First Drafting, Part 8: Writer's Block

First off, I don't believe in writer's block.  I believe in writer's stump: when we stare at the screen and are simply stumped with what to do next.  I don't think we can be blocked, because there's always something we can do, or something we could have done to avoid getting trapped in the story.

But that being said, whatever you want to call it, we all get it at times.  We just don't know where to take the story next.  Sometimes we just don't know what should happen next in the story; sometimes we know what should happen, but not how to write it in a logical sense; and sometimes we know where the story needs to go but can't figure out how to nudge the characters in that direction.

So when you are stumped...what do you do?





Find Out How You Write

I cannot stress this enough!  Find out how you writeIt's so simple, and yet really hard. 

You may have to take a writing break and try a few different methods.  But I promise, it's worth it.  Try writing an outline.  Try not writing an outline.  Try a different outlining method.  Try journaling.  Try sketches.  Try writing nothing at all.  Try planning out every detail.

This may take some time, but just keep writing.  After all, the trick to getting better at writing is to keep writing.

Knowing how you operate is key to getting a draft finished.

Start A Fight

Question: What do you do when you really are stuck, and just don't know what to do? 
My favorite answer: start a fight.

I can't tell you how many times I've used this.  Even with my synopsis outline, I can get stumped.  I don't write every single detail down (I like to give myself some freedom to figure things out as I go).  So every so often, I'll stare at the screen and ask, "how do I get from where I am to what happens next in the story?"

If I can't figure it out in five minutes or so, I just start typing.  Usually I start a fight.  Someone accidently elbows another person.  A horse gets startled by something.  A spy jumps out of the shadows with a drawn sword.

If you don't know what happens, just do something random and go from there.  Ask yourself, "what's something that'll really ruin things for a character?" and then do it.  Ruin their lives a little.  They'll get over it.  :)

Just remember, I can take all that out later or fix it during editing.  But I need to keep the story moving along and get it finished so I can edit.

The Enter Key

A couple times, when I was stumped, I just hit the enter button a few times and picked up where I knew what to write.  This is a last resort for me, and I only do it when I am having trouble with a scene (not the entire plot).  It may be considered cheating, or you may find yourself doing it too often, so use with caution.  But you can always go back and stick in more details later, once you know the story better and know what should go there.

So what to y'all think?  Was that helpful?  Do you know how you write?

12 comments:

  1. This was so helpful! Thank you! I use the enter key method a lot when I get stuck. :)

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    1. For a long time I never thought about it. Then during a NaNo event I realized that a certain part wouldn't have happened the way it did . And since it was a NaNo event, I didn't want to waste the words I'd spent typing...so I was just like *glances around room* *hits enter key a few times* *continues typing* *cackles*

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  2. SO HELPFUL!! I should use the "start a fight" method more often... XD

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    1. It's really helpful!! You can always take it out later, but it gets you going, and often get show some interesting sides of the characters!

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  3. I don't often get road block during my first drafts, thanks to point #1. I know I work best with an outline, so I do that. But I struggled with this a lot back when I tried to pants my drafts.

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    1. I used to get blocked, but now that I've discovered how I write, I don't as much. And when I do, I just start fights or something. Like a certain chapter in Rauladin... :)

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  4. Love these ideas. Particularly the "start the fight" one. I also will open another document or take a piece of paper (heavens!) and interview one of the characters. Asking them a question often does it for me. And I also leave lots of BLANKS if I'm not sure what goes there.

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    1. Starting a fight works so well for me...it gets me excited and back in the writing mood.

      Interviewing the characters to get out of a writer's stump...I never thought of that before! I do a few interviews before drafting, just to get into their heads, but maybe I should do some the next time I'm not sure what to do next. (With the added bonus of getting to hand write a bit! I would love to write more of my story information by hand, but with my wrist issues, it doesn't happen...) Thanks!

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  5. YEAH! I CAN FINALLY COMMENT ON YOUR BLOGGGG!!! It's about time I set up an account. It's been really boring reading your blog without being able to leave a comment. It kinda feels like I'm an invisible ghost that's wandering around an old mansion, observing everyone's lives without being able to interact.

    Hang on...I really wouldn't know what that feels like...

    BUT HYPOTHETICALLY.

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    1. YAAAAAS!!! It'll be nice to have you around, Ev. :D

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  6. Love your blog! So awesome! I just subscribed!
    TeenWriter @WeAreTeenArtists
    www.weareteenartists.wordpress.com

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