Lately I seem to be in quite a rut. I've been working on my novel for sixteen months now, and I can't seem to rekindle that creative spark that kept my word count sky rocketing for the first several months.

After some major writing plounders in my book, I was forced to stop and fix the gigantic mess I'd accidently created.

These mistakes weren't spelling or grammar errors. They were errors that came from not going back and reading what I'd written every now and then to refresh my memory, to make sure I didn't mess up with the time, place description, etc.

Due to my ignorance, I made some costly errors with time, place description, section placement, as well as some other critical mistakes.

It took me six weeks to fix all the errors I'd made. And instead of writing, I spent my time rearranging sections, deleting and rewriting whole chunks of the latter part of my book.

I spent all my time working on the same ten to fifteen pages, but I did fix things. It just took me a very long time.

I now have another problem: I no longer know what to write. I can't seem to write any more on my book. I can fix things, but I can't add whole sections.

I'm brimming with ideas, though, but when I try to sit down and write them, my mind goes blank.

I've been told that it has something to do with the fact that I'm juggling so many things other than writing. But there's nothing I can do about that. My life is fuller than full, and I always have more to do than I have time.


Can anyone give me some tips on how to get rid of my writer's block, and how to keep my creativity alive and well?

Any tips or ideas you have on anything involving writing will be welcomed. I could use all the help I can get.

Thank you.



Last December, I found that my house was to noisy to get any work done during the day. I could never concentrate long enough to truly get anywhere with my novel. So I decided to fix the problem.

At midnight, the house would be peaceful and quiet, mean

I don’t usually have to worry about characters, plot, or continuity. I rarely write anything over 3,000 words, but I do have some tips.

The more I batter away at writer’s block, the worse it becomes. Sometimes taking a step back can help. We all write for a reason, and it is not simply because we enjoy it. We write because if we didn’t the stories would fill our heads and daydreams until they clogged out the real world. Maybe you should set the novel aside for a week or two and let the characters rattle around in your head. See where your mind takes them when you’re not worrying about where to take them.

Don’t actively think about them, and within a few days the silver screen on the back of your eyelids will light up and your characters will be getting into all kinds of whacky hijinks. Then all you have to do it write it down.

Thank you, Precision. I haven't written in a couple of days, so maybe today I can't get something done.

My novel is currently at 40,494 words. But my word count is always changing.

You must have lots of stories if you only write about 3,000 words to each. How long have you been writing?

I’m 24 now, and I guess I’ve been writing since I was about 16. I write for fun, my career and my life follow a different path, namely the sciences.

My creative process can’t take the long haul. Besides, humor is best in small doses. Even “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” which was brilliantly funny, got old by the end because you became familiar with Adam’s writing style and could sense the misdirection coming before the punch line.

I have nothing against writers who tackle serious subjects, I love to read them, but I’d rather be funny. 95% of the stuff I write is serious, dry statistics and literature reviews. I’d shoot myself if I wrote depressing stories about realistic people.

Yea, I do have many, many stories on my hard drive, but most of them will never see the light of day. I write rough drafts on several subjects and recycle the jokes into one funnier, better story.

I had an idea for a novel once, I was writing it summer ’05, and everything was going great. The idea was a country taken over by fanatic, Christian conservatives and an America run by a government that was a Christian Taliban. I spent forever envisioning the world before I sat down to write a single sentence.

The main character was a former stand-up comedian turned “dealer,” which in that world meant he trafficked in birth control, booze, and cigarettes as well as drugs. I made him a funny character in an intensely serious situation, because let’s face it fundamentalists are funny.

It was going amazingly well, until the movie version of V for Vendetta ruined everything. I had taken months to envision a dystopia that no one had done, and “V” killed it in one fell swoop. The worlds weren’t identical, my world was more brutal and included things like public stoning, but they were close enough that I scrapped the entire thing. I still love the character and the situation, he still runs through my head constantly, but I can’t re-envision the world. That’s my writers block at current, so it’s back to short humor stories for a while.

there are also a couple of books exactly like what you have described, though I cannot remember the titles offhand. I had the option of reading one of them for an AP class in Highschool in a section on dystopia, and although I went with Clockwork Orange (a most brilliant novel) I had several friends opt for the one about the fundies.

Too true!!

Angela, I find that the best thing for Writer's block is to do something else. Not write something else; that can help, but you often end up with three or four stories on the go. Do something else, so read a book, listen to music, play a game, watch a film. Anything that takes your mind off it.

However, it's useful if you pick something that inspires you. I'm a bit of a video game addict, so whenever I'm stuck, I sit down to a good RPG. Being a fantasy writer, that gives me the urge to write, and once I've died or become lost in a level, I'll sit down, ready, willing and in the right frame of mind to write some fantasy.

Even more useful is when I listen to music. I'm a tad sad, as I only really listen to movie scores, but listening to Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings, or anything by Hans Zimmer or John Williams, will create scenes in my head, and I can work these into the story.

Time is the enemy, of course. I'm not finding I need a good few hours to sit down and write, and even then it's not enough. Now I understand why so many writers only start after they retire!

Thank you. I've been taking an unintentional break from writing, so maybe when I finally find time to sit down and write again, I'll be able to really get something done.

After reading the post in this thread by Precision, I was able to write a little. So maybe when I'm in a better state of mind, I can come back here again and pick up a little more inspiration from you guys.

We're always here! :D

Thank you!

[smile]

This is a wonderful writing community.