Kagome
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Beautiful Bride[M:60]
It's me and you babe, against the world!
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Post by Kagome on Dec 21, 2006 8:18:48 GMT -6
lol thats not exactly what i meant by life experiences but i get your point, and when i write stuff in public sometimes its based on what's going on around me but in a fantasy-ish way like you said, but sometimes it's just random ideas that pop into my head that sound really good so i need to wrote it down before the thought train gets derailed, lol
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FangedSmile
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Punchline[M:0]
Congrats to Crystal and Devin
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Post by FangedSmile on Dec 21, 2006 14:50:09 GMT -6
There seem to be a lot of ways to combat writer's block. We've covered prompting ideas from movies, everyday life, music, pictures, training your brain to focus with the use of drawing cards, and keeping busy so your brain can take a break from the story so it can think up better ideas when it needs to.
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Kagome
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Beautiful Bride[M:60]
It's me and you babe, against the world!
Posts: 1,801
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Post by Kagome on Dec 21, 2006 19:43:22 GMT -6
...yeah we have...then why do we still get writer's block? ?? lol
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FangedSmile
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Congrats to Crystal and Devin
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Post by FangedSmile on Dec 22, 2006 16:21:59 GMT -6
Writing out a story is easy. Organizing your thoughts into logical plots that have a working time line, likable characters, and well rounded dialog is hard. I can sit down and stamp out a story in a day, but workign with everything else takes time. Thus, people often stare at 'the blank page' and over think everything. They think 'horror' so then move to 'monster' and can figure out the what, and why... but then how do you kill the monster? Who are the heroes? What is the setting? Are people killed? How many? Is your idea cliche? Do you want to put in the effort?
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B. B. Wolf
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C.W.[M:0]
The path is smooth that leadeth on to danger.
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Post by B. B. Wolf on Dec 22, 2006 17:42:01 GMT -6
That's when you stop on that piece and go on to a different one. Also, something that helps, come up with a "Plastic Title". That means basically it's a title that can help you remember what your story is about, while not being "written in stone" (hence the plastic).
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Kagome
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Beautiful Bride[M:60]
It's me and you babe, against the world!
Posts: 1,801
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Post by Kagome on Dec 22, 2006 18:36:57 GMT -6
so writer's block is just people being too lazy to sit down and think then huh? lol
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FangedSmile
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Congrats to Crystal and Devin
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Post by FangedSmile on Mar 2, 2007 18:05:40 GMT -6
Suffering from writer's block? Out of ideas? Wondering where to take your hero (or villain) next?
As this week's Guest Editor, I thought I'd take a look at an often-overlooked resource for frustrated writers and other creative folks: the interactive story.
A quick use of the Power Search tool to locate Action/Adventure genre interactives brought up for me a list of 487 visible items (your mileage may vary, since items and item access restrictions are changing constantly). Interactives give you the opportunity of adding to a story, and perhaps taking it in different directions.
There are a few things to be aware of before diving in, though:
Bullet Is the Interactive active? Take a look at the Modified date in the item listings. If it's been updated recently, chances are there's action in the adventure.
Bullet How many chapters? Again, this is given in the search listings. Some will have only one chapter, ripe for additions. Others will have dozens of chapters, and might take more reading before you add to them.
Bullet Is it your "thing"? Many interactives cater to rather specialized tastes, such as fanfiction for a particular author's universe. Often, but not always, the titles and brief descriptions can help you weed out those with subject matter you'd rather not tackle. If not, take a look at:
Bullet What information is provided by the creator? Once you've clicked on a likely candidate, take a good look at the section titled "About This Interactive." Usually there are rules or guidelines to follow. If you don't feel you can work within the posted guidelines, move on to the next one.
If it looks like something you'd be interested in, follow the link on the item page, and you're off!
~Robert Waltz
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FangedSmile
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Congrats to Crystal and Devin
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Post by FangedSmile on Jun 14, 2007 23:36:00 GMT -6
Oh Where, Oh Where has my Creativity Gone? Creativity is the key to every writer's craft. Without it, we are nothing more than people sitting at desks with paper and pencil, or blank computer screen, doing some meaningless task to occupy our time. Coming up with a great story idea is only part of the creative battle. Keeping your creative juices flowing throughout the writing process is crucial to finishing your piece. Some writers can sit down and write a story from just the barest hint of an idea. The rest of us might need to think an idea out a bit before we sit down to write. There are several ways to "flesh" out a story idea so it is clearer to the writer, without having to outline the entire tale out. Brainstorming An easy technique to use is to take a piece of paper and put your story's idea at the top of the page. Set a timer for five to ten minutes, then think about your idea. Write down everything that comes to mind, no matter how silly. This works great for helping narrow a broad plot down to a more specific story line. Mapping For writers who are more visual, this might be the right technique. Draw a circle in the center of a piece of paper and write your story idea inside. Draw lines out from the circle. At the end of each line, write out what comes to mind about the story idea and draw a circle around each one. Continue placing lines and circles, either off the main idea or any of the sub-ideas. Use as many as you feel necessary to tell your story. Speed Writing Just as it sounds, speed writing is sitting down and writing without pausing or editing. Set your timer for ten or fifteen minutes, then write your idea at the top of a piece of paper. Start the timer and write whatever comes to mind. Do not read or edit what you are writing. This is not about making it perfect, it is about getting your story on paper without hesitation. Letter Writing Sometimes the pressure to get a story written is enough to keep your pen from touching paper. If you find yourself feeling this way, try writing your story as a letter to a friend. You might find you have an easier time. For this technique to work, you will need to choose someone you have a good relationship with. Sit down and write them a letter about your story. Write it in letter format and keep writing until you have told them the entire tale. Do not worry about the format, you can always change it when you do your rewrite. Ending First This might be the most difficult technique of all and not one for every writer. You have to be sure of your story before you try this method. There is no writing law that says you have to start at the beginning of your story. Sometimes you know the middle or ending of a tale before you know how it starts. So go ahead and write what you have in your head. Often times, the beginning of your tale will make itself known by the time you finish writing the ending. These tools are only for getting the first draft of your story on paper. After you get the basic tale down, then you can work on fleshing and polishing your piece until it shines. Creative writing should flow mind to pen to paper. Sometimes, it just needs a little bit of help to start, or keep, it flowing. Thank you for taking the time to read. Happy Writing! - www.writing.com/main/view_item/user_id/darkin
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FangedSmile
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Congrats to Crystal and Devin
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Post by FangedSmile on Jun 21, 2007 22:57:18 GMT -6
It has been a long day, and you've been looking forward to sitting down and writing for hours now. The time has finally come: all of the kids are in bed, the house has been cleaned, it's nice and quiet. You sit down to write, and find yourself stuck. What do you write about? Where do you start? You've had a character in your head all day and you want to introduce her to the world, but you have no clue where to put her, what's her story, or what her life is like. This is generally the problem that I have when I actually sit down to write. In fact, I had the very same problem with writing this newsletter. Where do I start? What do I say? I already knew what I wanted to write about, it was just a matter of introducing you all to my topic. Here are a few hints that I've picked up along the way that have helped my writing process: Bullet Don't start at the beginning. This may sound a little silly, but a lot of us have a mindset that you have to start at the beginning and finish when you get to the end. I mean, that's how we read books, isn't it? Who picks up a 300-page novel and starts at page 150? But it really doesn't matter if you start writing from the last page and work your way to the first, or if you start writing at page 20, then page 60, then page 90, then page 1. The only thing your readers will see is how you've arranged it when you've finished. Bullet Don't get stuck trying to make it perfect from the start. Again, this should seem obvious, but there's many times I've caught myself rewriting the same paragraph multiple times. Instead of moving on with the story, I get caught up in a single detail and my entire creative process will come to a screaching halt until I've made that paragraph perfect. It completely interrupts my creative flow and then I have a hard time picking up where I left off. The best thing to remember is that while you're writing something, it is in draft and can be edited later. It doesn't have to be perfect from the get-go. Bullet If you're really stuck, try freewriting. Sometimes, you lose track of where you want your story to go, or you just come to a block in the road of what to do next. What you originally planned to happen to your character might not seem like such a good idea as it did two days ago when you originally started. In this case, I'll usually just sit and write out everything I think, hoping that maybe one of my thoughts will trigger where I need to go next. Sometimes, even writing out your grocery list will inspire you. Bullet Walk away and come back tomorrow. If you're frustrated because you're trying too hard and nothing's coming out, then maybe you just need to take a break. Walk away from the computer, the pencil and pad, or whatever else you may use for your writing tool, and take a few minutes to gather yourself. Sometimes the biggest creative block of all is because we're trying too hard to push ourselves. I hope that some of these tips were helpful to you! I've done my best to share my secrets, now what are some of yours? www.writing.com/main/view_item/user_id/mworden
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FangedSmile
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Congrats to Crystal and Devin
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Post by FangedSmile on Sept 11, 2007 18:34:37 GMT -6
At some point in time, most writers have encountered writer’s block. The words just refuse to flow from your mind and you feel as if you are ramming your head against a brick wall, trying to force what usually comes naturally. It can be very frustrating and definitely scary if you’re working on deadlines or your manuscript is so close to completion you can taste it. Both fortunately, and unfortunately every single writer is unique which means no one can really give a fool-proof method of combating the ever dreaded writer’s block. Through your own experiences with this problem, is the only way you can really figure out what works for you, but I can give you some tips to help you get started! Thumbsup It may sound as if I’ve lost my mind if you’re under tight deadlines, but there are times when the pressure is high and the writer’s block has come on strong when you just need to take a time out for yourself! Forget your writing for a short time and do something for yourself. Change the scenery around yourself, go for a walk, take a long bath, etc. etc. For many writers a break is sometimes enough to get them back on the right path and perhaps inspire them too! Thumbsup Try free-writing. This is a technique that is best used when you have at least a reasonable amount of time on your hands. Free-writing is when you write without stopping and without the worrying over grammar, punctuation, or coherence. The idea behind this wonderful technique is to open yourself up by letting your train of thought lead you wherever it will. After you free-write, go back and reread what you’ve written. You’ll be surprised how much better you’ll feel and you never know, it might be just what you need to break your writer’s block. Thumbsup Take a look at what’s going on around you and in your life. Are there any stress factors that could be afflicting your writing? Examples of this would be holidays, financial worries, social events, family matters, etc. These issues, while unavoidable, can sometimes cause our writer’s block. If you find that you have stressors and they are ones you can rid yourself of- do so immediately! If they are stressors you cannot avoid, deal with them head on so that you feel more empowered and in turn, will be more in the frame of mind for writing. Thumbsup Change up your writing place. Every writer has a place or specific way they like to write. If you work mainly on your computer, try a different track. Print out the last few pages of what you’re working on, grab a pencil or pen, and some paper and vacate the room your computer inhabits. Try writing by hand instead of typing. If you usually write with pen/pencil and paper, change your writing location. If you usually write with a pen, change the color ink or write with a pencil. If you write on a legal pad, change it up to a spiral-bound notebook and visa versa. No matter where or on what you like to write, just change it up a bit. Little changes in your routine could be the breakthrough you need to get you writing again! From one author to another, I can promise you that writer's block can be overcome. It simply takes time, effort on your part, and a remembrance of the passion you have for writing. No matter what you do to overcome writer's block when it comes crashing down before your mind's eye, remember there is no sure fire way to deal with this issue. Just do what feels right and you will be writing again in no time! www.writing.com/main/view_item/user_id/trose
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