Motivation and Inspiration
I bet everyone here once in a while is being visited by Writer’s Block. Maybe this beast has even moved in into your head.
Here I’ll try to put some thoughts and advises on how to prevent and/or overcome it.
Note that not everything might work for you.
- Make time for writing
Well aren’t you freaking Captain Obvious, you might ask me. Well, what I mean is that you should write every day. Make it a goal, like a morning workout. 100 lines a day for example . Seems like it’s not much, but 1) these 100 lines a day will move the whole thing, as it is 1000 lines per 10 days and 2) if you’ll get an idea on what to write in these 100 lines, most likely you will want to finish the piece until some point, so it will make it more than 100 lines
- Use the dead time to think
To be honest best ideas come to me when I’m walking my dog. I just keep replaying the plot in my head and search for different routes, and reasons how to ground them. Use that time when you aren’t focused on anything and just force yourself to play the story in your head, whether you are driving to work, or waiting in line or having a silent lunch.
- Stop for the day trick
Ernest Hemingway advised writers to stop for the day when writing is going well and the writer knows what will happen next. Some writers even advocate stopping in the middle of a paragraph or sentence. That makes it easier to dive in the next day. - Discuss the story with your friends
I found this to be really helpful for me. So I’ve made 2 or 3 episodes and asked some of my friends (the ones that aren’t afraid to tell bitter truth lol) to share their opinions. I got a bunch of very creative ideas from these conversations. Once I release every new chapter I ask my friends (the ones who willingly read my story) a bunch of questions - like how do you feel about this scene, did your opinion about this character changed, or what do you think will happen next. The answers you will get might inspire some great plot routes. - Listen to your fans
Well, the fan is a strong word. Fan-mails. You might have a pretty detailed plot in your head, but we are just people. We might ignore something that our readers might notice. I recently got a fan-mail asking, simplified “Why is this character is acting like this? This is so bad”. At first, it got me irritated, like, these are characters, why do you want me to change them? But then I thought, well it really concerns them, which is flattering to be honest, as you know that readers are invested in these characters, then they must not get why the character acts this way. And I paid attention to this and created a nice dialogue scene, that helped me with a few characters developing process. - Read a book/watch a movie/tv show
It might be even a book or a movie/tv show that is not really related to your plot. Just keep attention to the plot and conversations, and you might get some great ideas. - Try Worldbuilding websites
Discovered it basically 2 days ago. There you can ask questions, like how to justify this and that about your story, and get answers. There is a lot of already answered questions, that can serve as a source for some great ideas. Just search stuff related to your story and go through a bunch of questions/answers.
Worldbuilding Stack Exchange
Q&A for writers/artists using science, geography and culture to construct imaginary worlds and settings
- Plan your plot
This should go at first, to be honest. A lot of times we get the writer’s block because we don’t know how to continue our story. Ideas don’t match, and we just get stuck. To prevent at least this type of the WB plan your plot in advance, up until the end, and with all the minor plotlines. - Take a rest
Sometimes it’s just it. We are tired and emotionally drained. It happens. Take some time off, and then try to get back on with the writing. Before continuing I usually read my story again, just to refresh everything that has happened, and also to get some inspiration in how to move the story forward.
What isn’t helping
- Refusing to write until you feel inspired
Writing is a work, just like any other. If you got your rest, did everything else and you still don’t feel inspired - just sit down and write something. At least basic abstract ideas. Otherwise, you can keep looking for inspiration until you are completely uninterested to continue your story. - Wallowing in self-pity
This is something that doesn’t help with ANYTHING in this life basically.
- Watching TV
Now. I mentioned how watching a movie or TV show might help. Well, don’t make it an excuse to just mindlessly keep yourself busy with this. - Making endless excuses and postponing writing until…
Well you got it…
Overall.
When you know you just have to start somewhere - just sit down and write something. Anything that comes to your mind, even if it seems silly. Finish at some point. Re-read and make corrections and over and over again.
Good luck with your stories people