought, sometimes raises questions and can often challenge you. It works for me.
I go through periods where I have no desire to write. I also get writers block, not knowing what to write, whatsoever. I just take a step back and let it come back to me. If I start to write a story and I suddenly lose the desire to write it, I do the same. If that oomph doesn't come back for me, I walk away. However, thankfully, that has only happened once.
Funny thing about writers block is that it can be linked to several things. A lack of inspiration. Outside distraction. A plot roadblock and the need to research more. Or in some cases just a plain loss of interest. I have several stories going at one time. I remember I wrote the Detectives series and it didn't get the type of reviews I wanted so I didn't finish it. I write for myself but also to share with others.
There is a similar question elsewhere on "Forum" to which I suggested "read any number of trashy poorly written stories, on other web sites of course, and you will say to yourself I can do better than that, and you do."
there are times when i have my word document open for days and don't write. i generally need a bit of background noise, whether it's music or a video clip that i tend to ignore while i write. i have about 5 to 10 stories on the go at the same time and switch between then when i lore interest. i go back to them later and its usually fine.
I tell ya one thing that utterly DESTROYS the immediacy of a story about something like sex...its pedantic nitpicking of syntax and punctuation. then a long slow protracted re admission only to find more minute mistakes a real editor would simply fix and or ignore in the interests of the tale and the punch its delivered with.
after many years in rock and roll, movie and production of plays etc. the BIG guys couldn't give brass fuck if there's the odd spelling mistake....some real actors, for instance, actually insist on some things being actually written phonetically to get an insight into the writers base idea of the character.
The writing on here IS good (great infact) and there are some FINE writers, but much of it is to a certain level...we want voices of people whom don't necessarily write for a living, writing should be either tough, gritty, and in this case passonate and realistic OR its simply wallpaper.
we as a society reach an entirely different level of understanding when we set aside the rules of convention...particularly in the pursuit of STORY.
I'll get back on here soon with another story, but right now I just do not the time to write about a sexual experience and be in full university of Harvard humanities doctorate mode to complete it to a level that MIGHT be required on this site.
PS: I say this because writers block can often be exacerbated by a feeling of "damn, I spent 5 to 7 hours crafting that story and drawing it out of my head and the boss says its got too many exclamation points...whats the point...hey facebook, cooking, actual sex and living might actually be far less time consuming".
Writers need encouragement not smug (somewhat triumphal) rapped knuckles for not quite sticking to the rules....are we not artists (or with the pretence of becoming artists) after all??....dahh im old fashioned and likely pretty dull but there it is.
A while back I lost my 'mojo' and was unsatisfied with everything I wrote. I researched the subject and gave myself the time to go over possibilities and scenarios. It felt as if nothing would work or help me to get back into the swing of things, but then I woke up one day and BAM! I felt like writing again and when I did, I was happy with my work. As a personal rule, I would never submit anything I was not proud of, and that is the main thing. Make sure you are happy with what you are producing. The readers will be happy with your writing when you are and they will pick up on this when you are unhappy with the product.
I, like Bethany, will have a few stories going at once so I can 'pick and choose' what I want to write if a story isn't working for me at that point in time.
Good luck, and don't rush the process, unless you work well under pressure.
This just happened to me, and I broke out of it by writing pages and pages of dialogue. I just let the characters talk to each other. The story gradually grew out of it.
I finished the first draft this afternoon!
For me, its just writing, writing and writing. If I cant get into the flow of it, I usually abandon it.
Take a break.
Write something.
Stop feeling the need to churn shit out just to churn it out.
Troll an online board for random writing prompts and start writing stuff you've never written before.
Sounds like you're burnt out.
I don't force it. I put it aside and wait until it comes to me. I know it when it feels right and the words begin to flow.
The Grand Master of SF/ Fantasy Ray Bradbury said 'I write every day." That's what some writers do, but not myself. I THINK about stories every day, may not get close to a keyboard. I write when I feel like writing, and when I don't feel like it, I don't. It'd be different if that was how I earned my way, then I'd be more apt to follow the advice of Bri'r Bradbury. I think the key is to not allow yourself to put pressure on yourself. What we do, we do for the love of it, the satisfaction it gives us. Just think about the joy it gives you, spinning tales for the sheer joy of entertainment!
