↠ WRITING TIPS

↠ writer's block

We all know the demon called writer's block and we all hate him. Here's a few methods that help me personally to get over a writer's block.

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«What is a writer's block?»

Every writer experiences a period of time, that can last from hours to a span of days, weeks or even more, in which they don't want to or don't now what to write.

First and foremost, it is important to know that bashing yourself won't get you anywhere. So stop the self pity right away! There's no use in feeling pathetic or like a bad writer for suffering from a writer's block.

Instead, remind yourself that you are human too. Writing is work to some extent. That being said, there's nothing wrong with taking a break from it. Take a step back, observe the situation, relax and do something else. It's only healthy, as long as you don't procrastinate for too long.

I've experienced two types of writer's blocks so far. 

WRITER'S BLOCK #1:

Oh, I kind of feel like writing something, I think... I'm not sure, but I can't think of anything either. There's nothing coming to mind! I give up, I don't know what to write about, this sucks.

WRITER'S BLOCK #2:

I know exactly what I wanna write about! I have a plotline in my head or a topic that is on the tip of my tongue! The problem is: I have no idea how to put it into words properly. Everything I start to write down is not to my liking. Everything sounds off or not fully how I want it to. I guess I'll leave it be then, must be a shitty idea anyway, if it's not going to work out.

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«How do I get rid of writer's block #1?»

– It's possible you feel pressured to write something. If that's the case, then thoughts like "but I have to do something, I can't just do nothing." or "I must be a shitty writer if I can't even think of anything to actually write." might cross your mind. If at this very moment, when reading these thoughts, you feel you resonate with them, it's time for the earlier mentioned break! Forcing yourself into doing something you don't feel motivated to do is no use. My tip: Go do something else and get your mind off business and work. Clear your thoughts and have fun with something, who knows, maybe through doing that you'll find a new source of inspiration, too!

– If you do not relate to the quotes above, then this might be your current situation: You really are eager to write. You want to express whatever, anything's fine, but you're overwhelmed by the task to settle on a single idea or to even come up with one. Fear not, below are a few tips on how to find your topic!

– Look around your room or wherever you are right now. The object that first meets your eye is your muse. Look at it, observe it and think about it. It can even be something as silly as a glass of water or an old family picture. Write down a description of what you see. Continue to express what that object makes you feel, what it makes you think of, what you associate with it. Set yourself the goal to fill a few pages or reach a certain word count!

– Look up prompts online. There are various books right here on wattpad that serve you with quotes, alternative universes or prompts. You can find them on tumblr as well, or just through googling it. Again, set yourself a goal of a certain length you find appropriate and settle on writing one. Can't decide on picking one? Write down 6 you like most and roll a dice.

– Wrote a story before? Write it again! There's two ways to go about this. You can try to go from memory and write it down to later compare it and check if you changed your writing style, improved it or see things you liked better in the previous version. You could also reread your story and purposely try to alter your writing style. This is very good practice for varying and developing as a writer.

«How do I get rid of writer's block #2?"

– The more tricky type of writer's block. At least I find this one harder to deal with. It's easier to get frustrated at yourself when suffering writer's block #2. No matter what, don't be harsh on yourself. Like with writer's block #1, there's no use in forcing yourself to do something you don't enjoy at the moment. Pause for a while and come back to it later, maybe you're thoughts are sorted by then and it's easier to write down what you want and how you want.

– Let's say you've spent days, if not weeks, suffering this writer's block, even though you do know a plotline. That's fine. Here's what you should do: Take notes. They don't have to be descriptive or sorted out. Just take short and random notes of what it's going on in your head! Write down the names and characters you'd like to include, maybe create a little profile for them (age, gender, hair color, eye color, nationality, ...). Do the same with locations or actual events. It helps putting your ideas into order.

– Read your previous works. Recognize your way of writing and try to adapt to it again or figure out what you might dislike about it and try to change it. If it helps, use the same tip like the one of writer's block #1: Take the same story you wrote a while ago and rewrite it, without really copying it. Try to put it into different words to figure out if that is how you rather would want to start your new story.

– If you don't have own previous works, read someone else's. You don't have to copy their story, in fact, it would be quite rude to steal someone's plotline, even if not copying them word for word. But even so, reading a book, a fanfiction, or something that wasn't written by you, helps you see what you like or dislike when reading yourself and it might make you realize what you want your story to be like!

– Do not, under all circumstances, delete or destroy the things you have already written. Even if you dislike them and are not happy with them, keep them! You can start anew, but you don't have to throw away every draft. Instead, use them for when you suffer writer's block again. Reflect on them, try to figure out wholeheartedly what it is you dislike about them. And maybe, if you look at them later, you actually find things you quite enjoy and can be proud of.