THE Block

[Ghetto Blasphemer]

Let's talk about everyone's favorite issue when it comes to creativity: The block. I think I've been suffering from writer's block since I started my vacation. I have the ideas in my head, but when I get to a piece of paper and a pen, inspiration goes poof.

[R.E.S.]

writer's block = a bag of dicks. >: T

But seriously, it effing sucks. Feels for ya bro.

[Admin]

I think usually the block comes when you are levelling up, periods of low concentration or lack of diversity in routine.

I generally find that when I've done a few tutorials nothing looks quite right because my mind hasn't quite got the new information down to pat so something looks just a little bit off but I can't quite figure out what.

Same if I've been stuck in the house for awhile. Sometimes I can't get out as much as I like and usually a good long walk will bust through any sort of creative problems that I am having. Or just a really fast paced conversation with someone with the same interests like I'll bounce some ideas of Dave and we'll throw them down back and forth until there is something better.

I suppose I probably notice the concentration thing more than most but if am sleeping bad or my heart is acting up then it's harder to concentrate and drawing especially my hands feel quite sluggish. Sometimes is as simple as just relaxing for an hour and chilling out in my headspace is enough to help with that one though.

[R.E.S.]

Taking a walk or finding a different place to sit and write (like going to a park or such) usually helps with the writer's block for me; just a change of location, I guess. It's refereshing.

as for art block, usually I just have to push my way through it. Especially since that's what I'm giong to school for. Even if something's not coming out good, I have to keep working on it anyways until it does, because everything's got a deadline.

*shrugs*

[King of Cunts]

This one may not be for everyone, but I usually find that just writing through it helps. If I'm having trouble putting fingers to keys for a story, I'll usually just start writing what I want to happen. When you get into the flow of a story, it's easier. It's starting off that's the hard part. But no one says you can't just go back and work on the beginning later, when you are feeling better about the project. Don't be afraid of starting in the middle either. I know it's weird, but with computers especially, you can always go back and adapt for consistency.

I like to keep myself busy, so I'll usually have about a half dozen to a dozen projects on the go at once. That way, if I get blocked on one, I can just open up another and write some on that.

It is best to have time just to write. If it is something you really want to do, then you will feel better doing it than instead playing a game or wasting time on the Internet, even if those things seem easier and immediately more rewarding.

I find it helps not to have the net or any resources on hand when I'm writing, because it's too tempting to get bogged down in details and write nothing for four hours while you look up the proper name for this helicopter or the specs for that semi-automatic pistol. In short, write what you're going to write, and create a list of questions you want answered to research later. That way, you won't waste time.

Also, avoid sites like TV Tropes and Wikipedia. They are involved, and you can get sucked in. TV Tropes especially is the death of creativity, because instead of coming up with your own ideas, you're just doing the opposite of whatever is a cliché. And that doesn't even work, because everything is arguably a cliché nowadays.

A wise friend of mine once said that there's no point writing if you have no ideas. So come up with a solid core concept for a story before you start writing. Drabbles are nice, because they only need a small plot device to make them work, nothing too complex. It's a good way to get a feel for a character or a situation. Short stories are similar, but you can get a bit more into those.

A novel is a different matter entirely, because it needs a whole range of interesting plot devices, character development and suchlike to make it a good read. In a novel, you need to introduce every character and situation like it's brand new. It's always a good idea to have a loose idea of what you want to do with it so that you can change some things while you go, but the overall plot still has consistency.

One good tip is to not worry too much about prose. Focus on the story, get your ideas, write out conversations you think are interesting for dialogue. What you are writing is more important than how you phrase it, despite what some will say. Worst comes to worst, you can always get the story beta'd or proofed by someone else who has good grammar. The story will still be yours because you crafted it. The proof-reader just sands it down.

Shak is right though. If you can get a change of scenery, go out for a walk, try something new, it broadens your horizons and will make the process that much easier. If you can fight the temptation to look at it as a chore and do it during your spare time when you would otherwise be playing a video game or surfing the net, you'll feel better about the process in general.

[sexystrife]

May 16, 2012 14:06:32 GMT -5 King of Cunts said:

This one may not be for everyone, but I usually find that just writing through it helps. If I'm having trouble putting fingers to keys for a story, I'll usually just start writing what I want to happen. When you get into the flow of a story, it's easier. It's starting off that's the hard part. But no one says you can't just go back and work on the beginning later, when you are feeling better about the project. Don't be afraid of starting in the middle either. I know it's weird, but with computers especially, you can always go back and adapt for consistency.

I like to keep myself busy, so I'll usually have about a half dozen to a dozen projects on the go at once. That way, if I get blocked on one, I can just open up another and write some on that.

It is best to have time just to write. If it is something you really want to do, then you will feel better doing it than instead playing a game or wasting time on the Internet, even if those things seem easier and immediately more rewarding.

I find it helps not to have the net or any resources on hand when I'm writing, because it's too tempting to get bogged down in details and write nothing for four hours while you look up the proper name for this helicopter or the specs for that semi-automatic pistol. In short, write what you're going to write, and create a list of questions you want answered to research later. That way, you won't waste time.

Also, avoid sites like TV Tropes and Wikipedia. They are involved, and you can get sucked in. TV Tropes especially is the death of creativity, because instead of coming up with your own ideas, you're just doing the opposite of whatever is a cliché. And that doesn't even work, because everything is arguably a cliché nowadays.

A wise friend of mine once said that there's no point writing if you have no ideas. So come up with a solid core concept for a story before you start writing. Drabbles are nice, because they only need a small plot device to make them work, nothing too complex. It's a good way to get a feel for a character or a situation. Short stories are similar, but you can get a bit more into those.

A novel is a different matter entirely, because it needs a whole range of interesting plot devices, character development and suchlike to make it a good read. In a novel, you need to introduce every character and situation like it's brand new. It's always a good idea to have a loose idea of what you want to do with it so that you can change some things while you go, but the overall plot still has consistency.

One good tip is to not worry too much about prose. Focus on the story, get your ideas, write out conversations you think are interesting for dialogue. What you are writing is more important than how you phrase it, despite what some will say. Worst comes to worst, you can always get the story beta'd or proofed by someone else who has good grammar. The story will still be yours because you crafted it. The proof-reader just sands it down.

Shak is right though. If you can get a change of scenery, go out for a walk, try something new, it broadens your horizons and will make the process that much easier. If you can fight the temptation to look at it as a chore and do it during your spare time when you would otherwise be playing a video game or surfing the net, you'll feel better about the process in general.

seconded, I find that drawing/writing through most of my blocks seem to help me out some. Sure, I may be a bit slow to reply but I do work through it.

[R.E.S.]

May 16, 2012 14:13:48 GMT -5 sexystrife said:

May 16, 2012 14:06:32 GMT -5 King of Cunts said:

This one may not be for everyone, but I usually find that just writing through it helps. If I'm having trouble putting fingers to keys for a story, I'll usually just start writing what I want to happen. When you get into the flow of a story, it's easier. It's starting off that's the hard part. But no one says you can't just go back and work on the beginning later, when you are feeling better about the project. Don't be afraid of starting in the middle either. I know it's weird, but with computers especially, you can always go back and adapt for consistency.

I like to keep myself busy, so I'll usually have about a half dozen to a dozen projects on the go at once. That way, if I get blocked on one, I can just open up another and write some on that.

It is best to have time just to write. If it is something you really want to do, then you will feel better doing it than instead playing a game or wasting time on the Internet, even if those things seem easier and immediately more rewarding.

I find it helps not to have the net or any resources on hand when I'm writing, because it's too tempting to get bogged down in details and write nothing for four hours while you look up the proper name for this helicopter or the specs for that semi-automatic pistol. In short, write what you're going to write, and create a list of questions you want answered to research later. That way, you won't waste time.

Also, avoid sites like TV Tropes and Wikipedia. They are involved, and you can get sucked in. TV Tropes especially is the death of creativity, because instead of coming up with your own ideas, you're just doing the opposite of whatever is a cliché. And that doesn't even work, because everything is arguably a cliché nowadays.

A wise friend of mine once said that there's no point writing if you have no ideas. So come up with a solid core concept for a story before you start writing. Drabbles are nice, because they only need a small plot device to make them work, nothing too complex. It's a good way to get a feel for a character or a situation. Short stories are similar, but you can get a bit more into those.

A novel is a different matter entirely, because it needs a whole range of interesting plot devices, character development and suchlike to make it a good read. In a novel, you need to introduce every character and situation like it's brand new. It's always a good idea to have a loose idea of what you want to do with it so that you can change some things while you go, but the overall plot still has consistency.

One good tip is to not worry too much about prose. Focus on the story, get your ideas, write out conversations you think are interesting for dialogue. What you are writing is more important than how you phrase it, despite what some will say. Worst comes to worst, you can always get the story beta'd or proofed by someone else who has good grammar. The story will still be yours because you crafted it. The proof-reader just sands it down.

Shak is right though. If you can get a change of scenery, go out for a walk, try something new, it broadens your horizons and will make the process that much easier. If you can fight the temptation to look at it as a chore and do it during your spare time when you would otherwise be playing a video game or surfing the net, you'll feel better about the process in general.

seconded, I find that drawing/writing through most of my blocks seem to help me out some. Sure, I may be a bit slow to reply but I do work through it.

Thirded. That was very eloquently written, Dave.

kinda keep writing these responses (in the "chat" oriented threads) in-between classes, so I didn't exactly take the time to sit and go into depth about my feelings over art blocks, but I pretty much agree with everything that has been said here. yes.

For me, I just don't have time (classes) to set aside for writing through block, which is why a change of scene makes for a quick solution, like a band-aid, on a small block or rut, but if it's a serious block, you just have to write through it.

I actually only came out of a several YEAR writer's block this last year or so; I'd been unable to roleplay anything that I was decently proud of for almost 3 years. I tried everything I could think of to motivate myself, but... there were just some deeper issues needed handling. Depression, devorce, yatta yatta. I wont go into the details, but ultimately: I realized that I was just writing for the sake of writing, without any real merit or meaning behind it. Mostly I was writing to keep other people happy, and (just as Lord Black said); you've gotta have a reason to write. You've gotta be excited about it. So, ultimately, I changed venues:

Previously pretty much all of what I RP'd was DBZ. Kinda fell out of the fandom just due to friends going different ways (and again, larger issues) So it wasn't until I started RPing RE that I got my muse back; the characters and story are just wind in my sails. Especially this past year. Owe a lot of that to Evios. I'm constnatly in a creative writing mood.

Now, I'm not saying that you switch venues or have to rely on ONE person as an RP crutch, but rather you should find PURPOSE in your writing. With Evios I feel our RPs are constantly trying to work towards a larger and greater goal: we have heading, and that is exciting. I hate being in the dolldrums. It's the worst part of the RP Ocean. You want to feel every crest and catch every wave, the metaphorical wind blowing in your hair. You know? ADVENTURE!

Sometimes we can be excited for RP and still find ourselves stuck: usually that's the "at a loss for words" side fo the RPblock rather than the "I am un-motivated and don't care" side. When I bump into THAT ugly it is indeed helpful to start at the middle or end or whatever the most exciting part of the post is. Then kind of lay out the rest, and then get fancy with the words. Writing is constnat revision. Like many other fields of art, it is rarely ever "done", because there's always room to improve a piece. It's just finding a creative place to stop.

if chronologically writing out events in their bare minimum doens't help, try making a spider: this causes that > that causes that. It will help you to branch out and avoid cleches that might be your first and immediate reaction to an idea.

Another point I'd like to touch upon, while I'm at it: Avoid breaking character. I tend to find that when people get into blocks they break character more frequently. if your character's supposed to be cool-headed, then don't have them flip a bitch for no apprent reason, spewing out obsenities and being generally pissed off with the situation. If your character is foul tempered and tough, they probably shouldn't be bawwing on somebody's shoulder every five minutes, and if your character's an emotional cripple, don't have them handling the situation like it's all peaches.

if you find that you're writing OOC, it may be that you've simply (temporarily) lost that spark behind the muse. Go listen to some music that makes you think of them, watch a film with a character that reminds you of them, or read some previous RP posts to get back into the mood. Because if you're breaking character, you've probably got a block, and that block can be cleared right up by getting inspired, excited, and motivated. I've had a lot of friends say that they don't like a particular post, and what it boils down to is that their character doesn't "feel right"; they're unhappy with the way that they're reacting to a situation because they know it's not correct. The first thing that you write doesn' thave to be what you keep. Sometimes you just need to get bad ideas out of your system before moving on to something that you like better.

A friend once told me that if you're suffering from block it's because you don't "know" that character well enough. I call bullocks because I've RP'd TONS of characters that I know, and then I'll suddenly take an RP tumble and find it hard to get my footing back. Really, I think the largest thing is just that darn purpose; the reason for which you are writing. Everyone might get something different out of it, but you've gotta know what that is in order to work for it. Otherwise you're just pushing buttons on a keyboard.

Blocks certainly aren't plesant, but you can work through them, you can find ways to be inspired, and/or a change of sceneary might just do the trick. If none of these work for you... then go back to writing through it. XD I don't think your "first draft" should ever be your last.

[King of Cunts]

I've been reading a really great little book recently called "The Maeve Binchy Writer's Club". Maeve's not my kind of writer, but she does have a lot of good advice. Her book is more about maintaining the actual will to write than writing technique itself.

I saw a lot of good advice there, some of which we mentioned here. The main thing seemed to be just getting it down on paper. Doesn't matter how you do it, just get it written. You can touch it up later. I'd say that's even more true with RP, when you're playing with other people, and the continuation of the story relies on your posting.

It even contained a few chapters on getting an agent or getting the attention of publishers. It's a small book but I'd recommend it.

Am thinking I'll maybe take some of her advice once I can get a manuscript together for an original. Guess we'll see. It's a possibility, although I wouldn't give up my day job if I had one.