Mr. CantWrite

[AerostarMonk]

So, you see I sorta have a problem. I'm a writer who doesn't write. How does that make me a writer you ask? Well, it's something people usually assume when they meet me, and always assume after they hear what interests me. So it's sort of like a brand on my forehead I guess. Now, here's the rub, I haven't written anything officially for ten years. Everything after that has been bad attempts at fan-fiction and half-baked ideas scrawled on paper.

I've tried everything, workshops, books, mandatory contests. None of them seem to work. It almost seems as if this writer's block is more like an impenetrable fortress. What's worse, I want to make this thing my lot in life. I want to write for comic books and animation.

I sorta know what's wrong. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to this sort of thing and I abhor having to rewrite stuff. It's okay if I'm rewriting to make up for logical errors and other such things, but not when I feel it's just terrible, then it seems like a why bother situation.

Now, this is not a self-pity topic. I've actually started this thread to ask if you, the good people of Never Forgotten, have any good ideas for crushing this writer's block once and for all. I'm open to any suggestion. I feel it's time to finally make good on that brand on my forehead.

[Partymember]

i write a little, too.

Just don't worry about it. Take a haiatus. A long one. Stop thinking about it, stop stressing about it. Persue enjoyable hobbies and relax. It'll pop back.

I always do my worst writing when i force myself to do so.

[Lynnie]

I've also done some writing, and am definately familiar with writers block. What I usually do is look at things around the room where I'm at, and see if anything reminds me of a good scene to write about. Or I watch TV or listen to music and compare the situations on the TV or in the song with the characters in my story. Another hard one though is when I already know of the perfect scene to write about next, but I need to find a good way to bridge the last scene and the new scene together. When that happens, I just start writing the new scene while it's still fresh in my memory, and as I'm writing some sort of "bridge" usually comes to me on its own. And then I edit it in.

When I've already tried everything, I give myself permission to take an official break from writing for a few days, and clear my head. Everyone who writes gets hit with writers block. Just try to relax, look for more inspirations, and eventually the perfect scene will pop into your head.

[koosie]

Oh yeh. I know that one. Virtually everything I've written has been pure crud and has been abandoned as a waste of time. The only time I ever wrote anything I was pleased with was when I wasn't even thinking of trying to create anything; I was digging up couch grass on my allotment which required no actual thinking whatsoever so my brain just came up with a load of stuff to fill in the time. Once it was there I just kept going over it till I could write it down and forget about it. That was most of a year ago and not one worthwhile idea has come into my head since. Perhaps as you're interested in animation and comic books, you should start with the imagery and work content in around it. Maybe a visit to an art gallery might help?

Anyway we've not talked for yonks. I'd love to see what you do create when it comes which it will.

[LaBloo]

Everything I write, think it's bad and throw it away. I'm not the writing type of person.

[jekylljuice]

I can sympathise completely. Writer's block is the bane of any scribbler's existence, and there's no set time limit for how long it should linger before finally wearing off. Good ideas and inspiration can't be forced, but once that initial spark does arrive, it's amazing how quickly everything else can start falling into place.

I haven't undertaken much serious creative writing for a few years or so, partly because I've had so much else in the way, study-wise, but it's something I'm hoping to get back into the habit of soon. Some pretty good advice I can give is not to screw up all your "half-baked" ideas immediately - even if you know they're no good, you can still learn a lot from them. I devoted years of my mid-teens to writing this novel which, Barton Fink-like, I believed at the time would be something really big, but which I eventually pulled the plug on when I realised that:

a) it wasn't going anywhere
b) it was crap - filled with plotholes, character inconsistencies, huge coincidences and ridiculous improbabilities. It wasn't at all big - it was a disaster.

I actually got thirty-odd chapters out of it before I gave up on it. I felt pretty disheartened at first, but with hindsight I no longer view the whole thing as a massive waste of time. It was a tremendous writing exercise, if nothing else, and at the very least it taught me a lot about how not to write. And I value that.

Some other advice would be to find an issue which you really care about or can feel enthusiastic about and try to use that as the basis of your inital idea. Having some kind of emotional connection to your work can often be a good incentive to keep writing. And don't be discouraged if things don't seem too stellar to begin with - you can always build upon them later. Getting the raw ideas sussed is all that matters in the early stages.

And don't worry too much if those "How to Write" books don't click with you - I've sampled my fair share of those, and the only one I found to be remotely interesting was "Dear Writer" by Carmel Bird. While there may be some pretty firm guidelines concerning how to go about getting your work published, there are certainly no set rules when it comes to writing successful fiction. Never be afraid to challenge convention. At one point, I tried reading these writing magazines for ideas, but gave up when I found their advice to be more deadening than stimulating. I'm put in mind of an article I once read by Matt Groening, containing advice for young aspiring cartoonists. One clause was a dismissal of most "How to Cartoon Books", with the assertion, "If these people knew what they were doing, then they wouldn't be writing How to Cartoon books." I never quite understood what Mr. Groening meant by that, but it made me laugh nonetheless, and I'm certainly tempted to apply it here to most "How to Write Books". But then I'm aware that I'm in no position to.

Well, enough drivel from me. Hope the inspiration tick latches onto you soon.

[Bloo2daMacs]

I too am a writer, but I generally don't get writer's block. Usually, it's more of a matter of me not being motivated. I'll be involved in writing some long comic, and then, even though it's fun, I just get caught in other things. A good way to get motivated, and make good writing is to get so bored, it's just something that finally sounds fun. Then you'll begin writing, and sometimes get caught in the enjoyment of it all, and begin unknowingly working at your best.

I also agree with Lynnie's method of comparing the characters of the story to music and TV, and Partymember's method of giving yourself a break from writing.

Another thing I'd like to add is ways to improve writing skills. Brain exercises! I like to take an object, and then describe it in words in such a way that even some one who'd never heard of the objet could get a perfect visual image of it, but not in such a way that you throw in ridiculous details. Or perhaps just some sort of puzzle to stimulate the brain will help.

I hope this helped... somehow...

[Medikor]

How about you try something a little different? I find that when I try to think up a story it's a lot more fun when I get my brother involved and make it a group effort. The ideas and structure really fall into place and you can spot things that the other may miss or not even think of.