short story writers block? (1 Viewer)

[shakedown162]

so wtf should i do to get some inspiration to continue my story. so far all ive written is 1000 words haha

any great tips would be much appreciated


peace
-em

 

[yosemite sam]

well knowing what the general gist of your story is would probly help... but when i do short stories for english i like to make them as random as possible, jsut to give the teacher a laugh and make it not so boring. if you know you can write a decently logical story, try and make it more interesting by substituting certain aspects for other things, eg the last story i wrote had a kind of indiana jones theme where the guy was hunting down the guy who had something but i made the guy being hunted a donkey and the thing he had a golden chicken uterus. in the end the hunter died by choking on the uterus when in flew up into the ear and landed in his mouth when it came back to earth. and i got 13.5 out of 15.

 

[shakedown162]

haha thats cool and really good. its hard to write something funny cause sense of humour might be mistaken for being rude or discriminatory but basically the jist of my story is based on the Y2K mil bug incorporating some social theories to reflect human behaviour/ interaction.
its just hard lol

 

[cl3nta]

i do ext2 so i've found a lot of ways..
Before you really write, you should have character maps, plot maps etc pasted right in front of where you write. Remember you're merely just writing what your characters would do.. So if unsure what happens next, just refer to the character map to se what mr.x would do in y situation. It's quite a nice way to write I'd say.

Another way (which works more for me) is getting smashed. call it fucked up haha but it works really well for me. Funnily I tape myself in that situation and the next day see my rationale for writing something in the way it is. Of course, this happens very rarely but nevertheless, it's something that produces very pleasing results.

Take what you will. In the end, it is about you finding your own way There are heaps of resources (all around you) that can give you ideas, it's you that has to see which ones of them work for you.

that's my 2cents goodluck.

 

[MortImmortelle]

do not fear shakedown162 ...i am also in the same boat.
I'm sitting at my computer about to open up my 820word story and WHAM i end up on BOS and listening to music and msn chatting...how does this happen?i have no idea..

It sucks because i feel a little dissatisfied from my story though everyone i have spoken to seems to think it is a sufficient concept. Therefore no writing is happening.

gar its so fustrating..

 

[jessica.gilroy]

ah me too...i have about 1500 words...and my teacher doesn't help, when (or IF) she turns up to class we end up talking about what work we WILL do, and SHOULD be doing, rather than actually doing it. Every time i open the doc i just stare at it blankly lol. but i agree with cl3nta, if you know where you're going then making it happen will be the easy part.
Break ur story up into smaller sections and write them in the order that interests you if that helps, i know i've found that i've been writing then suddenly had a big idea for something that shouldn't happen for at least another page or two but i wrote it anyway, then when i'm up to it all i have to do is insert it back in and presto you have some form of story.. tweaking required, but still, better than nothing

 

[Nyao]

If you're stuck for inspiration I find that computer headphones are total lifesavers.

Invest in a pair, plug them into your computer, open up your media-playing program (right now I'm using Winamp, installed on my mp3 player so it's portable), make a playlist of the non-smutty* songs you have and go for it.

(*I dunno but for some reason when I have 'I Touch Myself' by the DiVinyls playing I just can't concentrate as well as I would be able to.)

For me, listening to music blocks out a lot of intrusions and gives free license for me to ignore people and othersuch distractions. As well as that, listening to music just seems to help writing. I mean, for me it can alter or amplify my mood and particularly at 1AM -- maaaaaybe after coming home drunk -- it's powerful stuff.

 

[alcalder]

Ah, writer's block. The age old...

Leaving it completely for a while and let it mull over in the back of your mind for a bit. Sometimes not having access or time for writing can be the perfect way to get that tricky scene in your head just right.

Another is to just write through it. Write any old thing. Let the character take you places you had not envisaged. Write and write and then edit down and distill later. You will be amazed what can happen.

Also, take your main character and do a role play back and forth with another person. Let the characters interact and see what comes of that.

Hope that helps. The thing not to do is procrastinate. If you are not going to write then don't even allow yourself time to sit and stare at it. Go and be busy elsewhere and don't feel guilty about it. Writing is an art and art takes time and the right idea. It will come.

 

[faceface]

maybe read some really good short stories? (hemingway!!!)
also, write a TONNE, relevant or not.
i got really stuck, because whenever i thought of anything, i was (subconsciously or otherwise) trying to relate it back to ext2. sometimes just write for yourself. it'll make things easier i hope.. it does for me anyhow.
and just keep talking about it to people? or yourself haha. write about it.
and remember - the ultimate advice for if you get stuck - have a man come through the door with a gun

 

[bussoti]

Listen to music. It's quite therapeutic. I usually have break times where I listen to calming music, or instrumental music that I feel is appropriate for my story and imagine my characters reacting to the music, as though my story was a film. I've come up with a few great ideas that way.