Closet_Anarchist Presents: Writing Tips!

And Then There's This Bitch; AKA, Writer's Block

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Sorry it's been awhile guys

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Alright, the first thing I want to say about writer’s block is that I hate that word. I say it, yeah, but I just don’t like it. I think of writer’s block more as a loss of inspiration, not that I don’t know what to write. You can know what you need to write down, but when you lose inspiration, you can’t get the words down on a page.

But, since we’re calling it writer’s block, I turned to my handy-dandy friend, Urban Dictionary, for the following definitions.

1) A period of time when a writer's mind is completely blank and drained of any kind of inspirational essence. They are unable to write. They start to bang their head against the basement wall. It bleeds. They scream and shout in agony. And finally, they pray that the pain from this blunt physical trauma and the sight of the sweet, sweet catalytic blood finally gives them SOME kind of weak-ass idea.

2) Something that I never seem to have really. Hence why the above scenario was purely speculation on my part. I can't help but imagine however, that is somewhat similar to Dante's second level of hell.

3) A point in writing where the writer runs head first into a brick wall in their writing process. Which may result in a writer bashing their head repeatedly into their keyboard/laptop/notebook/etc. until words or blood is freely flowing. Also might be because the characters are fed up with all the crap the author puts them through and go on strike.

If you’ve experience the awful feeling of “writer’s block”, you know how damn accurate those definitions are. They may be silly, but they are still the truth. However, this chapter isn’t about what writer’s block is, it’s about how to deal with writer’s block.

Like I said, writer’s block, at least to me, is more of a loss of inspiration. So, the trick for me to keep on track with my stories is to KEEP my inspiration. For me, my inspiration comes a lot from music, pictures, and the people around me. I know, I know; that sounds really vague.

In regards to music, I have an account on Spotify, so when I’m at home, I have access to all kinds of music. I usually have a running playlist for a story when I’m working on it, and when I come across a song that reminds me of said story, I put the song on that playlist. That’s also where a lot of those songs on the sides of my chapters come from. It really does help if music is a base for your inspiration, and I think Spotify is free if you can deal with some ads.

For pictures, like every other Wattpad author, I go to weheartit.com. It’s great for pictures for covers, pictures for actors, and just pictures for inspiration. I have an account on there as well and I heart every image that inspires me in any way because it could be of some help in the future.

I don’t really know what to say if you take inspiration from people… maybe go hang out at your local Wallmart? There are always colorful characters around there. I think there’s a website devoted to it…

ALSO! I just thought of this as I sit here on my school computer, typing this up. GET A TUMBLR! I know, I know; tumblr is for stupid hipsters and internet shut-ins. Also, weird people who use it for porn-related things. However, I just got a tumblr, and I get a lot of inspiration from there. I see posts with funny moments, or pictures that really inspire me, and just stuff in general that I wouldn’t have seen without a tumblr. So, yes; I do suggest you get one. (if you want my tumblr, just message me about it)

This is something I briefly touched on this in the previous chapter: I highly suggest outlining every chapter of your story. It doesn’t have to be super detailed, but put the major events that happen in the chapter, like a first kiss or a drunken meltdown, down in bullet form (or whatever bloats your goat) in a pseudo-outline. I usually do this when I’m five or six chapters into a story because I know what general direction I’m heading in, but there’s no harm in starting earlier!

If you still fall victim to writer’s block despite your best attempts to prevent it, my tip is this: don’t force it. When I force writing, it comes out choppy and just not up to par. I suggest taking a step back from the piece and giving it a few days. That will allow inspiration time to return to you, and looking at a piece with fresh eyes is really helpful. Also, talk to someone and maybe bounce ideas off of each other (my friends imallergictoidiots and Shady234 are fantastic for this. Thanks guys ;))

Like I say at literally the end of every chapter, I may come back and add to this chapter, but right now, that’s all I got about writer’s block. Please, in the comments below, tell me what you want tips on. Also, if you have a really specific question you need help on (No, I don’t take reading requests so don’t ask), feel free to message me :)

Until next time!

FAN

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