Writers Block | National Novel Writing Month

Writer's block is like having the hiccoughs. Everybody gets it, and everybody has their own suggestion about how to deal with it, and none of those suggestions work more than half the time with anybody.

The only difference is that hiccoughs go away if you leave them alone, whereas writer's block never will. You've got to write something, tapping away at that block until it falls apart. Here are some suggestions:

1. "Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Rosalinda was having a very different problem..."

a. Throw in a non sequitur, just to get used to typing again.
b. It doesn't have to be a completely unrelated character. Maybe you can re-visit a side character left over from Chapter 2.
c. Or, maybe you can set up the opposite sketches -- if your MC has to get from point A to point B, talk about a character that has to get from point B to point A.

Don't forget, this all counts towards your wordcount, and you can edit it out in December.

2. "Stanley threw his hands up in the air. "That's it," he said. "We'll never be able to sneak this pickled watermelon into the girl's dorm, and Justine will never know how I feel about her."

a. Hang a lantern on it. If your characters are having troubles, write about your characters having troubles.
b. One character might convince the other that they can do it.
c. Sometimes, the characters might even agree on a different plan than the one you decided. It's a little creepy when that happens, but it's always welcome.

3. "Five hours later, Andy was out of prison and boarding a bus..."

a. Get past it. If you know that your characters have to get to point B, start writing at point B, and keep going on from there.
b. If you really feel guilty about it, have your characters refer to it in passing. "Remember when you slipped down the stairs, Andy? I thought we were going to get caught right then and there!"
c. Maybe things didn't turn out like you planned. Start off at point B, and Andy's out of jail, but he's missing an eye. How'd that happen? Well, it's a funny story...

4. "Just then, the dragon was blind-sided by a stampede of cattle, pushing it off balance and sweeping it down into a canyon that nobody had noticed previously."

a. Deus Ex Machina. Just because it's not elegant doesn't mean it's illegal.
b. For a NaNoWriMo-themed variation... "Suddenly, ninjas attacked." It's a classic, and sure to shoot milk the nose out of any wrimo who reads it.

That's my advice... if anybody has any other ideas, voice them here.

Good luck!

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Denton (a.k.a. Aquadeo)
ML for Alberta::Elsewhere
e-mail: south_alberta@nanowrimo.org
website: http://labville.blogspot.com

ScarlettD.	Writers Block
50,137 / 50,000 Joined: Oct 5, 2007 Location: Eastern Alberta Posts: 30 Posted on: Nov 22, 2007 - 20 54	Well, I got it. Dreaded writers block. I'm just not feeling the story like I was before. I know where it needs to go and it came here so well and it will continue so well, but there is a block to start it. GRRRR. Any advice? ----------
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Aquadeo	RE: Writers Block
62,480 / 50,000 Municipal Liaison Joined: Oct 22, 2003 Location: Medicine Hat, Alberta Posts: 112 Posted on: Nov 23, 2007 - 15 06	Writer's block is like having the hiccoughs. Everybody gets it, and everybody has their own suggestion about how to deal with it, and none of those suggestions work more than half the time with anybody. The only difference is that hiccoughs go away if you leave them alone, whereas writer's block never will. You've got to write something, tapping away at that block until it falls apart. Here are some suggestions: 1. "Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Rosalinda was having a very different problem..." a. Throw in a non sequitur, just to get used to typing again. b. It doesn't have to be a completely unrelated character. Maybe you can re-visit a side character left over from Chapter 2. c. Or, maybe you can set up the opposite sketches -- if your MC has to get from point A to point B, talk about a character that has to get from point B to point A. Don't forget, this all counts towards your wordcount, and you can edit it out in December. 2. "Stanley threw his hands up in the air. "That's it," he said. "We'll never be able to sneak this pickled watermelon into the girl's dorm, and Justine will never know how I feel about her." a. Hang a lantern on it. If your characters are having troubles, write about your characters having troubles. b. One character might convince the other that they can do it. c. Sometimes, the characters might even agree on a different plan than the one you decided. It's a little creepy when that happens, but it's always welcome. 3. "Five hours later, Andy was out of prison and boarding a bus..." a. Get past it. If you know that your characters have to get to point B, start writing at point B, and keep going on from there. b. If you really feel guilty about it, have your characters refer to it in passing. "Remember when you slipped down the stairs, Andy? I thought we were going to get caught right then and there!" c. Maybe things didn't turn out like you planned. Start off at point B, and Andy's out of jail, but he's missing an eye. How'd that happen? Well, it's a funny story... 4. "Just then, the dragon was blind-sided by a stampede of cattle, pushing it off balance and sweeping it down into a canyon that nobody had noticed previously." a. Deus Ex Machina. Just because it's not elegant doesn't mean it's illegal. b. For a NaNoWriMo-themed variation... "Suddenly, ninjas attacked." It's a classic, and sure to shoot milk the nose out of any wrimo who reads it. That's my advice... if anybody has any other ideas, voice them here. Good luck! ---------- Denton (a.k.a. Aquadeo) ML for Alberta::Elsewhere e-mail: south_alberta@nanowrimo.org website: http://labville.blogspot.com
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ScarlettD.	RE: Writers Block
50,137 / 50,000 Joined: Oct 5, 2007 Location: Eastern Alberta Posts: 30 Posted on: Nov 26, 2007 - 00 20	thanks Denton. I broke the block, managed it in a big way too. How did i do it? i walked away from it for a day, then i sat and forced myself to write.Those first 1000 words did not come easy, then in 2 days i realized i had 10k! Holy smokes, I'm back on track. I might just be able to pull it off!
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