Conquering Writer's Block: Online Generators Edition

Even though the frenzy of April’s Camp NaNoWriMo session has passed, that doesn’t mean you need to stop writing! If you’re feeling like you want to continue your noveling adventures but you’re not quite sure where to go with them, participant Kayla Ann Diaz shares some tips for beating writer’s block:

If you’re like me, there is always a point in your writing in which the dreaded phenomenon known as writer’s block occurs. Some people say that writer’s block isn’t real; it’s just insecurity or the anticipation of an epiphany that causes writer’s block.

In my case, every experience I’ve had with writer’s block resulted from one of two reasons: I either got bored with the idea I initially had, or I ran out of ways to embellish that idea.

I’ve found that I can get myself writing again in one of three ways:

Introducing a new characterMoving my characters to a new placeUsing a random prompt to spark inspiration

Online generators help in all three areas. Online generators are inherently prompt generators, a great tool to have for a project like NaNoWriMo. I use them for inspiration and as a way to add a new element to my story more quickly. What better use for something like that than a writing project in which you need to crank out as much content as possible in a short amount of time?

In the corner of the Internet, I found little nuggets of content gold.

Of the three methods I previously mention for adding words to the page, my favorite is character creation. New characters thrown into the mix have unique backstories and motives, which can take on a life of their own. They are an excellent source of new material. There are online generators out there that make adding characters to your story simple by either supplying a unique name or giving you a character description to embellish.

For some writers, even just a new name for a character can spark creativity and battle writer’s block. For one story, I received the name “Inissa" from a name generator.  It made me think princess, royalty, a heart of gold. I immediately saw long dark hair, blue eyes, and a scar on her arm from that time she went to the market in disguise and saved a homeless boy with ailurophobia from a stray cat.

Perhaps a simple, generic character description will do the trick. You could create a few humorous moments in your fantasy epic by introducing “The unathletic Druid” or have the sudden misfortune of adding “The awkward, pious, clinging Rogue” to your party. Your stalled science fiction masterpiece may even be in need of “The bitter, philandering cyborg.” The descriptions are just generic enough to get ideas flowing. You start contemplating situations before even officially adding them to the story.

There are even generators that provide detailed character descriptions for more severe writer’s block, randomizing and selecting things like demeanor, gender, and physical descriptions.

Don’t like a name or character description you received? With the click of a button, you receive a whole new word or phrase to use. You can keep refreshing until you find something you like, something that sparks creativity for you.

The following are online generators I use. I hope they help you the way they help me. Happy writing!

Seventh Sanctum — the first online generator I ever used. The generators here span different categories that range from generic to descriptive.  
Chaotic Shiny — my new obsession. It has writing and gaming generators, a lot of them designed for D&D campaigns. I whole-heartedly recommend the Tavern/Inn generator.

Kayla Ann Diaz grew up in Brooklyn, New York and is still adjusting to life in rural Pennsylvania. She has loved writing ever since she discovered forum roleplaying, and she has participated in NaNoWriMo events since 2010. She finds inspiration in works like Terry Goodkind’s The Sword of Truth series while secretly favoring the young adult Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. Kayla has a B.A. in English and has a passion for fantasy and all its subgenres.

Top image licensed under Creative Commons from Judit Klein on Flickr.