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Help! Writers block, how do you get out of it?

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Every so often, I suffer from writers block. I can feel it coming. I open up my laptop. I want to write and then, nothing. I have ideas but cannot put the detail in. It gets so frustrating.

A couple of years ago, I didn't write for nearly a year. I had no desire to even open my laptop. I got out of it by continually reading books and stories, until I felt I just had to start writing again.

How do you get out of writers block?

Thanks

Abi
I've been suffering from it myself - I picked up some older stuff I'd been working on a while ago and just laboured and edited until I finally had something...

Even if it's not hugh quality, I'll try and write something because I figure it's easier to work and edit words that are actually there, even if they're not great, then move on from that, if that makes sense?

Sometimes just taking a break and removing the pressure to write can help and I've had a lot of real life stuff to deal with too, which didn't help...

Hopefully I'm back and writing for a while now though...
Thanks Mazza,

I quite enjoy re-editing old stuff and it does help to keep going. It is so annoying when you have an idea. It even keeps me awake at night thinking about it. You sit at the keyboard and you just cannot type!

You are right about real life issues getting in the way.

Keep going!

Thanks for the response.

Abi
I went through a period where I couldn't write a thing. I took up another hobby (photography) until inspiration struck and I was able to write something.

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When I can't write, I read! And if I read something bad, it inspires me to write - I guess I think, "Even I can do better than this."
I could not write for almost 2 years. The thing is to take a break, not force yourself to write. Read instead or find other things to do. The urge and inspiration will come back sooner or later.
I just spent four years completely blocked. My new resolutions:

1) If I can't make progress on a story, I set it aside and write something else. Starting a brand new story often works. It's not ideal, but it beats the hell out of not writing.

2) At the extreme, it's perfectly fine to write a five page, item by item description of the room I'm in. Or the last time my wife and I had sex. Or the weather. Anything. Just so long as I open my word processor and write.

I find that when I'm blocked the thing I need to do is get my brain started, period. On anything. Then I'll suddenly realize what I want to say in a story. Maybe it's too personal a method, but for me the big scary enemy is not writing at all. Anything is better than nothing.
I have been writing from past 4-5 years and I have felt same.
I didn't completely stopped writing but in comparison to how much I used to write, I felt like I had almost stopped writing. I had unfinished novels and series of stories, and readers were asking for new chapters. I just lied to them that I'm writing new chapters. I didn't write any new chapters of my on going novels and stories, but I posted some short stories to let people know that, I'm not dead.
I guess I didn't have anything to write at that time and I couldn't think of any new things. I spent my time in watching movies/porn and reading a little.
Then one day I decided to continue my unfinished novel, as it got most popular on the site. I'm not a very good writer when it comes to grammar and stuff, but when I found my novel at the top, it inspired me to write more. I continued the novel and still it's the most popular novel.
I joined LUSH one and half year ago, when I submitted my first story... it got rejected. I tried a few more times and couldn't get it published. I left Lush and came back after a year. Now I have many stories on my page, and I feel so happy to see that my readers like my work here.
Last month, I got banned from LUSH. I could have just left and never come back... but right now I'm not in the mood to stop writing. So here I'm writing everyday and thinking about more and more dirty, naughty and hot ideas.

If you feel like you don't want to write then don't force yourself to write. After sometime you will find a reason to continue writing.
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Quote by fantasylady
Every so often, I suffer from writers block. I can feel it coming. I open up my laptop. I want to write and then, nothing. I have ideas but cannot put the detail in. It gets so frustrating.

A couple of years ago, I didn't write for nearly a year. I had no desire to even open my laptop. I got out of it by continually reading books and stories, until I felt I just had to start writing again.

How do you get out of writers block?

Thanks

Abi


I've never suffered from genuine writer's block but I use various tricks to keep my words flowing. William Stafford said, ""There is no such thing as writer's block for writers whose standards are low enough." I really like this - stop trying to produce perfect prose - just get those ideas down on paper (rather than laptop if that has become a psychological barrier in itself). Start your stories at the end, or the middle. Just write the core of whatever is in your head; capture those ideas and store them, ignoring completely the detail.

If you can't find the right word, leave it out; can't find the right name, ignore it.

Change your scenery - go to the local library or if you work, find a quiet corner and write during your lunch.

Writing is like any other bad habit; you'll find yourself doing it eventually. (I just made that up - I like it!!)
Quote by fantasylady
Every so often, I suffer from writers block. I can feel it coming. I open up my laptop. I want to write and then, nothing. I have ideas but cannot put the detail in. It gets so frustrating.

A couple of years ago, I didn't write for nearly a year. I had no desire to even open my laptop. I got out of it by continually reading books and stories, until I felt I just had to start writing again.

How do you get out of writers block?

Thanks

Abi


I get writers block most often when I try too hard to write "the perfect story". That never ever happens in the first draft anyway, so remember, writing is supposed to be fun. Just relax and don't try so hard, and it will come back.

I find stream of consciousness writing helps. Set a timer and spend ten minutes just writing something. Anything. It doesn't matter what it is, or how bad it is. The act of writing will get your juices flowing.

Sometimes I use writing prompts. I find that they spark my creativity to write something totally silly. Then, when the cobwebs clear, I can write something else.
I often will ask my readers if they have a story idea they would like me to write for them.

I asked one the other day. He said a milf story bla bla and then I just wrote it out.

Sometimes that helps me when I get stuck.

Poetry is easier for me and I never run out of ideas for that.

Co writing can help too so you can bounce ideas off each other.
Seeing as I'm not financially dependent on my writing, if I can't think of anything to write about then I simply don't write.

I have tried, like Mysteria27, to ask others for story ideas. Most of the time that doesn't work for me for several reasons, ranging from not liking their idea to having to ask them so much detail that they are practically writing the story for me. The one or two of my stories that did come from other people's ideas didn't fair well, mostly because weren't written with my usual level of passion. Instead, they came from what I thought the originator would like to read. There are probably some people who can take another person's idea and build it into something special, but sadly that doesn't work for me.
In my experience, writer's block is NEVER solved by just barelling through or going out and "looking for inspiration." Writer's block is your brain's way of telling you that your story took a wrong turn somewhere, and now you've reached a dead end. The only solution is to backtrack, figure out where you went wrong, and pick it up from there. Did a character make a decision that didn't fit? Did something happen that just feels phony or less dramatic than it could have been?

In my experience, every time I have writer's block it's because I fucked up some aspect of the story.

That's what works for me, anyway.
Quote by AbigailThornton


Writing is like any other bad habit; you'll find yourself doing it eventually. (I just made that up - I like it!!)


I love that Abigail, because it is so true.

One of my favorite quotes is:

“First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won't. Habit is persistence in practice.”
― Octavia E. Butler

If you believe that you have to wait for a muse or inspiration to write, you'll do much more waiting then writing. If you really love to write, then you have to all the time. It's like part of a complete day like eating. Some days I have to eat shitty things I don't like to stay healthy. Sometimes I see something I just have to have. Either way, I have to eat to stay alive. Cooking and shopping can be a pain in the ass. And after all that, dinner may suck. Writing is like that. It's hard and sometimes painful, gets on my last nerve. But every once in a while there is that perfect meal that makes you want to light candles and everyone willingly comes to the table. Sometimes it is just a damn good sandwich. Writing is hard work, do it without expectation, without fear and desire to be profound or read. Just do it, even if it is about how you can't do it. Then try to make it better, over and over until it pleads to let it go. I absolutely guarantee that if you pick up something old, you will see something you want to correct or make better. That's a good start.
? A True Story ?
I don't get much WB, but when I do, I have two strategies.

Forget about the story and just do something else for a week.

Start writing a new story and come back to the old one when I'm ready.


I find that both work equally well.

Danny xxx

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A steamy lesbian three way

Have a chat or two with friends on Lush. Even if the conversations flirty rather then steamy, there's often more than one idea that comes out of it that you can pop into a story.

P.S. To all my friends. I thank you for the ideas you've given me, but I chat because you're my friends, not because I'm looking for ideas lol
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Has anyone tried Oblique Strategies?

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Warning: The opinions above are those of an anonymous individual on the internet. They are opinions, unless they're facts. They may be ill-informed, out of touch with reality or just plain stupid. They may contain traces of irony. If reading these opinions causes you to be become outraged or you start displaying the symptoms of outrage, stop reading them immediately. If symptoms persist, consult a psychiatrist.

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Seems worth a shot. Expensive, though.

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Warning: The opinions above are those of an anonymous individual on the internet. They are opinions, unless they're facts. They may be ill-informed, out of touch with reality or just plain stupid. They may contain traces of irony. If reading these opinions causes you to be become outraged or you start displaying the symptoms of outrage, stop reading them immediately. If symptoms persist, consult a psychiatrist.

Why not read some stories instead

NEW! Want a quick read for your coffee break? Why not try this... Flash Erotica: Scrubber
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There are free apps available that will do the job: android | iOS


Jinx!
How to get out of writers block? easy. Read, no, try and read any of numerous trashy, badly written stories on any number of trashy, badly supervised sites and you will soon be saying "good god, I can write better than that and you do.
Quote by AbigailThornton


William Stafford said, ""There is no such thing as writer's block for writers whose standards are low enough."


On a related note, the famous quote from Thomas Edison, ""Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine per cent perspiration""

Though I'm not going to claim godlike genius for myself, the gist of the thing is true enough. My cure for writer's block is to keep writing. Not everything will be publishable - in fact I have legions of abandoned stories clogging up my hard drive - but I find that sooner or later something will give and all that perspiration will spark some kind of inspiration.
Quote by fantasylady
Every so often, I suffer from writers block. I can feel it coming. I open up my laptop. I want to write and then, nothing. I have ideas but cannot put the detail in. It gets so frustrating.

A couple of years ago, I didn't write for nearly a year. I had no desire to even open my laptop. I got out of it by continually reading books and stories, until I felt I just had to start writing again.

How do you get out of writers block?

Thanks

Abi


I've got a mindless western that's about a million pagers long...when the muse id hiding from me---I just start adding to my western---first thing I know the story I was working on comes into focus.
Was struggling with my Erotic Story, so I decided to work on some of my non-erotica. Now I am halfway through a story and have writers block on a particular scene / sequence. So now I am twice stymied. Maybe I'll learn some new songs or write some. Music may help as I don't tell stories typically in my songwriting. At least not direct stories.
Sometimes occurs if the story took a wrong turn somewhere. If I go back, and start editing and proof-reading, I will be correcting a line, and I suddenly realise if I do this, then the character goes there and says that, and the story is writing itself again for me, it starts flowing along a different path.

In my last story, I started writing, and until the girl got on the spaceship, I honestly had no idea where it was going until a female character appeared and after that, I was just hitting the keys that needed to be hit, it just flowed like watching a film, all I needed to do was describe what was happening. Wrote it in one single session.