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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

@@@Inspiration@@@ When The Words Won't Come...

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by tangled_sphere, Mar 11, 2004.

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  1. Eleventh_Guard

    Eleventh_Guard Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2005
    I can do the convos, I just don't know how to arrange the events themselves.

    Actually, that helps a little... I guess I should just keep trying until something sticks.
     
  2. wawoot

    wawoot Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2006
    I've been having a really hard time writing for about three weeks now... I know exactly what I want to write - it's simply a matter of putting it down into words at this point, but that's the hardest part for me!

    So today I tried a trick that seemed to work - I wrote my entire chapter, not worrying about using flowery language... It looks like a first-grader wrote it, but I feel like at least I did something... And now I just have to go through and revise each paragraph so it's a little more sophisticated and less See-Spot-Run type of sentence structure... Anyway I thought I'd suggest that strategy...

    If anyone else has ideas I'm all ears! :) For me, it seems like sometimes the words come without even trying, but other times it's really incredibly difficult, even though I can picture the entire scenario in my head!
     
  3. magehound

    magehound Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 2006
    maybe during the times you're having trouble, being descriptive would help. If you can see the scene play out, pause your mental picture somewhere. think about what your seeing. What characters are in that paticular scene? what are they wearing? are they in a ship scene, or planet-side? what time of day is it? is there anything going on in the background? Did they come into the scen laughing, only to leave sad or angry? did they even come in together? Sometimes, breaking down a scene helps me to write it out.
     
  4. wawoot

    wawoot Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2006
    Thanks magehound! Those are great ideas, I'm going to try that right now! (In fact, I meant to say before - all the ideas I've read here have been terrific... I'm finding that it helps to know a variety of different techniques to try to break out of a rut!) Thanks again! :)
     
  5. magehound

    magehound Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 2006
    Helping is what I do. Glad I could. :D
     
  6. Noelie

    Noelie Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Right now I know where my writer's block is coming from. The newness of actually writing has worn off, and now I am suffering with my old friend "performance anxiety". I have done this in music too. I am a fine pianist but the list of people who will actually get to hear me gets smaller by the day, and don't even ask about singing.


    I had feedback-I have to admit through the gossip chain-that the reason my stuff wasn't read was because it was too "mary sue".

    I don't honestly know what that means, but I do now especially after the awards which I faced with a pretty realistic view of how it would go because of all the other fine fictions that are out there both nominated and those not nominated, I just sort of hoped not for an award believe it or not, although those are very nice and I wouldn't kick at one :), but just people to read my things, especially the ones dear to my heart, but for a few I feel might just feel obligated to read them.

    Some of this feeling is also instigated by reading some of the statements of a couple that at least read the beginning of my one fiction and didn't continue. They weren't talking about ME in particular, but since I didn't have the "pull" for them to continue and that is what the topic was about, yes I have doubts that I should even be trying to continue the story. Another kicker was checking out the longer fiction of a new writer on the boards as of July and the list of update Pm's was as long as my arm! :) Well deserved as I read the thing, but then just nailed one more little tack of doubt into the coffin so to speak.

    Now I sit and try to write the things I see in my head and heart. I struggled one that is sitting in my hard-working Master's hands for a beta, but I haven't stopped kicking myself since I sent it for presuming I could write, because obviously since I bore folks to death, I can't. (that is what is going on in my head!)

    I know writing isn't that folks tell you how wonderful you are, or that you have a huge following, but I can't help but think it probably helps! I know writing is something you are and not something you do.

    So here I am trying to be and get the next installment of a fiction I feel is worthy to be completed at some point and I feel completely at a loss how to continue when I doubt I have the talent to do it.

    Just right now I am having a hard time getting over this self-doubt block.
     
  7. Evil_Charity

    Evil_Charity Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jul 12, 2006
    Noelie, [:D]. I'm sure a lot of people know how you feel.

    Another kicker was checking out the longer fiction of a new writer on the boards as of July and the list of update Pm's was as long as my arm!

    There are those few that are lucky enough to get "discovered", so to speak. But there are still a majority, even really good writers who are newbies, that don't get as much readership as others. I guess writing is a lot like Hollywood in that respect. :p I'm sure other writers/readers on the boards doubt themselves, too. I mean, there are just so many legends that we all have to compete against! I am just glad that I at least have a few people who may become regulars.

    Then again, I also make sure that I branch out and write stuff that isn't just Star Wars. Even if I won't let anyone else read it. Harry Potter, my own original short stories, bogus letters, articles that will never be good enough to be published. I just love writing, so when I feel discouraged at one project I'm working on, I take a break and move on to another for a little bit. If it turns out to be good, I feel better. Also, it leaves me with tons of unfinished things that I completely forget about until I run across them again years later. Plot bunnies everywhere! Have you ever tried that?

    Of course, other people say it helps to take a break from writing all together. I can't do that simply because my life is reading and writing (with my free time, at least). I wouldn't know what to do with myself otherwise. Try everything, see what works for you.

    Has that helped any? I hope so. :)


    E[face_good_luck]C
     
  8. Noelie

    Noelie Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Kindness is always useful. Thank you E_C. :)

    I know I just "gave in" and finally went to read last night even though I do have that post going. I do have other silly tidbits I write.

    I just hadn't thought of writing until a few months ago, because a friend said I understood characterization and I just needed to try. She has been wonderfully supportive, which is great of course.

    I might just have to give it a few nights off, even if folks are waiting for the post. Even then I just tell myself they are waiting... . the story is buried somewhere back on page 30 :) (and exageration to be sure, but I don't know that it would be resurrected soon anyway)


    I guess I am just in a very stubborn mood, eh?
     
  9. leia_naberrie

    leia_naberrie Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2002

    [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D]

    Let me tell you a little secret, Noelie. It happens to all of us one time or the other. I?m plagued by it constantly and being an oldbie sometimes makes it better and sometimes it makes it worse. I imagine it?s the same for being a newbie ? maybe even worse. I have friends that have written wonderful stories, some even have awards an arm long, but they still have perpetual bouts of self-doubts, worthlessness, cold feet, performance anxiety, ?I suck!? spats.

    So what do you do?

    It helps to focus on the positive. Do you have one or two readers that have always been there and show no signs of going away? Read their reviews, feedback and give yourself an ego boost. You?ve got to be doing something write to get this level of devotion from ?anyone?. And it really helps when these 1 or 2 ?anyones? are authors you admire. Your idols think ?you? rock! How cool is that? :D (And for everyone else on the boards not reading/reviewing, make yourself believe that they?re all lurking, watching with awed envy at your stellar storytelling. Heck! For all you know, it?s probably true! :p)


    Then try and recall how you felt when you started writing the story. What were the images you pictured in your head? The inspired dialogue you planned to put in your characters? mouths? Remember how fantastic and original you thought your idea was way back when? It still is, you know. Of course, after living with the same bunny day in and day out, the spark will definitely not be the same when you first caught eyes in that coach, terminal, classroom? :p but believe you me, that drop-dead gorgeous, irresistible bunny you fell in love with is still there, buried underneath all those layers of sensible plaid.


    And when all that fails, sometimes it helps to take a break a little. From fandom as a whole. Do some real life stuff. Go garden. Or dog-walk/pedal. Go for a swim. Watch some easy-on-the-eyes Moulin Rouge :p or the latest blockbuster. Sooner or later, you?ll be bored out of your mind and that story will start calling you again. :D And when the self-doubt creeps up again, just tell it: ?Been there, done that, not giving up my bunny? and plough on. It works (sometimes ;) ) for me. I really, really hope this helps some. [:D]
     
  10. DarthBreezy

    DarthBreezy Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 2002
    Got news for you hon, even those writers with the PM list that seems to encompass half of TF.N (And I don't count myself among THOSE writers!! :p ) fight "Darth Self Doubt" [face_laugh]

    I'd say it breaks down like this:

    80% of the writers here suffer almost crippling DSB, but plug away anyway.
    15% let it get the best of them, and stop writing
    5% Say they don't suffer from it at all -
    4.999999% of those people are liers - the remaining person doesn't care about their craft and writes claptrap that they write anyway and will never improve.


    A LITTLE self doubt can be healthy - it keeps us from becoming complacent.


    :p
     
  11. Eleventh_Guard

    Eleventh_Guard Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2005
    When I'm feeling down about my ability to write something, I send a piece to someone I trust to be honest, yet tactful, about it. That way, I can focus more on what needs to be changed to make it good, instead of "this stinks," and if it doesn't work... well, at least I've written something, and writing is a good plotbunny generator. A story of mine has spawned 3 virtually unrelated vignettes, mostly adaptations of rejected pieces and rejected endings that wouldn't have been right for the fic, but with some changes can stand alone just fine.
     
  12. jackyyy17

    jackyyy17 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2006
    Nolie, I feel the same a lot of the time. But to me, just knowing that I am not alone in my feelings makes me feel better.

    I think what gets me is when I work of a viggie, pour my heart and soul into it, and it only gets a few reviews (if any), but just as quickly gets buried down several pages, out of sight.

    The thing that also keeps me from writing is that I keep thinking, ?Well even if it does get a few reviews now, in the end, it will end up buried and ignored, so what?s the use? How could I write something that will be rememberable, that people will still be reading years from know?

    Oh gosh, I bet this sounds petty.

    Anyway, just know that you?re not alone. That little bit of knowledge helps me, hopefully it could help you. [:D]
     
  13. Jennifer_Lyn

    Jennifer_Lyn Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 8, 2005
    i know exactly where you're coming from Noelie. i always start off with a big bang and then the realization that i actually have to buckle down and get to work hits me and i question why i have any right to be doing this.

    the simplest answer is because you WANT to do it. just make sure to cut yourself plenty of slack. fanfic, to me anyway, often feels like an 'open classroom' or something. instead of having all the first graders together and the seventh graders separately, we're all in the same room. what we can do as new writers is take advantage of being able to look over the 'older kids' shoulders. ask questions, learn from them.

    and remember that as long as you keep working at it and paying attention to what you are doing, then you will improve. finish that story and start the next one. keep writing.

    every couple of months i go back to an old viggie or something and look at it with fresh eyes. i'll usually even re-edit and repost it, or at least give it a little up with a note that it has been rewritten.

    it gives a little boost to my confidence when i can look at something i've written and go 'yeah that was a good idea, but i could write it so much better if i did it now.' it helps me to gauge my own progress, not based on anyone else's achievement but my own.

    keep writing!

     
  14. Layren

    Layren Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2003
    Even the best of us have phases of self doubt and worry if our writing is any good. I've been on these boards for over two years now and I can tell from experience it takes a long time to build up a readership and even longer if your story has OC's and doubly so if your story is pure OC.

    My first experience writing OC's was a horrible Mary Sue. If you really believe yours might be one, the best thing I can suggest for that is getting one or two people you really trust on giving their honest opinion and letting them critique it for you. That's what I did with mine. Years later when I go back and read what I wrote back then I cringe :p :) A good beta is worth their weight in gold and is a truly valuable asset to any writer who wants to improve.

    The story I'm working now with my collaborator has only two or three readers per post and some days I wonder if what we're writing is any good when I compare it to fics that have huge PM lists and I've been in a couple of spots where I just wanted to throw in the towel and give up.

    We've all been there at one point or another. This is a community message board, and we're all in it together. That's one of the things that makes tf.net fanfic forums stand out from the other message boards is the community feel of it.

    When you really wonder look at the fact that even though you didn't win, you did get nominated and even qualified in several categories. Look at all the stories that didn't qualify, because of the tightened rules. It should tell you that someone thought you deserved an award, more than one someone and maybe looking at it from that angle would help beat the self-doubt with a big stick :)


    [:D][:D] [:D][:D]
     
  15. Noelie

    Noelie Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Thanks guy [face_love]


    leia_naberrie: I know that you have had some moments, so any advice is very much appreciated. I hope to find a way out of this mood. Sleep might help hehe. I went for a walk with my daughter tonight and I will find a moment to write something. Not sure what and not sure if anyone else will see it. And I do have one or two rather precious souls that aren't required to read my things, but seem to find them anyway .. thanks for reminding me to be grateful. Thanks a bunch.


    Darthbreezy: Thanks a bunch ;-)

    Jackyyy: You are right=the Viggie that gets buried is a hard thing. I hope it doesn't happen to you much anymore.

    Jennifer_Lyn: That is exactly what it felt like. Big bang.. and thennn... Fizzle. :) Thanks for the advice. I have been trying to do a bit of it with what little time I do have.


    Layren: Thank you. You are indeed right it should, and I was kinda seeing it which is why I was sort of ashamed of grousing, but knowing I had the same feelings of Panic I have when trying to perform on the piano is what had me speak up. I just can't have one more art form I run away from because of panic disorders. That doesn't do me any good, does it?

    Thanks for the advice and perpective.
     
  16. DarthIshtar

    DarthIshtar Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2001
    One thing I'd recommend for your feelings of Mary Sue if it's at all related to a certain character is to first remind yourself that that character is NOT YOUR FAULT! Find a wonderful pic of your favorite DarthIshtar to throw darts at. Also, Layren gave good advice about seeking advice of people you respect.
     
  17. KILIK

    KILIK Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 21, 2005
    This might sound a bit weird but thank you everyone. :)

    Just reading do the page helped me out.

    I have one question.

    Well i'm not really sure how to word but I'll try.

    Their are a number of reasons we write, i'm sure everyone knows all of them or alot of them. My question is.

    Could the reason you write a fic/stroy effect if you have writes block or other writing problems?

     
  18. wawoot

    wawoot Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2006
    Haven't checked this thread in a while but wanted to send hugs [:D] to all who are struggling with DWB at the moment!

    KILIK - Interesting question! I guess I would have to say yes... I waffle between having ideas that I'm inspired to write down and share with people, and other times when I'm writing out of a sense of obligation to the readers... Stories always begin as a spark of inspiration, but once you have readers for your fic, things can get a bit more complicated... I find that feedback is a double-edged sword - it's wonderful to think that people are enjoying your story, and very helpful to see how your writing comes across, and how you can improve... But at the same time, once you start trying to please other people, suddenly the process of writing is much more complicated, and that's when I tend to get writer's block...

    The chapter I'm working on right now is a good example... If I were writing this purely for myself, I'd have a lot more fun with it - I'd just run with the conversation these two minor characters are having, follow my whim and take pages and pages to write something that essentially has very little impact on the rest of the story, or the main characters... But I assume that nobody else would want to read all of that, and so I've been trying really hard to present it in a minimal sort of way, that's greatly condensed yet still believable... And it feels like I'm writing a term paper for school, not something I'm doing just for my own entertainment...

    Maybe there's a lesson to be learned from that... Maybe I should be writing it just the way I want to, rather than focusing so much on what I think the readers want, or expect... I think if you write purely for your own enjoyment, there is no such thing as writer's block... It's when you start trying to live up to other people's expectations that you start having these problems... So thanks for bringing that up - just the question itself has helped me to realize that!

    Noelie - I've never really understood the whole Mary Sue issue to be honest... I think characters are much more believable and compelling if you put some of your own experiences into them - whether you make them the hero of your story or not... Somewhere along the line, in the world of fanfic, that was made out to be a laughable offense, something that people seem to love making fun of... But to be honest I've never understood it - I see a little of myself in almost every character I write (canon or otherwise), and in fact the few that I don't identify with are the least interesting... And the ones that I inject a disturbing amount of myself into tend to be the ones that the readers enjoy most of all... So 'pfft' to the Mary Sue bashers... :p

    Anyway I've enjoyed catching up with the discussion here, as always - I think what I've learned from this personally is that I need to move back toward writing what I want to write, as opposed to trying to fulfill what I perceive to be readers' expectations... So thanks for that (and keep on writing, everybody!) :D
     
  19. Eleventh_Guard

    Eleventh_Guard Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2005
    My way of dealing with budding Mary-Sues is to let them star in their own stories, and either leave them on my hard drive never to share with another soul, or make a Sue parody out of them. Either way, it gets it out of my system.
     
  20. Noelie

    Noelie Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Noelie - I've never really understood the whole Mary Sue issue to be honest

    I am so glad you said this, because frankly I agree! Add to that there are about a 1001 definitions on the net about what one is... and you could pick any character written by anyone at anytime and they would fit several.

    I think what people are talking about is awkward writing, but what is that but a place to start? :D Budding authors just need a place to start.

    I think my frustration really is that the character created by Ish and myself .. isn't. She was branded unfairly and still is waiting for her fair shake somewhere, along with her male counterpart, that I will tell anyone I am proud of. I think he is a marvelous character, one I have to convince my co-author she will do just as well as the female. That is when she is a little less swamped and tired from school that is.

    expressions otherwise I am trying to pick it all up again and write. There won't be much feedback, but I suppose I can always count on my sister, eh? @};-
     
  21. KILIK

    KILIK Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 21, 2005
    Thanks, wawoot:) I think that is along the lines of something I really needed to here.


    On the subject on the Mary Sue thing eather.

    It doesn't really mean anything, I cuase i'm sure what it is.
     
  22. RyooNaberrie

    RyooNaberrie Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Feb 1, 2006
    I'm not sure if anyone else does this, but I write when I feel like it and when I'm having an emotional day... but those times where I do want to write, but nothing is moving my pen across the notebook, I listen to a song and build my story around it and all it's words, but never saying it's a songfic, because technically it's not.(this only works for vignettes, or one-shots, unless you can find a perfect song)....

    Just suggesting....

    ~RyooNaberrie
     
  23. CrazyAni

    CrazyAni Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 23, 2006
    I'm doing that too. Though, sometimes I feel that I must work on my fics because I haven't updated them for eternity. Then I sit down and try to scribble something down, but only blabberings of a crazy old horse come out. :(

    Or, I can't find the words to desrcibe what I'm envisioning. So, I have to re-read the whole thing I've written only to discover that I used word XXXX six times in the last three sentences...It's so frustrating!

    I'm also influenced by the weather - if it's raining, I can write angst. If it's clear, then I write very silly humour.

    What always helps me, is chocolate. So, I recommend eating chocolate. Or, I read the RotS script - the end of Mustafar duel where Anakin is being dismembered. Somehow, it always motivates me to write whatever I'm writing.

    Or, if the inspiration doesn't come, I go back to studying. Being the lasiest person in the entire world, I hate studying, and then, when I'm in the middle of something, the inspiration is suddenly there - only there is no time to write. :mad: :mad:
     
  24. Noelie

    Noelie Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Honestly I have found my ability of late by making copies of my work, and copies of other works some I like and some I have had a harder time appreciating here and having RL people read them, without indicating which is which.

    That my own fictions are doing just fine by the comparision is letting me know that I do okay, even if one of the motivators, having readers isn't happening here. It is happening in real life, and that has made a great deal of difference.
     
  25. Darth_Father-in-law

    Darth_Father-in-law Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 17, 2005
    I've had DWB for some weeks now. I really would like to update my fics, but I just can't. I think the problem is mostly in myself - I admit that I have lack of self-confidence. I get depressed when I even think some of my fics!

    If I manage to sit down and write something, things just get worse. Because when I'm written something, I re-read it, and then I'm like "What the heck am I writing? Do I really think that someone wants to read this? It makes no sense!" and then I become even more depressed. When the whole writing thing is tormenting me, I delay and delay the updating. And you know what happens when you delay things. You just delay them, delay them, delay---And there is no end for that.

    I wish I could find some cure to this lack of inspiration. My time to write is limited, my language proficiency is limited - but those really aren't the reasons why I don't update. I just can't find the right words. And I can't find the right attitude; the mood that is required.

     
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