Hey Pandas, What Are Your Tips For Writer’s Block?

I'm stuck! Everything I write is either too boring, in-cohesive, or sounds like it was written by a 3-year-old. What do I do?

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1) Put up what you're working on for at least a few days.

2) Free write - this one is a little harder for me but I'll free write for a bit just letting my frustrations come out through the written word. Nothing in that needs to be cohesive. It's a jumbled mix of chaos that's pouring from you in that moment. Do not grammer check your free write. Write it out and them put that aside.

3) Write on something else, anything else - Fanfiction is perfect for this. There's already established characters and you don't need to create them. Just put them in a situation and go from there. You can even work through some of your own plot stuff in the fanfiction and it may bring back that spark. I don't publish any of the fanfiction I write on the internet, that's for me alone and it helps me through the process.

Take a deep breath and realize this happens to everyone and at some point you're going to assume you're work sucks and no one is going to like it. That's bull c**p. I already have several people waiting for me to finish what I'm writing. I usually let my writing sit for a week or two before I will pick it back up and read through it or the scene I was working on before I start writing in it again.

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5points

Roadkill The Brave

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Write a mini story with all your characters! It really helps

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5points

Rey

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RedPepper 1 year ago

Writing sidestories works best for me too! Prequel, sequel, missing scene, character study...

0points

1) Refer back to your brainstorming that helped you get this far. Sometimes, I draw a little road map of the Rising Action so I know how I want my story to progress.
2) Read a book. Sometimes, it works to distance yourself from your own story and enjoy someone else’s. Then, when you come back, you might have a new idea.
3) Work on something else for a while. Oftentimes, I will have writers block on one particular story, but I can write my English essay in two hours without a problem. Then, when I come back to the story, I can normally get a little farther.
4) Ask a friend to read it. They might have some ideas, and it makes your unread acknowledgments list even longer!

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3points

HistoryLover(she/her)

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The best/easiest thing y oh can do is take a break, if that doesn’t work or your on some kind of deadline, maybe try to become ‘re-inspired’ by doing an activity, reading a book, or watching something that inspires you.

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Red Panda

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1. Listen to meaningful music! I have been inspired to write so many different scenes in my books that would work really well in it because of a song I listened to.

2. Think about what you have already written, then try and think of what might work in the story. If it fits, write some details down on a piece of paper.

3. Never, NEVER permanently delete something. Keep it in a separate place so you can come back and see where you wanted the part of the story to go originally. This has helped me a lot in my works.

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3points

Nevada McKinney

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tana 4 months ago

yup, my sister was working on a story for school and when school was over she deleted it, then wanted to work on it again. SHE DELETED 30 PAGES

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i just got out of my writer's block today, actually! here are some tips

1. Write a summary of your book- just start writing and often you'll eventually get into a creative flow

2. write something else. I do these things I call 'kickstarter stories' where i just describe a single scene as descriptively as possible. you can also look up a random word generator and write whatever comes to mind from that random word. once you're in the writing mood again, it'll help to break the writer's block with your book

3. delete the last thing you wrote. sometimes, I'll write something and i just won't know where to go from there. it'll be like a dead end paragraph or line of dialogue that I just don't like or can't build off of. just delete the troublesome part and rewrite it.

4. take a break. if you're frustrated with your book or feel like you don't like it anymore, take some time off and either work on something else or just don't write for a week or a few days- however long you need to stop dreading returning to your writing.

5. get help! I have a couple of friends who write, and we usually go to each other for book help. sometimes, just explaining the problem out loud or bouncing ideas back and forth is enough to fix the problem

good luck! :)

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Deutschland Mädchen

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Let your characters have a holiday as in let them be silly, get them out of the normal environment and let them go wild. Meaning write something that's not meant to be published or in universe

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Remi (He/Him)

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Map your next chapter. Make a list of what happens in chronological order: dialogue, action, characters' feelings. Thus you can focus on 'how' you write instead of 'what' you write.

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RedPepper

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I don’t write stuff really. I mean I make stories in my head and stuff it’s kinda weird. I call it mind scripting. If u wanna know more ask. I did have artist block tho. What I did was kinda just take a break and slowly get back into it. I’d recommend for writing tho, maybe write like short stories and slowly get back into writing. Or choose a random topic and then just start writing about it.

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DP(the first)

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#10

1.First – No one can tell you how YOU should write. We can tell you how WE write.
2.I began a short story a few years ago. I started freeform writing (no outline, no real goal in mind). I wrote two pages. A year later I got inspired to sit down and write. This time I generally knew where the story was going. But, I was still lost, so this is what I did:
a.I created a list of characters – where they were from, if they were male or female, if they were good or bad, their work positions, a basic background (where they were from, etc). If you give more details to the characters, you might find a subplot to your story may emerge when you are writing.
b.I wrote the last paragraph/chapter. For ME, I can’t figure out how to get to where I’m going if I don’t know the destination.
c.I created a rough plot outline.
3.I find it easier to write with all the daily distractions are not in sight – no family pictures, no to-do lists, no bills to be paid, etc
4.I keep a pad of paper near me to jot down writing ideas.
5.When you write, remember the first draft is not the end-all. It will not be perfection. It will not be good. It may be fair, but it is a start. Think of it as a lump of clay. Keep going.
6.Once you have a chunk of writing done, put it through a grammar/spelling app. I use Grammarly. (Do NOT write one paragraph and then put it though the app – You should edit what you write SEVERAL times as you continue to write before doing a grammar and spelling check.)
What I would do:
1.Take a deep breath, step away from what I have so far, and think about what I am trying to get across.
2.Outline the plot of the short story or novel.
3.Develop the characters.
4.Change your writing area.
5.Give my work to an honest friend for their opinion.
My questions for you are:
1.Are you writing about something that REALLY interests you and you have KNOWLEDGE of that subject? As stupid comparison – a write who had no technical expertise in motorcycle repairs, should not try to write about a character that repairs motorcycles. (Hope you get the point) (I had a friend who wanted to write a romance novel. Yeah. Nope. Romance was NOT his forte.)
2.Do you know your anticipated audience? – Young adult, SCI-FI readers, Beach trash novel readers, technical geeks… 😊
3.How MUCH have you written before you say your writing is boring?
I have days where I write 100-200 words. There are days where I can write 5,000 words when I get inspired. I’ve edited the first 100 pages 8 times. My short story has expanded to probably 6 books, and so far 355,000 words. Please, never give up!