How to cure

Chatterbox: Inkwell

How to cure

How to cure writer's block? So, I'm working on this

story that I've had in mind for a long time now, and

I have a good start on it, but now I'm kind of stuck.

I know where I'm wanting my story to go, but I'm

just having trouble connecting the dots, I guess

(I hope I'm making sense). Anyway, I don't want

to get into explaining the story, but how do you

generally deal with writer's block when you get it? I

want to write so badly, but I'm just a little stuck...

 

submitted by Megan M., age 15, Ohio
(February 16, 2011 - 9:24 am)

back to the Inkwell

What I usually do is one of two things.  (Credit goes to Gail Carson Levine for giving this advice in her book Writing Magic.)  I write "junk", or whatever is running through my mind at the time.  For example:

I wish I didn't have homework.  It's really boring and complicated.  And I don't have much to do other than homework since I'm stuck behind the school library desk until 6.  I want to go home and not have homework and write more of my story because homework is interfering with my life. 

And so on.  Eventually, I usually come up with a good idea.  I used this technique for a school project where I had to write mini-plays for an English project, and that play turned out to be my favorite.

If that doesn't work, I just skip that part and go on to where I want to write about.  For example, when I was writing my story for Christmas, I knew I needed more in between, but had no clue what.  I was on a time limit, so I skipped it and went to the next part I had planned out.  Now I'm going back and making adjustments and filling in the gaps.

Hope this helps!  (I really should spend more time on Inkwell, but I'm so busy these days!  *sigh*  Can't wait until spring break when I can write to my heart's content!)

submitted by Megan, age 15, The Realms of H
(February 16, 2011 - 5:25 pm)

Thank you, Megan! This is very helpful. :)

submitted by Megan M., age 15, <--To-the-Front
(February 16, 2011 - 8:04 pm)

This goes along with that the GCL advice, but if I'm having trouble, say, writing an essay for English, I blab to my pen pals for a couple of pages; it gets my writing started so that I can turn to what I actually need to do and be able to cruise through it.

submitted by lavendershy, age 15, Sparks, NV
(February 18, 2011 - 4:48 pm)

Oh Lord. Writer's Block? No problem for me. I write fanfic most of the time (ahem, make that all the time)so ...well...actually I do get writers block. I just write whatever comes to ind in Angerthas, but as you probably can't write in Runes, sorry, can't help ya there.

submitted by Mattie, who might leave
(February 24, 2011 - 12:09 pm)

Wait, why were you going to leave the CB???

submitted by Princess P.
(March 4, 2011 - 8:27 pm)