blah writers block sucks

meamolly

I found one of my stories I started a few years ago and decided to start it up again. Man I miss the days of just sitting down and typing for hours. i have added maybe three pages in the past three days. Anyone have any ideas to get the brain going again?

deburnin

Nope, but when you find out let me know. My stories have been on hold for about five years now...

leia1979

I probably have five times as many unfinished stories as I have finished ones. I'm so bad about that.

Bec20

Deadlines that you have to stick to.  They work wonders.

The only reason I've been able to write two novels is because of National Novel Writing Month (November), where you have to write 50 000 words in a month.  I wrote 50 000 words in 2008, the first year I did it, and 63 000 words or so last year.  It was a good start, so I was able to actually finish them both.

I'm not very good at keeping up my writing otherwise.  I had a short story I intended to finish by yesterday and, naturally, I didn't.  My new goal is to finish it by my birthday next week.

deburnin

The only stories I've ever finished have been short stories when I was a creative writing major in undergrad. I hated them, but I finished them by the deadlines. The rest were all part of the same series and I would jump around from idea to idea and never get back to the original one. I have thousands of pages written (I started in 5th grade so a significant portion is crap lol).

I really want to participate in National Novel Writing Month, but I think I'll have to attempt next year. My homework schedule for school looks pretty rough that month.

CWill16

I have never written to write say novels or stories, but as a poli sci major at a liberal arts college i have written many many looong papers (senior thesis has a minimum of 50 pages).

My best motivation is treating my self to something while I write. I nice cup of hot tea with honey or sweet tea in the summer months. Something I can enjoy for a while. I also find classical music helps me.

All else fails think about what you are writing about. Is it mystery? romance? nature? find inspiration from your favorite authors, old black and white photographs or a trip to a local garden. Inspiration must come from passion. Try and find yours.

Beads921

I've never done a great deal of creative writing either, but oh boy can I write an essay. I set deadlines for myself, and it really helps. It also helps when you're really excited about what you're writing about. I've somehow wound up loving every topic I've ever written on (miraculous, I know), and I think it helps make the writing process easier. And finally, try breaking it into smaller bits. Trying to write an entire novel in one sitting is very daunting (and probably not possible), but trying to write a chapter in a certain amount of time would be reasonable.