Now I know how George R.R. Martin must feel.

[ShelbyDawn57]

"A Short Little Wanker" would make an excellent story title.

I just hope my friends across the pond don't mind me, a yank, borrowing that word. I hope I can pull it off without coming across as a jerk. Kind of waiting for someone to call me out and tell me to get off...

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Isn't Rothfuss an even worse example?
We have been waiting for his book just as long as we have been waiting for The Winds of Winter. Martin has at least worked on TV shows, and has written some prequels and such. This guy though... He even started an online charity event and promised to publish a chapter of Doors of Stone if the desired sum was reached. The sum was overmatched easily, but guess what, he didn't publish a single sentence, let alone a chapter. What a complete dick.

 

[StillStunned]

Isn't Rothfuss an even worse example?
We have been waiting for his book just as long as we have been waiting for The Winds of Winter. Martin has at least worked on TV shows, and has written some prequels and such. This guy though... He even started an online charity event and promised to publish a chapter of Doors of Stone if the desired sum was reached. The sum was overmatched easily, but guess what, he didn't publish a single sentence, let alone a chapter. What a complete dick.

Yes, by this time he's not so much a writer as a wroter.

I have to say, waiting so long for his next book, and GRRM's, and Scott Lynch's, has made me lose all interest in their stories.

 

[Djmac1031]

Appreciate all the encouragement etc gang.

Here's how absolutely ridiculous writers block can get.

So I finished a scene between two characters where some background is laid out and establish the plot going forward.

I then needed to transition to the Main character, Cozbi, returning home.

And I couldn't figure out a simple transitional sentence besides "Cozbi went home."

And it felt so trite. So... basic. So BORING.

I literally spent weeks trying to figure out how to get from one scene to another without those words.

Stupid, I know. But that's my brain right now.

Except I woke up this morning with the perfect transition, and now all of a sudden can move on to the next scene.

Stupid, nitpicking little details, little words, transitions, just obsessing over them and hating every choice. It's a writing killer.

I'm really hoping I've broken that barrier. I wrote a little this morning. Not a lot, had to go to work.

But it's a start, right?

 

[intim8]

Cozbi went home.

Ahh, then-next syndrome. Happens to me a lot. I get locked into thinking of it as documenting the MC's entire day. "Then he had breakfast, then he took a shit, then he clipped his toenails..."

...inatead of thinking in terms of plot. You don't always need transitions. Often enough, if the next scene starts with her at home, the reader gets that she traveled there, and that the trip was boring.

 

[Djmac1031]

Ahh, then-next syndrome. Happens to me a lot. I get locked into thinking of it as documenting the MC's entire day. "Then he had breakfast, then he took a shit, then he clipped his toenails..."

...inatead of thinking in terms of plot. You don't always need transitions. Often enough, if the next scene starts with her at home, the reader gets that she traveled there, and that the trip was boring.

Exactly this.

And I used to be pretty good at trimming that kinda fat. Skip the boring stuff just get to the meat and potatoes.

It's crazy what your brain can fixate on though. Like, I'm fully aware of how trivial and silly my hangup there was, but it didn't make it any easier to bypass it.

 

[oneagainst]

So... I have to ask. Call it professional curiosity... what sentence did you deploy instead to get our hero within his house again?

 

[Djmac1031]

So... I have to ask. Call it professional curiosity... what sentence did you deploy instead to get our hero within his house again?

"Hi, honey! I'm home!"

My character Cozbi is more than a bit of a wiseass. She also enjoys her pop culture references.

So it's absolutely within her character to announce her return to her live in girlfriend with a stereotypical 80s sitcom type greeting.

I know. Took me weeks to come up with THAT???

It's really a good thing I don't rely on writing for a paycheck, right?

 

[oneagainst]

"Hi, honey! I'm home!"

My character Cozbi is more than a bit of a wiseass. She also enjoys her pop culture references.

So it's absolutely within her character to announce her return to her live in girlfriend with a stereotypical 80s sitcom type greeting.

I know. Took me weeks to come up with THAT???

It's really a good thing I don't rely on writing for a paycheck, right?

Or even writing a paycheck, at that rate

 

[MrHereWriting]

Isn't Rothfuss an even worse example?
We have been waiting for his book just as long as we have been waiting for The Winds of Winter. Martin has at least worked on TV shows, and has written some prequels and such. This guy though... He even started an online charity event and promised to publish a chapter of Doors of Stone if the desired sum was reached. The sum was overmatched easily, but guess what, he didn't publish a single sentence, let alone a chapter. What a complete dick.

 

[Djmac1031]

No, you don't.

If you want to know how G.R.R. Martin feels I can ask you every half an hour 'Hey, how is Angels and Demons coming? Have you finished it yet? Why are you taking a walk if you still haven't finished Angels and Demons? You don't care any more, do you? Lets face it, you're probably going to die before you finish Angels and Demons. You're not as young as you were and seriously overweight."

Then repeat that for 12 years.

Obviously I was... exaggerating, to make a point.

although I suppose if my block never fully lifts I'll be asking myself those questions over and over again

 

[intim8]

You won't really know how George feels until you have the valet park your Maserati at the five star restaurant that you're taking six friends to and don't even have to look at the prices on the menu.

 

[Bamagan]

When I'm stuck on a story, I blame the characters and do something mean to them as vengeance.

 

[intim8]

When I'm stuck on a story, I blame the characters and do something mean to them as vengeance.

That's always been one of my gotos. If I'm stuck, have the character do the one thing we all know he really shouldn't do, or have the worst thing happen to him.

 

[gunhilltrain]

This works for me, fast forward to the next good bit, and then write the interstitial later. If your issue is you don't know about the next good bit, the other thing that's worked for me is to re-read the story so far, build up momentum, and then when you read the last line you wrote so far, carry on. It works for me because I can hear the characters talking again and i know what they're going to say next.

Also, it's very possible to write your way into flow headspace. It's not a pre-requisite for starting a writing session.

That can be a good idea: read what you wrote already, starting from the top. It also works as an "early" proofreading or editing phase, catching things that are wrong or that you don't like for some reason. It's never too soon to start those tasks.

 

[intim8]

Yes, by this time he's not so much a writer as a wroter.

I have to say, waiting so long for his next book, and GRRM's, and Scott Lynch's, has made me lose all interest in their stories.

I'm way ahead of you. I was never interested. I even binge watched the first season of GOT, then forgot to watch the rest.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Appreciate all the encouragement etc gang.

Here's how absolutely ridiculous writers block can get.

So I finished a scene between two characters where some background is laid out and establish the plot going forward.

I then needed to transition to the Main character, Cozbi, returning home.

And I couldn't figure out a simple transitional sentence besides "Cozbi went home."

And it felt so trite. So... basic. So BORING.

I literally spent weeks trying to figure out how to get from one scene to another without those words.

Stupid, I know. But that's my brain right now.

Except I woke up this morning with the perfect transition, and now all of a sudden can move on to the next scene.

Stupid, nitpicking little details, little words, transitions, just obsessing over them and hating every choice. It's a writing killer.

I'm really hoping I've broken that barrier. I wrote a little this morning. Not a lot, had to go to work.

But it's a start, right?

Suggestion... Next time this happens, just write "Cozbi went home" and keep going. Maybe put three asterisks by it or some other way to denote you need to revisit it. No writer's block, just a piece of the story you know you need to go back and rework. Point is, keep going. First draft doesn't have to be perfect.

 

[Djmac1031]

Here's the truly funny part.

I posted this thread last night after weeks of frustration at not being able to write.

Then woke up this morning with the idea of how to continue.

And now I'm writing the story again. Slowly, but the words are finally coming.

Weird, huh?

 

[Cagivagurl]

So I've been staring at this open Document for about an hour now, trying to write.

I'm around 6K words into the third part of my Angels And Demons Saga, and I simply can't manage to type the next sentence.

It's ridiculous. I have the bones of the story plotted out, outlined. I know what I want to happen. I know how it ends.

So why can't I WRITE it???


It's like my brain simply refuses to formulate the right words. They're in my head. But getting them out, typing them, it's like my mind just goes blank.

I've been stuck on stories before, but usually it's when I didn't have any idea what to do next.

This is different. And I honestly can't figure out why I can't do this.

Now before someone says "just write something else,".... I've tried.

That's not working either.

I've tried walking away until I feel "ready." But that feeling never comes.

I've tried just picking a time to write, to just "make it happen." And I wind up just staring at a blank page.

I don't understand it. I really used to enjoy this. Hell there were nights I was up until 2am writing, because the ideas wouldn't stop coming and I had to get them out.

Now... I just feel... empty.

It's gotta change sometime, right?

I imagine that anybody who creates, doesn't go through the same issue at some point?
I'm sure there will be hundreds of excellent pieces of advice by people who know a lot more than me...
However, (Here we go).
I wonder whether by mapping out exactly where you want to go. You haven't made your job harder... More constrictive...,.
By plotting the road so thoughtfully. You have narrowed it to such a point it is now difficult to traverse....
Perhaps if you remove the road blocks, you may at least get some traffic moving???As I said, I'm no expert...
Closing out a long running series must feel very daunting. Something you have cherished and spent hours developing.

The other thought I had... Perhaps you're not really comfortable with the ending you've plotted??? And that is the reason you're struggling???

Anyway, just my thoughts.

Cagivagurl

 

[M_K_Babalon]

I feel like I've seen somebody say they know how Tolkein feels before. Either way, I haven't felt like writing anything since I wrote my last fan fic, after that poorly recieved last thing I wrote here.

 

[Djmac1031]

I imagine that anybody who creates, doesn't go through the same issue at some point?
I'm sure there will be hundreds of excellent pieces of advice by people who know a lot more than me...
However, (Here we go).
I wonder whether by mapping out exactly where you want to go. You haven't made your job harder... More constrictive...,.
By plotting the road so thoughtfully. You have narrowed it to such a point it is now difficult to traverse....
Perhaps if you remove the road blocks, you may at least get some traffic moving???As I said, I'm no expert...
Closing out a long running series must feel very daunting. Something you have cherished and spent hours developing.

The other thought I had... Perhaps you're not really comfortable with the ending you've plotted??? And that is the reason you're struggling???

Anyway, just my thoughts.

Cagivagurl

Meant to respond earlier.

I do appreciate your thoughts.

Normally, I'm pretty much a pantser. I very rarely plot out anything.

On this one though, I really did need to. Because it's pretty complicated, at least for me.

So I needed a road map. Am I willing to vary from it? Sure? But I still needed to know the destination.

And I like my ending. I think it's exactly what this series has been building to.

I honestly don't have an answer as to what the block was. Maybe a lack of confidence, not in the story idea, but in my ability to actually pull it off.

Don't know.

I seem to have unblocked, at least for the moment. Actually been writing tonight and coming up with some fun stuff.

Here's hoping it lasts.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Meant to respond earlier.

I do appreciate your thoughts.

Normally, I'm pretty much a pantser. I very rarely plot out anything.

On this one though, I really did need to. Because it's pretty complicated, at least for me.

So I needed a road map. Am I willing to vary from it? Sure? But I still needed to know the destination.

And I like my ending. I think it's exactly what this series has been building to.

I honestly don't have an answer as to what the block was. Maybe a lack of confidence, not in the story idea, but in my ability to actually pull it off.

Don't know.

I seem to have unblocked, at least for the moment. Actually been writing tonight and coming up with some fun stuff.

Here's hoping it lasts.

Sweet...
If the roads clear, then all is good.
Best wishes with it.
I always enjoy that moment when the mists clear away, and the words sorta flow.
When you don't really have to think about them, they just happen. Your fingers are on auto pilot attuned to the uninterrupted cascade
Enjoy, and write like the wind.

Cagivagurl

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Meant to respond earlier.

I do appreciate your thoughts.

Normally, I'm pretty much a pantser. I very rarely plot out anything.

On this one though, I really did need to. Because it's pretty complicated, at least for me.

So I needed a road map. Am I willing to vary from it? Sure? But I still needed to know the destination.

And I like my ending. I think it's exactly what this series has been building to.

I honestly don't have an answer as to what the block was. Maybe a lack of confidence, not in the story idea, but in my ability to actually pull it off.

Don't know.

I seem to have unblocked, at least for the moment. Actually been writing tonight and coming up with some fun stuff.

Here's hoping it lasts.

Sometimes you gotta just get away from writing, maybe read some stuff, and eventually it comes back.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Here's the truly funny part.

I posted this thread last night after weeks of frustration at not being able to write.

Then woke up this morning with the idea of how to continue.

And now I'm writing the story again. Slowly, but the words are finally coming.

Weird, huh?

Better than waking up this morning and getting yourself a gun or waking up this morning and getting yourself a beer. Interesting how often leaving sleep is used as a theme.

 

[Djmac1031]

Better than waking up this morning and getting yourself a gun

And now I've got the Sopranos theme in my head