I will no longer be updating this guide. I'm leaving it up in case it will continue to be helpful to anyone in the future.
People have asked me writing tips, Wattpad tips, and whatever. This is some of that advice I give them. Keep in mind most of t...
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Writers block...those two words might be the ugliest words in a writer's language. Some people believe writers block is a lie created by lazy writers. I am not one of those people. I hate writers block and all it's various forms it comes in. There's nothing quite like knowing what you want to say, but being unable to form the words. But there's also writers block that comes with having no idea what you want. If you sat down to think about it, writers block is broad term that has no one true definition because there's no one true writers block.
Here's some harsh truth right now. There is no cure. You heard me, there is no cure. There are ways you can try to break the block, but there is no instant cure that works for all writers. It would be amazing if there was. I do feel that those of us who are panster's are more susceptible to writers block then those who plan to the last detail. But everyone is still a victim of it at least once in a while.
So what can I tell you about writers block that might help? Well here are as many methods as I can think of which have helped me at various times.
First, stop. Just stop. Seriously, instead of spending hours sitting in front of your computer or staring at the paper, just stop. Walk away. Take the dog for a walk, use a laser pointer on a cat, save the world from the zombie invasion—do anything but write. To me that's the first step. I've found my writers block comes more when I'm doing nothing but writing. If I try to force it, it typically comes out in a nasty pie you don't want to eat. So just walk away. Take a day, take a week, hell take a month if you need to. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.
I don't always practice what I preach, but I'm a big believer that when a story wants to be written, it will be written. That's why the first step is to just walk away.
Let's say walking away doesn't help and you're still blocked. Well then, try being the opposite of what you are. If you're a plotter, try just writing whatever random words spew forth from your mouth. If you're a pantser, try plotting. This is another thing I do if I get stuck. I think about what I want to have happen in that chapter. Then I plot out multiple methods as to how to have that happen. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Another method to try is kind of like an immersion method. I'm not saying bury yourself in a pile of your writing, not that kind of immersion. More like bury yourself in music or tv or whatever gets your writing juices flowing. A lot of writers have a specific song or artist they need to listen to in order to be able to write. Me, I need the TV on. It doesn't matter what is on that TV, I just need the sound of it. Bury yourself in those sounds. Hear nothing else.
Sometimes the writer's block has a specific cause like you can't help but think your plot is going in a terrible direction. I would say just continue to write because you can always fix it in a rewrite. But if you're not one of those people, then don't be afraid to kill it. Kill everything you wrote from the point you feel you made the wrong turn on the plot. Don't worry if it's 10000 words or only a couple hundred. If you truly believe you can't write because the plot is going in the wrong direction, then stop it. Follow your gut.
