Judging by what people constantly write in the poetry thread there is a need for a topic like this!

Allright, I know we had a prose thread that sort of died out, but I figured we could make another try with a slightly different angle...

Basically, it's for everyone who writes, poetry or novels or whatever, and who get stuck with their writing. Here is where you can vent your frustration out and exchange handy tips to get back on the horse again!

I'll start with one of my best tips, and it concerns mostly those who are working on a story of sorts.

Writer's Tip One
Don't try to make everything up out of thin air. Close your eyes, imagine your story as a movie, and watch what happens. It may sound a little cheesy but sometimes it can do miracles!

Your turn!

Use everything you know, horror, terror, sorrow, joy, love, hate and all your inner feelings, see others as they are as well so that you may model better characters...

Great idea here Becs!

Well... I get my ideas when I just sit quietly in a corner... When I'm left alone I start thinking about stuff and I debate things in my head. What I think of somehow turns into some poetic words and when I write them down and mess around with them for a while, I get my poetry... Not always though, sometimes ideas just come by out of nowhere. This is my way of fighting the Writer's Block anyway...

Think about the event, which hapened in the world, compare it, judge it, criticise it or love it

I'm not sure how you mean, Lawman? Am I right to assume you mean that you can take your impressions of what happens in the world and write about them?

I agree with Raven about making use of feelings. A story doesn't need the world's longest and most delicate plot in order to work, while feelings can make a whole story by its own accord.

Also Alev's got a good point about not letting go of thinking of your writing. As for my novel, which has always been a lot harder to write than my poetry, it has helped me incredibly much to keep thinking about it. On the bus, when I'm going to bed, or doing anything, basically, the thought of the story is there with me even if I don't open up that document... this has sometimes made solutions pop out of the totally unexpected to fix my plot problems

I've been having my story planned out for a while (at least the biggest part of it), but I couldn't get myself to go back to writing.
That is until today, when I was pretty enraged about an argument I had with my mom. To get back down, I listened to some music on my laptop... the same laptop I'm usually writing my story on. Now I got another chapter


So...
Strong emotions can help. When you're angry or happy, writing is easier than when you just get along.


btw: Strange coincidence that this topic comes up today, of all days...

You should take it as a sign, Marv

Get into the habit of writing every day. If it's crap, then it's crap, but anything is better than a blank page.

That one should be made into Writer's Tip Three!

Edit: When I started writing on my novel, it was as part of this 30 day challenge to write a novel, and that's the habit you got into. I think it's easy to blame not writing on that you "don't have the time" but you can always, always make some time. Even half an hour or anything is good enough, even if you just sit staring at the screen

becc I don't know, but when I wrote my first poem. I combined my oun feelings and things hapenning in the world. I try to do it with all my poems. Cause I Like when something unreal is compared to the reality, that hapens in the world. Don't know how others feel about it, but I am fond of reading poems which have not such a hard comparisent and are strongly connected with the reality. It is just my opinion =)

When I have Writer's Block, I can't even write crappy stuff. When it hits my door, the door just breakes down.

Stay with the topic Marv, its a salvation in it significance

Things that happen in the world mostly only inspire me to write angry blog posts



That has happened to me numerous times as well...

well becc there are also a lot of bright things there, and just a little concetration is needed)) but if to speak about government, I have no light things in my mind =)

When writing a poem, it is recomended to devide the world in your mind, on the left all what's wrong, one the right all what's right, and in the middle pale careless people =)

Clevermind, you!

thats a cool way to see things Lawman, I'll keep that in mind

I find that I write my best stuff when I'm tired. I refer to that as "my inner censor sleeps". Less than that I just wait for an idea to pop up in my head. Most stuff I write starts with a picture or a scene I imagine. I'll just go from tehre and wait to see where my characters take me. If things flow, they take on a life of their own. They may not do what I excpected then to, but they always do something.
I often write short scenes. If I'm lucky they fit together and make a story. Sometimes I have a larger idea and write a rough outline. For me it helps to have an ending written, so I know where I want to end up (for longer stories that is).
Lately, I've mostly written songfiction - short stories inspired by songs. These usually start as images I see.
When writing I try to draw from experiences I've made. If I want to put certain feeling into words, I think about situations in my life where these feelings occured and just draw it from there. works well for me.
Regarding writer's block, tehre's not much I can do. sit down and try to write a bit. Talk it over with my best friend, read parts of the story out loud, listen to music and wait for the muse to come back

Great topic becca.

Back in the contest days, you had to write 1,667 words each day in order to make it in one month, which indeed led to a lot of those "tired" sessions. You really had to push your own inner critic aside and type like a maniac, even though it's crap I've had a harder time doing that since, there's always this little person inside me who wants to make it all perfect first time around.

Basically, it is possible to get quality out of quantity. Once you've written yourself a good bunch of pages to start working with, it's a hell lot easier to delete and add stuff and make a good story that way, than beginning on an empty page.

So last tip is, ignore your inner critic/censor and write away anyway.



Thanks! It does seem popular already

Well, I know one more tip, I heard it on my russian literature lessons. Well, it is usefull to repeat some short sounds and repeat them through all the poem, this forms a needed mood for your poem, just think about the sounds with wich asociates your poem's mood and then try to repeat it through each line. For example ( it, we, -ill...) well, something like that))) I tried to write two poems using this strategy and want to improve it.
It is used in songs very seldom too.

Yeah... Great Topic! I don't know what to write here... But I will put my own story about how I started to cook my pages...
Before two years I was smashed by reality... I was not dreamer but... I was so sunny boy.And as you know everything fades.I realized that all my nightmares and all of my under skin fears... They all was more then true.I change me... I know that you don't need all my problems here... But after them I find out that I'm new boy.I reveal this cos before those 2 years I was normal kid.(Which hate books and want just to go out)And one day in these days of change my teacher said:"For next class I want from you... your own poem or story... " I was so scared.I'm not poet or something like that... And then I've made something stupid... But it was the first... I've never burned it. I'm still in changes...
So NEVER DELETE WHAT YOU WRITE.COS IT YOURS.IT"S LIKE TO DELETE YOURS EYES.YOU WILL BE SORRY FOR THAT...

Good tip Alex

It's like owning books, they're like treasures to me... since I know how much work it takes to write one of your own, you know how much work lies in that book, and the most horrible thought you can imagine is it being damaged

At times I've really felt like I've wanted to throw stuff I've written out the window and never look at it again, but somehow I never have the heart to. And perhaps that's a good thing, cause when you look back at your... well... crap... then you can see how you've evolved as a writer

That's not necessarily true. If all you have one day is hate in your heart, you don't want to be reminded of it. When you write it out of you, then it's gone. You can burn it and never look back. The only exception is if you think you can use it to help others deal with it, either through poetry, story or song. But don't keep that part of you, if you want to change for the better. Your own memory has enough of the past without you hanging on to every little scrap, imho.

I've had a writers block for about four years now. That seems to be the pattern whenever I find something I'm good at. I'll do it for a while then I find i'm crap again! anyways...

Best tip i can give is don't be afraid to be personal. If you're trying to write something thatll appeal to everybody then you're setting limits on yourself that'll inevitably lead to a writers block. Even if it is far too personal for anyone else to see, then at least its practice and writing about such strong feelings can be theraputic, whether you're writing abilities are shit hot or just plain shit.

nothing is crap. you have so see every sentence you write as "matrial" that you can work from and always go back to inclue or change it.

one good thing is, when youre writing, to make a scetch of the place where the story takes place. everything that is there, and that will be described goes into the scetch, this way you have a way more detailed place and can describe it more exact.

a good thing is to write everyday. in the morning, right after waking up, some automtic writing, just write whats in your head. it doesnt have to make sense. it doesnt have to have a conenction or a deeper meaning. but in the end its material. and you can let go the stuff that blocks you in your writing.

Nice advice R-N

That is some pretty cool advice R-N!

When I hit the block (which seems to be unending right now), I try to listen to music and sometimes driving in the car while listening to music helps. When I get an idea for a story.. I make a soundtrack for it. I put that as a playlist on my iPod and listen to it.

Usually that helps with the block. Except for right now.. With so many life changes going on and moving.

Haven't been able to write a lot of poetry or stories lately, but I can write blogs! lol

Agreed! Music can really help you out.

There was this one song I used to listen to on repeat over and over again in a period when I wrote a lot of stuff, and now when I turn that song on it's like my fingers just ache to get writing. Slow songs for emotional passages, and really fast and angry songs for writing an exciting passage.

I've heard this tip before, I think it was Stephen King who said he couldn't write without rock music

I write best when I'm feeling bland.... when I'm not happy and I'm not angry, I'm not in pain and I'm not feeling Perfect. Its the thick gray fog-like moments of life that get me writing easiest.

Strange how different that is for people. I mostly write only when I'm inluenced by very strong feelings, and even in my optimistic pieces there's always some kind of melancholy element to it.

But I can see what you mean there, Raves. I think sometimes we write in order to define ourselves and what we are experiencing of the world, and maybe that's why you're writing in such moods?

Or, I'm just babbling.