how to deal with writer's block?

[Winter Wolf]

i'm stumped. i've got these stories brewing inside and wanna get them the hell out there on paper (or at least hard disk) so i'll not forget them. but they're sure not coming out on their own these days.

short summary: kind of a bastard hybrid of anime fantasy/sci-fi phantasy star 2 inspired world. i've got ideas for things that could go into about four or five novel-sized works if i could just get them out there. they're kind of fighting with each other for space in my head and ruining each other's plots.

any ideas? thanks much

[philip]

I'd write down all loose ideas you think are good at some moment so you don't forget them anyway. I don't think you can write four or five novels straight anyway so writing down loose ideas, story lines, plot twists etc. can help you.

Though my d&d campaign was a bit ( ) smaller I started with writing down a few loose ideas too.

[Jorath Calar]

I have the same problem, although they are not fantasy I have idea for 3 novels, 2 kind of a comedy, 1 a sort of a Da Vinci code rip off [img]smile.gif[/img] but I'm just too lazy to start... and I know when I start it won't be good, because I know I am a horrible writer...

[Gangrell]

Just go outside, get in some fresh air and try writing while you're out there. Usually if you write in your room or a confined area, it limits your creativity.

[Bungleau]

Start a notebook. In it, write down the ideas and thoughts you have. You're not writing the story, just the things that may be relevant to it. Write as many as you can, as well as all the ones that will come when you start writing them down.

Once you've drained your brain, start putting an outline together for one of the stories. Who's doing what, where and when are they doing it, what happens next, and so on. Figure out how the plot will flow, and where you're going to start implementing those ideas you wrote down.

Repeat. New ideas either go into the idea book, or into the story guide.

Once the story guide looks pretty good, start revisiting it and fleshing it out. Expand where appropriate, and make sure you don't leave any loose ends.

Repeat until done.

Oh, and one more thing: being a writer is just like being a brain surgeon or mechanic. You have to make time to work at it on a regular basis. Likewise, you can't expect to sit down for eighteen hours writing and come away with something good. You'll need to schedule some break time in there as well.

And above all, have fun!

[Mellagar]

Winter Wolf, I've written over a 1,000 pages of stuff, created world maps, character names, cities, town, geographical locations, and everything else under the sun. Spent 6 years doing it too. About a month and a half ago my hard drive crashed and I might have very well lost it all. As a long time writer I can say this: All the advice given above is great, they'll all work good; if they're for you. However, the trick to getting this on paper is to just do it. Forget about how good it sounds, looks, or feels. Just write it out, that's the hardest part. Also, learn from my mistake and save everything onto a floppy or burn to a CD. I meant to burn my stuff onto a CD but never got around to it. That ole "I'll get to it tomorrow." routine, which cost me plenty.

[Winter Wolf]

Ya, these are all great ideas. I'm grateful to you all. Mellagar, condolences on your dead hard drive. And thanks for reminding me of that easily forgotten task, I know there are many digital pics that I need for my painting and it would probably kill me to try and go back to all the places I took those photos. (ya i'm a painter and not a writer by nature, but trying to branch out a bit.)

To Bungleau, I'm with you on that whole 18 hours of writing producing crap. I only did that when I was doing my thesis to graduate. Amazingly, crap got me a passing grade! But I can tell y'all, rereading that paper years later, *I* would have failed that paper. Lesson to all you college kids or future ones, *develop a good rapport with your prof.* (just don't be a suck-up. they usually hate that stuff.)

[Mack_Attack]

Drugs real good drugs. [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]