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What do you do to get unstuck?
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I tend to get stuck when I have already had all of the ideas for the story flow out of me. When the excitement to write what I have been thinking about fades. Everything is finished in my head, but the actual typing of it becomes tedious. I usually have to pick between 4 or 5 different ideas when trying to outline or write the story.
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I have such trouble with getting stuck. In the last few months, I've been following the Ernest Hemingway line of advice - stop writing while you're still sure about what happens next. There are days I'm on a great writing jag, and force myself to step away, so I have somewhere to start the next day. I still get stuck, but that's helped me be proactive and more productive. Otherwise, it's cooking and gardening and stall-mucking to the rescue for brain dead days.
I seem to have run into the opposite problem these past few weeks. I had the plot of the novel all written out in November. I thought it was great. Still do, in fact. But when it came to actually writing stuff, I was just feeling meh about it. I couldn't get myself to put words to paper, even though I knew what was supposed to happen, and why. I couldn't find my excitement.It seems to be lifting, but there are probably two reasons for that: 1) I'm moving into my second trimester ... The first trimester was BRUTAL. I was exhausted and sick all the time. 2) Last week, I got a cold on top of being pregnant! So even though I was starting to get my energy back, it was suddenly sapped.
So other than that, I just power through it. Or sometimes I work on something else.
I'm probably not going to be much help in this area, but...I tend not to get stuck because my process consists of fleshing out my story long before I put it on paper. If I do need to step back, it's not for long, and it's not because I don't know what it is I want to say, but rather I need to think about how I want to proceed because new and different ideas come to me. Since you're getting stuck, and unlike me need to do some serious thinking on how to proceed, really, the best thing to do is focus on something else and let the problem get worked out in the back of your mind. It's a real thing.
Remember 30 Rock and The Shower Principle? While your brain is focused on something else, moments of inspiration occur while the mind is distracted. It's a very true concept. Trust me. Let go of what you're so overly concerned with regarding your story and focus on something else. It'll come to you.
When I'm really stuck as you describe I have to quit for a few days and do other things. Usually at some point I'll have a breakthrough and the solution will pop into my head.
Sometimes I tend to get stuck between important moments of the plot and can't find anything to fill the gap; no flashbacks, and niether reflections, nothing seems to work. At this point I pick a random meaningless character (the stableboy that tended to the MC? He lived long enough) and kill it off. At this point an idea usually springs and, after the carefull removal of the death, I can write on.
My energy levels can affect how able I am to write. As with some of the other replies here, I usually get unstuck by doing something else, then sitting down and reading the last few chapters. By the time I've finished, the next bit of the story is there waiting for me.@Kamil ... murdering the little guys -- lol -- that's a 'novel' way to do it! :3
Kamil wrote: "Sometimes I tend to get stuck between important moments of the plot and can't find anything to fill the gap; no flashbacks, and niether reflections, nothing seems to work. At this point I pick a ra..."That is the best answer I've ever heard to this question. Lol. Love it.
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When I get stuck I typically skip ahead to the next scene I've figured out and continue writing. Later I'll come back and somehow know exactly what I should have written to connect the two scenes. I also keep whatever originally inspired me nearby (like Bisky said). Looking at it again usually triggers something that gets me writing again.
I keep reading the title of this topic and have to take a minute... What do I do to unsuck?*running away now*
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@Nicole LOL! Helps when you can fix the title...
Sometimes I read for 30 mins then write for 30 mins. The reading gets me thinking about things I want to write.
I force myself through it. I just write, even if it's abysmally bad, and then give myself a day off from it, go back and edit.
As I tend to write short fiction, I have at least three different projects on the go at any one time, so if I get truly stuck, I switch to another story and work on that instead. Most recently, I've been writing one story on my main laptop, one on my tablet, and one longhand in a notebook, so I can even switch writing medium, which probably also helps to some extent.
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Julie, I have to agree with you - pushing on is absolutely necessary.But one of the things that helped turn me from a want-to-be into a productive writer was tracking behavior that either helped or inhibited my writing in a diary. Whenever I get stuck, I go back and read through my observation. Occasionally just reminding myself of these things is enough. Sometimes it takes slogging on and trying hard to adhere to my personal dos and don'ts.
Andrew wrote: "I have at least three different projects on the go at any one time, so if I get truly stuck, I switch to another story and work on that instead. "How do you manage that? I find that if I step away for too long, I'm more than likely to lose interest and just start a new story. Or I come back to a story and want to change everything (if I've left it for more than a week), so I start over. It's a vicious cycle.
Andrew, that is a phenomenal idea. I often will keep a little journal of what I spend my time doing all day so I can see where I should be more productive, and this will be a big help, too!
I have been stuck on this chapter for a month now. As an ex cerise and mainly for laughs a giggles, tried doing a practice pitmad pitch for my story...luckily that led to summaries of my books, and through that a summary to the chapter that has been holding me up. I guess I just needed to rework the rhythm of my writing process.
As others have said, I stop trying so hard. With my upcoming release, THE DISINTEGRATED HOUSE, I was like- oh ^%$#. I need something BIG to flip the script on this dude. Something has to put him in his place. Well, let's just say I was telling someone about an experience and she one upped me. I was like- THAT'S IT. The lady (a friend) is in my dedication. Without that conversation, I would not have had that lightbulb moment.Natasha wrote: "Andrew wrote: "I have at least three different projects on the go at any one time, so if I get truly stuck, I switch to another story and work on that instead. "
How do you manage that? I find tha..."
I have around 3 right now.
Then we kinda hit a wall and the ideas stop flowing.
I really like to watch trailers of the genre I'm writing about. Usually trailers are alittle more action packed and emotive than the movie (Elysium, I'm friggin looking at you)
I also go and rearrange my writing list, or maybe go back to what sparked the idea in the first place.
How do you unstick yourself from the wall?