I actually just got over writers block, but I still have poet's and artist's (which I think are really more painful.) I'm sorry that you have it; it's such an awful, arduous affliction. (Sorry, I like alliteration.) Anyway, let me see if I can help.

I suggest trying to write something more descriptive. For instance, I recently wrote a scene about someone slipping silently into a room she wasn't supposed to be in and beginning to type on an XL 1000 electronic typewriter. (Yes, I love typewriters. I have an XL 1000, XL 1800, and manual FACIT 1620, my favorite. I wrote it on the XL 1000, which was the inspiration.) This one could be harder, and I don't suggest it if you're having trouble finding words.

You can also try to draw inspiration from words. I don't know if you like to write poetry, but if you have a few poems (unfinished is fine) you can look for inspiration, like maybe something makes you think of how wonderful it would be, on a rainy night, to go out and stand in a pond. (Unfortunately few people have a pond in their backyard and I certainly don't, but one can imagine.) Then you can write a descriptive scene about it.

If you're looking for ideas for a longer book, I suggest just trying to write. I know it's hard, but just try to write something. Then look at it and see if you get any ideas. For instance, I just got the idea for a book about cats living in a banyon tree (called the Cascading Tree) by doing that.

Or, you could try thinking about things you liked in books you've read or written, along with things that interest you. For instance, if you read a book and liked that it had a lot of shorter stories woven into a longer one, and another that had a character who was very headstrong but also very shy (by which I do NOT mean to say in any way that shyness is bad or anything, more that the headstrongness might conflict a bit with the shyness), and another that had rune magic, and you like, say, cats and typewriters, you could maybe make a character who was headstrong, shy, and a good peacemaker who liked to fix up old typewriters and finds an old piece of paper stuffed into a typewriter that has instructions for a rune to make. The rune transported him/her to a different world, perhaps a slightly distopian one, has to fix it, and learns the story of what happened to this world bit by bit. Feel free to use that if you want to.

Perhaps if you wrote a sentence and made it how you like it, and then wondered what could happen after that sentence or what caused it. Maybe something like, "It had gone wrong, every bit of it," or something.

I hope you can glean something from that! Writers block is the worst. 

Just think about your every day life. Read. Also, try to find an inspiration book. I have one full of all kinds of things. Just random sencentes.

Well, if you're just looking for ideas, you can try...

...Googling "story idea generator" and flipping through until something sparks your imagination.

...fanfiction.

...writing as many random thoughts as you can in five minutes and seeing if any of them spark your imagination.

...finding a random object and personifying it.

...writing a story based on a dream.

...starting with a hook like "___ ran as fast as he/she/it could" and seeing where it takes you.

...coming up with a random character, setting, and action and smushing them together.

I'm actually in the same position! All my plots and characters are very firmly visual and need to be written out in graphic-novel form.That takes a lot longer and is more labour-intensive (to me at least) than just writing, so it's taking me a lot longer to organize my thoughts and stories.

There isn't really a hard-and-fast way of finding ideas, but these might help a bit - it's how I think up ideas and characters.

Think about stories you've read that you liked and the elements in them that you want to emulate/follow further/improve upon. Is there an atmosphere or style you really like? Maybe try writing a short little paragraph focusing on or in that style. For instance, I love describing a scene or mood or atmosphere, so one day I wrote a little blurb just describing a scene. A bit of a story grew out of that. Try describing a scene in the most visceral and beautiful way possible and seeing where that leads you. Think about what you enjoy in books you've read, character traits that you like, story beats that you like, moods that attract you, and try to piece something together. It doesn't have to be a full-blown story, it can be a character or mood or even just a place. That's just stuff that has worked for me, so if it doesn't spark anything in you, just ignore my advice! Everyone has a different way of drawing out the story inside them and showing it to others. Everyone writes in their own way.

I hope that helps, though!

What works for me... is a nice long hot shower. Best place to think. I normally imagine the story in my head (let's call it what is... a daydream) cough cough, and just see where it takes me. Most of my insperation is from a dream or sparked from a book I really like. From their I write about five pages before moving on! 

... I have issues finishing things.

AND! I find night time is a great place to think up new book ideas. Something about lying in your bed in the dark. Also, when I'm tiered I find that the ideas just seem to... float around. If you're lucky you might even have a dream about what you were just thinking about.

You could try listening to music while you type... I find that it helps me to write better. 

One of my book ideas was inspired quite a bit by a song I like. You could try and create a character that fits a song and make the book from there. 

Hopefully one of these will work! Good luck getting over your writers block!   

Top