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[kaydeefalls]

I'm sitting at work with nothing to do but wait for the phone to ring, so I opened up my YA fantasy word doc. And I've been staring at it fruitlessly for half an hour. So tell me, my fellow writers: how do you unblock yourselves? Especially when it's original fiction? With fanfic, I can always revisit the source -- watch some episodes, reread my favorite passages, etc. But when the world exists solely in my own head, it's a bit harder. Advice?

Comments

[strawberryelfsp.livejournal.com]

I wish I had some good advice, but I don't. When I get stuck I try listening to my soundtrack, or poking at a different scene, maybe re-reading some older chapters/scenes, etc. If all that fails, I go take a shower or a walk outside, so I can daydream. If *that* doesn't work, I usually quit. I fail at de-blocking.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think part of the problem is trying to write at my boring job of utter brain death. I can't just get up and moving to clear my head, and staring at the interior of my gray cubicle doesn't help much. :/

[kohaku1977.livejournal.com]

I think of words I like. If I'm really blocked, I make a list of pretty words that fit the story and play around with them.

Alternatively, I write a drabble about something else entirely.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Pretty words! That's nifty.

[newredshoes]

Music and photos. I always have playlists for each of my novels, and I also am always collecting images online that remind me of a setting or a character.

Sometimes I cop out and just write a character sketch, or something I know won't appear in the text itself, just to get writing. It's hard, though -- I was only able to succeed at NaNo, I think, because of my competitive streak with myself, and also because I hadn't been overthinking the story. It's easy to get caught up in working out every detail beforehand, and it's satisfying on one level, but I've found that it often hamstrings me when I want to get actual writing done.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Overthinking is definitely a large part of my problem right now -- I'll go with the flow for a while, and then I'll suddenly remember that I really need to be setting up plot point X somewhere around here, but it doesn't fit in, and where the hell have I just taken my character's thought processes and what does that have to do with anything important in the story, and does this mean I need to completely rethink major story arc C, and...

*facepalm*

[airgiodslv.livejournal.com]

I've found that when I get seriously hair-pulling stuck, I send it to one or two particular friends who, no matter how stupid it is, will squee practically line-by-line and also make a list for me of what isn't working, so that it's organized in my mind and can kick-start me into both fixing the things that bogged me down and writing more, buoyed up with their enthusiasm. I do the same for them. I think the kay is having a writing buddy!