Re: Help, writer in distress! -- La Femme Nikita Fan Fiction Message Board

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Date Posted: Thursday, November 10, 09:35:42am
Author: sk
Subject: Re: Help, writer in distress!
In reply to: Mary 's message, "Help, writer in distress!" on Wednesday, November 09, 04:20:23pm

Not all of these work for me, but they've all worked for someone.

= Read what you've already done out loud, and then just keep talking, riff on the situation, the dialogue, the location (describing what people wear, what they sit on, what's on their desk...)

= Set a kitchen timer for 10 minutes and make yourself type anything, absolutely anything at all, that's vaguely associated with your story. (stream of consciousness stuff is a place to start with this)

= Write the wrong thing -- write your characters doing stuff you don't want them to do, making choices you don't want them to make, in situations you didn't want them in.

= Play the analyst -- what would one of your characters tell their therapist about what's happening to them at this time?

= Write something else. Make an entry in your journal, write a letter to a friend, compose a letter to the editor about some issue in your community, just put some words together.

= With some noteable exceptions, most writers who are in it for the long haul have some kind of regular routine. You don't need to have your own writing house (like Mark Twain) but you do need to value the activity enough to make sure you get some time to do it.

By now you've noticed that all these suggestions are about tricking yourself into generating some kind of copy, no matter how unrelated to your actual project. Being so fond of words, many writers have coined aphorisms to describe writers block, and their responses to it. I won't take up space with a big selection -- the most succinct one I know is:

Don't mind good, just write.

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Replies:

I've heard two specific pieces of advice, in addition to all of the great techniques suggested here: -- Nestra, Thursday, November 10, 09:39:22am