i have a writer's block the size of China for about,on and off, 2 yrs. stuck at the same place.help!?

Question

it's not that i can't write. i can. it just doesn't amount to anything. partly yes i am not into it with all my heart, then i am afraid to write because my first book got some nasty remarks due to some sex scenes and also i have created a big mess for myself (the inspiration for the 1st book was some guy i haven't seen in ages, then after the book came out, he pops up in my life; so i find an excuse and have a meeting with him. after that the whole bizzare situation is haunting my writing and thoughts.
the new writing seems like a sequel for the first one. but i can't deal with it. something is painful there, i seek closure but nothing provides it.
i'm at a loss. really.
can you propose anything?

Answer 1

This is the method I teach to students

1) Put the book aside and read - at least two books - Classics. Preferably in your chosen genre.

2) Brainstorm on paper - anything no matter how silly it sounds. Fill a notebook with ideas if you want - just come up with lots.

3) Write the ideas on file cards one per card. Sit down at a table and start shuffling them around trying to create a story from them. Keep moving them - dont be afraid for it to sound silly.

4) Make an outline from those cards when you find something interesting.

5) Try to write a very very short story from that outline. Then write several more very very short stories from the cards. See which one lends itself to a longer work

6) Start doing character studies and analysis - back to the file cards. Write down anything you know about your characters - adjectives, habits, appearance, likes and dislikes, occupation, age, anything. Look in magazines and catalogs and cut out pics that resemble the character as you see them in your mind.

7) Back to the table. Start pushing the character cards around - see who rubs who and how -- Who likes who? Who hates who? Main character to main character - then main character to secondary character - then secondary character to secondary character. This will help you come up with subplots

8) Back to your outline. Plug in the subplots.

9) Come up with a kick tail first sentece that will draw your readers into the story.

10) Start writing.

It works for my students. Just make sure you dont skip the two classics - that is the inspiration that unblocks and inspires you. If you are still blocked, move onto something else. I have about 4 books on disks - started but it just wasnt the right time to write them for me. One goes back to when my 20 yr old son was a baby. Maybe I will finish it one day, maybe not. So far the mood hasnt struck me. And it is a great idea - never been done. Im just not ready for it yet. No shame in leaving something aside.

Good luck.
----
They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 2

You can't go on like this, and beating your head against this writer's block won't do anything but give you a headache.

Write a couple of short stories in a completely different genre. It will open up new paths in your writing skill. Maybe one of these paths will give you a way around the obstacle that is stopping you from writing.
Or try switching from fiction to essays, just for a while.

I once quit writing for a number of years, and it was hell getting started again. My life had changed so much, I'd become a different person and I couldn't just pick up where I left off. But what I write these days is better.

Answer 3

I do not help asking different persons for recommendations simply considering that it is lazy (despite the fact that that's aspect of it). I believe the method of making your possess recommendations - discovering them, examining different books or the sector or some thing - teaches you and makes you a greater creator so a lot more than taking different persons's plots will. Writing a tale is not all, additionally it is having a deeper information of it subsequent time you do it. And I do not fairly suppose that obtaining plots from different persons with instruct you that.

Answer 4

I wonder if you want someone else to help with the writing, or do you want to get out of your funk?

some ideas:

If the former - what I did one time.... lol.. was a lot of fun.... was to cyber with someone in rhyme... it was silly fun, but tickled the grey cells in just the right way ;;)

If the latter - do something physical to make a real change in yourself... something you don't normally do.. Lol... I woulda said go do some gardening, but that may not be the best idea.... maybe.... running? visit some interesting place you never went to? I do a lot of writing, and when I get a block, I go work out. At least the "writer's cramp" gets good company with a passle of other ones ;)

good luck!

Answer 5

Sure. Although the person you talk about in your first book was real.... you now have to turn him into a character. He is no longer a real person... he is the character that you have created. Make them seperate. You have to breathe life into your new character. Write something about him that would be very different from the 'real' one. That way, you can mentally seperate them... so now they will be similar, yet very different.

Answer 6

Watch a lot of TV, movies, read books, have deep discussions, etc.

Now develop at least one character that you could answer a long online personal type quiz as. Build your character and world from that.

Answer 7

Yeah, give me some loose parameters to write within and I'll do it for you. The nerdy big-headed guy is always supposed to do all the work and the sexy woman is always supposed to take all the credit.

It's the nature of the universe.

Answer 8

stop it for period of time.relaxing. then renew it. suggestion from CHina.