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ON THE PROBLEM OF WRITER’S BLOCK

Yes. I’m going to try my hand at this.

So. How I usually slide past writer’s block is listening to “Inspiration Music”, such as, but not limited to, Lord of the Rings Rohan soundtracks, Taylor Davis, that one Celtic music thing someone had on the collage page, and Unspoken.

If that doesn’t work, I think about the points. For example: Point A = Amber discovers she has fire powers. Point B = Amber is mentored by Catriona. So, I need to get from Point A to Point B and have it make sense and be good. So, I play out scenarios in my head, watching little movies of story until I stumble upon the right scene. Sometimes this works, and sometimes I end up thinking about How To Train Your Dragon. Go figure.

Other stuff I do: Take a shower/Sing/Go Outside/Write something else/read another book/listen to an audiobook/Drawing.

Helpful?

@that_writer_girl_99 This is awesome!

Inspiration: I like to listen to Irish music when I don’t feel inspired. Sometimes I just go off and read my favorite book. Also, I enjoy writing in certain spots that just feel comfortable to me. My treehouse, my bed, and my desk. I feel like sometime, browsing Pinterest for a while is extremely helpful. Finding pictures of landscapes, castles, people who look like my characters, etc. Sometimes, I might find a picture of one of these things and think of an exact scene that fits perfectly in your novel.

Some of my best inspiration comes when I’m laying in bed at night. All of a sudden a quote just comes into mind and I think of how it would fit into a short story or even a novel. Speaking of, having a notebook by your bed is very helpful in this or else you’ll almost certainly forget your idea by morning. Believe me.

That’s what I’ve got!

@that_writer_girl_99

Do they have to be thought over? How thought over? How long does it have to be?

Sorry about all the questions!!

I’ll give it a try…

How to Make Action Scenes Interesting

It can be a fight scene, a chase scene, an argument or even a celebration. My advice: Put the spotlight on the characters, their feelings and their well-being in general. If you JUST write who he’s fighting or how fast she’s running, without looking at how they’re feeling on the inside, it tends to sound like a school lecture.

For example, instead of saying, “He swished his sword and killed five trolls, then jumped back to dodge an arrow,” you could say, “With all the energy he could muster from his tired body, he swung his sword loosely into a line of five trolls, and recovered his balance just in time to dodge an oncoming flying arrow.”

Or instead of, “She jumped over a small creek as she scurried into the forest,” say, “As she jumped over a small creek, she could hear the footsteps coming ever closer. Hiding among the trees may be her last hope, she thought, darting into the forest.”

Words like “tired,” “balance,” “hear,” and “thought” make it more personal, and you can feel what the character is feeling more easily and more freely.

Here’s another thing to think about as you write an action scene. You have probably never fought in a battle or been chased by monsters or something before, but you have felt fear, right? If you know what fear feels like (which I’m sure you do), then you can translate that feeling into your scene, too! As a fellow Kapeefer puts it, “Fear is fear, no matter what causes it, and you’ve felt fear, so you’re just as qualified to write about it as anyone else.”

You can do the same thing with anger if your scene is a heated argument or fight, or joy of it’s a celebration, or any other emotion. It doesn’t even have to be an action scene at all!

I hope this isn’t too long…

And as you asked us to tag other Kapeefers….

@shannon  @seekjustice  @jane-maree  @inkling-for-christ  @jenwriter17  @daughteroftheking  @bethanysinkyroses  @princessfoo  @introvert_girl  @lady-iliara  @KAPEEFERS! (I’m so glad Daniel found that word X) )

Oh My Word, love this.

CHARACTER NAMES

I prefer having names with meanings that fit characters, so what I do it sorta brainstorm the character, figure out who they are, and then take those characteristics and looked them up. Or I choose what there background is like and choose a name that fits. For example, I had a character that wasn’t supposed to exist. So her father named her Razili, which in Hebrew means my secret.

That’s another thing, I love names that are from different places, because they have some of the best meanings for the best fitting names. So once I find my favorite meanings for a character, I look them up in however many languages I can.

I know some people don’t put thought in the meaning and origin of a name, but I find this easier than picking a name off the top of my head

@that_writer_girl_99  *wails* I KNEW IT WAS TOO LONG!

It’s okay. Um…. That’s a problem. Cuz everything I write ends up either very long or very short XD

TAKE TWO!

How to Make Action Scenes Interesting

Instead of just focusing on the action itself, like who did what etc., focus on what the character is feeling. Otherwise it will just sound like a school lecture.

For example, if you’re writing a chase scene, instead of saying, “She jumped over a small creek and darted into the forest,” you could say, “As she jumped over a small creek, she could hear the footsteps coming ever closer. Hiding among the trees may be her last hope, she thought, darting into the forest.”

Also, while you probably haven’t been chased by monsters or something, you have felt fear. If you translate that feeling of fear (or anger or joy or hate or grief…) onto your page, while filling in the context, you get a magnificent action scene that people will want to read.

*SIGH* How was that?

• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by Joy.

@that_writer_girl_99 This is so cool! 😍

Getting Past The Blank Spot in My Brain

When I get writer’s block, one of the best things I can do is go talk to my characters. I find that making myself write a dialogue actually unlocks another part of my brain to help me solve the problem (usually, for me, it’s how to continue the plot). For example:

“Alex, what should I do now? I know you need to find Robert, but how will you do that if no one knows where he is?

Are you sure no one knows where he is?

Wait, you’re right! Maybe he met up with the Dranga people, so you find him but then you get tangled up in some conflict with the people on the other side of the mountain range….”

And so on. 🙂

My list of other helpful things to do includes:

(1) Cut out the distractions. I don’t do this enough, but closing the other tabs you have up keeps your brain from skipping around to other subjects as much.

(2) Listen to music. I hit “Shuffle all,” find a song I like (preferably epic or sad) and just start writing. It may not be the mood you want for that specific part, but it will get your creative juices flowing again, and you can edit later.

(3) Ask a friend! My sister helped me figure out how to get my MCs out of a castle in a sensible manner. (Yeah, I don’t think that shooting an arrow into a tree and zip-lining down the rope tied to the end would work very well. Thanks, sis.)