HH's Fanfic Writing Guide

Defeat Writer's Block: Word Vomit

(requested by lonelyjimin)

Writer's block is something every writer struggles with at least once in their writing lifetime. It's where no matter what, the writer can't seem to write anything! The mind typically goes blank for some reason and it all just sucks basically.

This is one of HobisHearteu's methods to cure writer's block. It's called the Word Vomit Method. This is basically a method where you are forcing yourself to defeat the writer's block by producing word vomit.

First thing's first, whip out the pencil and paper or phone/tablet or computer. I think it works best to use a computer. Then, do exactly what you mind is refusing to do: write.

Don't think.
• The entire concept of the Word Vomit Method revolves around not thinking.
• Write what comes to mind, no matter what it is.

Don't try to write a story when doing this
• Writing a story requires thinking, and that's the exact opposite of what this method is trying to accomplish.

You don't need a topic
• Don't try to come up with a topic or a theme for this. Just write random stuff.
• It's totally random; no guidelines.

Proper sentence structure doesn't matter
• It's not the time to concern yourself with grammar.
• It's okay to use abbreviations, not capitalize, make typos, wrong spelling, write sentence fragments, skip punctuation, etc.

Decency is not a concern
• If your mind comes up with a curse word, write the curse word
• It's okay if the word vomit turns into an ugly rant
• Don't censor the word vomit. It's not like anyone is going to see this but you.

Music can be helpful
• Try to choose music that fills you with emotion.
• If your mind is having a hard time coming up with words, try listening to songs with lyrics in your language. The singer is literally giving you words to use.
• If there's a lyric that stands out to you, go ahead and write it down.

》Word Vomit example #1《
This one actually turned into a chapter for my debut fic (Dorm Bangtan...it's terrible don't read it please). I couldn't come up with anything, so I wrote what came to mind and stuck it in the fanfic. Total plot twist.
(curse word warning)

****I stare at the computer screen in front of me. A blank pixel-page which I could type in is open; the key word here is 'type.' I have no idea what to type. I think... I think I have a writer's block. Aish! This is such shit! I hate it when this happens!

I mentally groan and open up a different document, and reread what I had written previously. Still, nothing comes to mind. Fuck it.****

》Word Vomit example #2《
This developed into my most successful fanfic, Ugliest Professor. It took me like 30 minutes to type this out.
(again, curse word warning)

****Ants are not plants. Food is spelled with two o's... and 1 d. haha. d. get it? dildos. How bad does butt sex really hurt the first time anyway? I bet it burns. Why am I thinking about this? I need Jesus.

Namjoon looks pretty good in teacher attire. Like he dressed on that one show for smart people. Professor Kim Namjoon. That sounds hawt omg. Some people say he's ugly, but they're blind as a bat. They need to get hit with a bat like, "Batter up bitch."****

Of course, not all random writings will turn into something worth publishing! The majority of my forced writing is scrapped because it's ridiculously dumb.
Eventually, though, you'll be able to write again. It might take several pages of absolute nonsense, but the writers block gives up after some time.

Hope this helps. If it doesn't, let me know and I'll post more methods on how to get rid of writer's block!

2 years later...

In all honesty, though. Half the time your writer's block won't go away. So take a break. All authors do it.