{ ＩＮＫＬＩＮＧＳ } LOCK! NEW THREAD

[Rebel Faery]

Do you guys know how to get over story preference? It's similar to writer's block, but instead it's so you have lots of ideas for one story instead of another? ATM I'm working on four stories, two fan-fics, a script and a book I'm hoping to get published. All my ideas are for one of the fan-fics, rather than the book. I've given myself a deadline for completion (my birthday, March 2nd), but I'm getting nowhere. Any advice? I've always had problems with finishing books, but I don't want to give this one up when I've already completed the two prequels...



And hi Meggy! I'd love to read some of your stuff sometime.

[Iselka]

Will someone read and critique the revised version of The Fox Grove.

[l'Alpaca]

Do you guys know how to get over story preference? It's similar to writer's block, but instead it's so you have lots of ideas for one story instead of another? ATM I'm working on four stories, two fan-fics, a script and a book I'm hoping to get published. All my ideas are for one of the fan-fics, rather than the book. I've given myself a deadline for completion (my birthday, March 2nd), but I'm getting nowhere. Any advice? I've always had problems with finishing books, but I don't want to give this one up when I've already completed the two prequels...

hey, this might seem like rubbish advice, but leave it a bit. Work on your fanfic, or just give it a break. There's nothing worse that staring at your screen, clenching your fists and racking your brains. Relax, don't think about it, and it'll come to you.

[reilly]

Do you guys know how to get over story preference? It's similar to writer's block, but instead it's so you have lots of ideas for one story instead of another? ATM I'm working on four stories, two fan-fics, a script and a book I'm hoping to get published. All my ideas are for one of the fan-fics, rather than the book. I've given myself a deadline for completion (my birthday, March 2nd), but I'm getting nowhere. Any advice? I've always had problems with finishing books, but I don't want to give this one up when I've already completed the two prequels...

hey, this might seem like rubbish advice, but leave it a bit. Work on your fanfic, or just give it a break. There's nothing worse that staring at your screen, clenching your fists and racking your brains. Relax, don't think about it, and it'll come to you.

Whenever I have problems like this I let it sit for a few days.
I try to think about other stuff, or just let my mind wonder.
I agree with The.Chocolate.Box, here. Trying to force it out of you can just make it worse.

[Rebel Faery]

Okay, guys Thanks for the advice.

[Rolly-chan]

Do you guys know how to get over story preference? It's similar to writer's block, but instead it's so you have lots of ideas for one story instead of another? ATM I'm working on four stories, two fan-fics, a script and a book I'm hoping to get published. All my ideas are for one of the fan-fics, rather than the book. I've given myself a deadline for completion (my birthday, March 2nd), but I'm getting nowhere. Any advice? I've always had problems with finishing books, but I don't want to give this one up when I've already completed the two prequels...

hey, this might seem like rubbish advice, but leave it a bit. Work on your fanfic, or just give it a break. There's nothing worse that staring at your screen, clenching your fists and racking your brains. Relax, don't think about it, and it'll come to you.

Whenever I have problems like this I let it sit for a few days.
I try to think about other stuff, or just let my mind wonder.
I agree with The.Chocolate.Box, here. Trying to force it out of you can just make it worse.

Letting it rest for one or two days is one thing.
On the other hand, letting it sit might mean letting it sit for one, two, five, ten years. Especially if you are one of those writers who have trouble with beginning and/or ending a story (just ask yourself: are you thinking things like "I'll just write double as much tomorrow" or "Can't muster up to write now, I'll take a nap/a snack/draw a random doodle"? Then you're avoiding writing, and to keep avoiding it won't help). If you don't think about it at all, you'll wait for inspiration forever.
Or in Stephen King's words: “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”
Waiting for inspiration is rather bad advice in any case, I'd say. Why? Because it's very very unreliable and sporadic. If writing really means something to you, you'll want to be able to write every day, or at least as often as you can without letting your social life suffer too much. You can't do that if you only write when you're inspired. The only way to become better is to read a lot and to write a lot. And if you want to start a writing career, you won't have the luxury to wait for inspiration. There are ways to make inspiration come to you. And then there's always the option to simply write, even if it sounds rubbish to you. But then you'll have still written, and you'll have something to edit. If you do nothing, you will have nothing.

Tell your muse (or creative mind) exactly what you want and let it answer. For example "I need a way for my protagonist to get out of the prison cell without using ninja skills or someone else to bail him out."
But don't give yourself too much time for that. One or two days tops. If that doesn't work, get out your notebook and write down several scenarios that you come up with, even if they sound incredibly far-fetched. Don't ever call an idea "stupid". Just dismiss it and search for other ideas.

Here's some specific advice on getting a story finished.
If you rather have trouble writing scenes: Here's something about writing scenes that move the story forward.
Sometimes, though, it's because there's no conflict in it: Here's the right place for that.

[reilly]

On the other hand, letting it sit might mean letting it sit for one, two, five, ten years. Especially if you are one of those writers who have trouble with beginning and/or ending a story (just ask yourself: are you thinking things like "I'll just write double as much tomorrow" or "Can't muster up to write now, I'll take a nap/a snack/draw a random doodle"? Then you're avoiding writing, and to keep avoiding it won't help). If you don't think about it at all, you'll wait for inspiration forever.
Or in Stephen King's words: “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”
Waiting for inspiration is rather bad advice in any case, I'd say. Why? Because it's very very unreliable and sporadic. If writing really means something to you, you'll want to be able to write every day, or at least as often as you can without letting your social life suffer too much. You can't do that if you only write when you're inspired. The only way to become better is to read a lot and to write a lot. And if you want to start a writing career, you won't have the luxury to wait for inspiration. There are ways to make inspiration come to you. And then there's always the option to simply write, even if it sounds rubbish to you. But then you'll have still written, and you'll have something to edit. If you do nothing, you will have nothing.

Tell your muse (or creative mind) exactly what you want and let it answer. For example "I need a way for my protagonist to get out of the prison cell without using ninja skills or someone else to bail him out."
But don't give yourself too much time for that. One or two days tops. If that doesn't work, get out your notebook and write down several scenarios that you come up with, even if they sound incredibly far-fetched. Don't ever call an idea "stupid". Just dismiss it and search for other ideas.

Here's some specific advice on getting a story finished.
If you rather have trouble writing scenes: Here's something about writing scenes that move the story forward.
Sometimes, though, it's because there's no conflict in it: Here's the right place for that.

Rolly-chan is also right.
If you avoid the story for a long time on purpose, the story will never get finished.
If you are stuck because you can't think of what to write it's one thing.
But if you are stuck because you aren't enjoying the story, maybe you should find a different story to write. One you do enjoy. You could also try to change the story you are working on. But if you find it difficult to make it fun then you still won't be having fun.
I think it's important to enjoy what you are writing.

[Rolly-chan]

Enjoying what you're writing is always a top-priority, if you ask me
But sometimes, you'll have days when you're listless, and on those days, it's paramount that you sit down and write anyway.

http://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=2175418
I made a Story Secret Valentines thread! This is much like Story Secret Santa, but different. Click me?

And that's right - please do participate in this event! It was a blast for Christmas, so it would be much love if people participated as plentiful as they did before <3
(and you don't even have to write romance if that's not your thing! So it's really worth it!)

[Artesian]

Enjoying what you're writing is always a top-priority, if you ask me
But sometimes, you'll have days when you're listless, and on those days, it's paramount that you sit down and write anyway.

http://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=2175418
I made a Story Secret Valentines thread! This is much like Story Secret Santa, but different. Click me?

And that's right - please do participate in this event! It was a blast for Christmas, so it would be much love if people participated as plentiful as they did before <3
(and you don't even have to write romance if that's not your thing! So it's really worth it!)

I agree. I'm bad about that sometimes - and end up moping on my bed, or plunking out a cruddy roleplay reply: but it really is a good thing to write, even when you don't really want to. It helps you to strive in my opinion: sure, there are days where you absolutely do not want to write - and those are okay. However, if they happen frequently, you need to push on - because that feeling will eventually become ever present and won't go away.

There are different types of writer's blocks too. There's content ones, where a particular post or section of your writing just isn't working, and if that happens, that means there's probably something wrong with how you're writing it (plot problems earlier on, the wrong perspective to be telling the story, unnatural character reactions, whatever), and not with with your writing ability. When that happens to me, I consider it from as many angles as I can, then put it aside and write something else for a while, picking it back up and trying it again and again in different ways till it clicks.

Then there's ones where you just can't write at all, it seems, and that happens to me when I haven't had enough sleep, or I'm too stressed, or haven't been eating well, or something like that, and in that case if I take better care of my brain for a few days, I can write again. For those, it doesn't help to try to continue writing, because you'll just write badly and then hate it.

['pyrrhic]

{I write down ideas till I find one that I love. It works a lot and it relives writers block quiet quickly.