what's the best way 2 generate ideas when writing & whats the best way 2 over come writers block?

Answer 1

I have 5 published books -- albeit all non-fiction.

Writing another one.

I like to think of ideas while I am running or driving. Sometimes in the shower.

As for overcoming writers block: what works for me is red wine and sex (in any order) ... BUT each to their own.

Doesn't Dan Brown recommend push ups?

Best of luck. Many thanks.

Answer 2

"What if?" is a good way to generate ideas. Take an incident and play with it. For instance, that man who just killed those Amish girls..... what if one of those was his daughter? Or the daughter of a girl he wanted 20 years ago? Or the daughter of one of the boys who beat him up 20 years ago? You can see the possibilities right there.

To get started writing, the best way is butt in chair. Set a timer for an hour and sit there and write. Doesn't matter what you write because you may change it in revision. Just get started.

To keep it going, take the last chapter you've written and read it over. Tweak it. Use that to get you started on the next chapter. Never go back more than one chapter though. You could get stuck in a revision loop.

Answer 3

What seems to be working for my boyfriend is that I tell him to come to the library with me, bring his laptop, and we're both going to write for an hour. When he's at home and he hasn't written anything for twenty minutes he gets discouraged and quits. But if he's stuck there with me, he has no option but to sit there the whole time, and sometimes he won't have anything for forty minutes, but he always comes up with something eventually.

Just make sure you write on a regular basis, and find some way to make sure you can't quit. Your brain has no choice but to come up with something, being forced out of extreme boredom.

Answer 4

Remember that the key is not writing, but re-writing. What works for me is to use quick summaries about what will happen in a chapter and keep moving on to the next chapter and the next, until you get the urge to start working on the ideas in depth.

Answer 5

Don't think about what you are trying to write or what you want to write. Just let it come naturally. I don't know how long this will take, but if you try to force it, it won't turn out as good. I recommend that you wait for inspiration to come to you. In the meantime, just make sure you carry around a pen and paper wherever you go.

Answer 6

take random words from dictionary and build stories round them

each day, for half an hour write entirely without effort to be good - write nonsense write garbage write anything

write biographical notes

try to write as badly as you can

Answer 7

Just start with an adjective and describe a place,like a room with a buzzing flourescent light, or a dark and stormy night, you get the gist....

Answer 8

Talk to children about their lives. No matter what type of book you are trying to write, no one can put it as bluntly and importantly as a child!