I seem to have been afflicted with a crippling case of writer's block. I think if I could just worry about the middle of my stories I'd be fine, but I can't seem to work past the introduction anymore. They never seem good enough to me.
I suspect that my introductions have always been rather weak, but for some reason it never bothered me until now and I can't seem to finish a story no matter how badly I may want to.
Any suggestions to over come my slump?
Sometimes the best way to start a story is to just write something then come back to it later after you've wrote the rest of it and just tweak it until everything clicks.
Hell, I've rewritten the intro to my book about four times since I had to accommodate changes like explaining bits of the characters surroundings and that kind of stuff. It's annoying, I know, but mulling over it too much might make you abandon it out of frustration.
For me, if I dont feel like writing, I dont. When I do feel like it however, I write for fun, not fame, so no fear of sounding bad clouds the mind. 8)
Hey, we write about females pushing things out of their butts, we should be free of any fears of prestation :xm0014:
Quote from: Poowrite on May 29, 2008, 10:38:38 PM
Any suggestions to over come my slump?
Yeah, type up my challenge for you. ;D
Or, you could copypasta and type up one of our RP logs in a sorta of RP turned Fanfiction much like AL and I have done for the RP2Fic and Ap Dat/Dragon Knight Chronicles...
Speaking of the DKC, if anyone wants to help me go through 2 years of logs and arrange them into a fic, feel free to offer. I'm never gonna be able to do all this on my own. x.x
If intros are the only problem, you can just start in the middle and write to the end, then go back and write the intro. I do that a lot...probably more often than I write stories linearly.
Thanks for the suggestions. Orpheum, I've been thinking about trying that, starting and coming back to it. In the past, when I've had this problem, I usually just beat my head against the wall (sat down and just wrote until I was done) to get over it but that isn't working this time. I'd probably try to combine it with what Jimmy suggested, since I usually have one or two scenes pretty well thought out I just can't seem to get the stuff leading up to them written.
Star: What challenge? And I don't think fic-ing one of the RP logs'll really do the trick. For one: we've never finished one and for two there isn't enough pooping for me to stay interested in a re-write. I'd have to take liberties and add more pooing (and would of course be restricted to half the characters).
Thanks for the suggestions though. It may be that just talking about it helps :P.
Jezz Poowrite, if talking is all you need to finish those Naruto and Tenchi rewrites, I'll sit here and yell at you all day! ;)
My problem usually isn't beginnings but ending, but I know that can be an issue even for professional writers. I agree with Orpheum and Jimmy that working around a hard part works. Just put down a ruff opening even if you can't work in all the ideas you want, until you get to the first scene you have clearly in mind, try to finish it from there, then go back to the opening once the setting and mood is more clear. Just don't fall into my trap of rewriting the whole thing five times like I do. Your stuff is really good when you just write as the ideas come.
I do know what you mean because my mind works the same way; I think of a few specific scenes and then need to fill them out and connect them. I haven't been working on mine for a wile because honestly, I've just been lazy. I DLed a great retro game mod. a wile ago and have been spending most of my computer time on that lately. Plus, I type so slow that I feel I need three or four uninterrupted hours to even bother working on it, witch is very rare. Though that's probably just an excuse... :012:
For what it's worth, I always thought your openings where good and it never occurred to me that there was anything wrong with them. :)
Quote from: Poowrite on May 31, 2008, 11:07:36 AM
Star: What challenge? And I don't think fic-ing one of the RP logs'll really do the trick. For one: we've never finished one and for two there isn't enough pooping for me to stay interested in a re-write. I'd have to take liberties and add more pooing (and would of course be restricted to half the characters).
I suggested a challenge once for you but you said you were too backlogged and to be honest, I was hoping you'd remember it, 'cause I sure don't anymore. :P
And doing a fic out of one of the RP logs doesn't have to mean the RP is over; I mean, the RP2fic series isn't over and neither is the DKC. If you want more poo'ing, you can certainly improvise with Suki or Momoko, I'm sure. ~_^
I've actually started a new fic myself, but I'm having doubts that anyone will like the character based on events this morning... :'(
Thanks, Bones :).
Star, only challenge I remember you giving me was one to write a Suki Nihon fic. I don't remember why, but you withdrew that challenge. Probably because I threatened to make her do something you wouldn't like :P.
Let me second everyone who said you don't have to write the story from beginning to end. Skip around and write whatever you're inspired to write--something in what you end up writing might suggest a way out of the part you're stuck on.
Other than that, just take some time off and think about anything but writing. If it's something you really enjoy, eventually you'll get the itch again and your problem will be gone.
Speaking of stories, I still hope you're gonna do that Azula story, Poowrite. We've already got Ty Lee, Katara and toph, now the Princess of flame needs some nasty treatment *evil grin*