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

Challenge Writer's Block Discussion and Challenge Thread- Block Breaker 7 - 3/15/15

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by mavjade , Jan 11, 2015.

  1. leiamoody

    leiamoody Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2005
  2. Raissa Baiard

    Raissa Baiard FFoF Artist Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 1999
    Ugh...so, I'm working on my Raissa/Doran sequel and I am just not happy with it at all. It occurred to me that my characters spend the first part of the story dealing with self-doubt, annoyed with and even angry with each other and I don't know how to write it without it becoming an annoying, whiny, emo-fest. :( I hate angst and I'm afraid that my characters will just be unsympathetic and unlikeble. It's to the point where I just want to scrap the whole story because I don't know how to fix it. :( I guess I should just take a break and work on my AU instead, but I was so happy to finally get started on "In the Cards" after backburnering it for 10 years.... Now I remember why I had problems with it then.
     
  3. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    Raissa Baiard, if you need an opinion on the draft from somebody whiny-ish, shoot. :)
     
  4. Cushing's Admirer

    Cushing's Admirer Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jun 8, 2006
    Cushy can relate, Raissa. Am struggling with doubts on my piece as well. [:D]
     
  5. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    I'm hitting a similar block with mine. It's a fine line to tread with writing an emotional and weighty subject without the character coming off as whiny.
     
  6. Raissa Baiard

    Raissa Baiard FFoF Artist Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 1999
    Sadly, I only have one scene that's even made it to rough draft. The rest can't even get onto paper; I can't get the scenes satisfactorily blocked out in my mind.
     
  7. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    If it ever materialises into actual writing, my offer still stands. :) Until then, just...keep on brewing it and good luck. ;)
     
  8. Cushing's Admirer

    Cushing's Admirer Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jun 8, 2006
    Cushy may well be writing Chaps 50-75 for the foreseeable future. My heart is set one dealing with a certain portion of the journey. Hang in there, guys. Cushy striving to as well. [:D]@};-
     
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  9. Viridian-Maiden

    Viridian-Maiden Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2013
    Just getting out from under an academic article so I'm joining the conversation a little late and popping in just briefly to see what's happening/say hello. Also trying NOT to pipe up too much because I feel like I can get more written when I ghost.



    I will attest to this being true. I think the key is that if you feel the block starting to come, you have to keep going. And you definitely shouldn't freak out because that will just compound it. I started struggling at the beginning of summer due to some personal issues that I already spilled in another thread on this forum, but I know that it definitely kept getting worse. I wrote the Defiance vignetter trying to get myself out of DWB and at the time I thought it was awful, and it was the only thing I'd written in a month or two. Then it got much worse. I think I forgot how cathartic writing was, so even when I was struggling I didn't have any impetus to continue. It was just a subject of disappointment for me to add on top of all the disappointments that writing should have been helping me cope with. One really can't let things compound like that! It never helps.

    leiamoody I do this too, but again I think the key is to push yourself through. I have had times when something I thought was really terrible turned out - at the end of the day - to be one of the best parts of the story. And I attribute that to the fact that letting go allowed the story to take off and begin telling itself. I also removed a novel-length story from another site which I really loved and was attached to because of criticism. In a sense, anyway. One of the reasons I try to ghost is because I don't want to see what others are posting in the moments I'm trying to get down to my story/get into my own character's head/write using my voice (or my OCs voice) and my style.

    I'm sure I'll pop back in but considering that I still have a few projects that need updating, I don't think I'll be using any prompts soon. Cheers! [face_good_luck]
     
  10. Cushing's Admirer

    Cushing's Admirer Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jun 8, 2006
    VM: Thanks for sharing that. [:D]@};- I hope your words return soon.

    Writing is profoundly cathartic for Cushy as well and due to the path of the last four years my joy became my endless guilt and torment. I no longer feel worthy to write because of my errors. My heart weeps and tears itself to shreds. I feel I am *meant* to write and for Sir's memory but it's just so hard to 'hear' my heart words through all the pain and struggling. Thankfully, I've had a few good friends kick me in the butt ;) :p@Chyntuck and Cushy is going to keep writing heart anyways. :D
     
  11. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Well, I had scrawled a little drabbley something in a notebook in response to one of this week's prompts, and I had grand plans of sitting down, typing it out, and posting it tonight before the new prompts go up. But no sooner did I start typing than of course then I had to start doing tiresome things like editing it and expanding on it, and then the next thing I knew it was an hour-plus past my bedtime. So hopefully no one will object to a week-three-prompt story during week four. [face_sigh]

    That said, I have to say I've really been enjoying these. Thanks for the much-needed muse-booster, Mav! @};-
     
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  12. leiamoody

    leiamoody Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2005
    I've got a week one response nearly completed that should be posted during week four. At least you're closer to the schedule.
     
  13. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    I didn't manage to write from the prompt from last week (yet), but I did expand on one of the prompts from Week 2, so I did write this week, just didn't get it posted. Hopefully now that my sleep isn't all messed up, I'll get back on track.


    New prompts are coming soon. :)
     
  14. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    Block Breaker 4

    Word Prompts:
    stripped
    protection
    morals


    Quote:
    You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. ~Jim Rohn



    Phrase:
    Let the cat out of the bag.
    - to share a secret that wasn't to be shared​


    Idea:
    An anonymous gift. Your character(s) can send it or receive it. It could be a romantic gesture, a joke, something sinister, or any other way an anonymous gift could be sent or received.


    Character:
    Obi-Wan



    Discussion:
    When you get writers block, do you find it's tied to anything specific, like mood, time of year, how busy you are, etc? (This could also be about productivity for those who don't really have DWB.)

    Nyota's Heart brought up a good question related to this question so I'm adding it on:

    If this lasted like a few weeks to a couple months, would that be enough to break the momentum, and what could we, as your faithful, eager audience, do to get the juices flowing again?
     
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  15. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    Lovely new prompts! :)

    If I only got to finish the half-done stories for week #2 and #3, it would be awesome. Then again, it's not like people are willing to read my crappola, so yeah. :p
     
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  16. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    It's not crapola and I'm willing to read them! :p I say go ahead and finish them and post them, deadlines be darned—that's what I'm planning to do.
     
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  17. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    1) Two P's is more classy, the same way Marshall is cooler than Marshal. :eek:

    2) I was looking for a way to continue my theme, it was not necessarily F. for C. :p AND YOU KNOW MY THEME.

    3) My theme needs a theme song.
     
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  18. Pandora

    Pandora Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 13, 2005
    I wrote something for one of the week two prompts.

    Dear Pelly:
     
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  19. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Hi, just chiming in with the current discussion with a question, as a reader/fellow writer... Mav mentions busy times of year, like these could be periodic and predictable, or sudden swampings of work and other stuff that comes up. These put a crimp in the writing time... so my question is:

    If this lasted like a few weeks to a couple months, would that be enough to break the momentum, and what could we, as your faithful, eager audience, do to get the juices flowing again? [face_dancing] Act as sounding boards, betas? [face_batting]
     
  20. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    There's no crapola, only writing! Not everything is going to be everyone's cup of tea, but write and post because it will be someones! :D

    Welcome @Padora ! Thanks for participating!

    Nyota's Heart! - Wonderful question!! Thank you! I'm going to add it to the official discussion question.
     
  21. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    OK, I finally managed to generate some text in response to the week 3 picture prompt (which ended up working pretty much perfectly with a certain fanon element of mine):

    Box of Visions

    Incidentally, my previous contribution to this challenge has a little of "let the cat out of the bag" in it, too. ;)

    Very good and apt discussion questions. Writer's block is indeed tied to general busyness for me, and to the whole full-time-working-mom-of-young-child thing in general. After one has just spent pretty much one's whole day neck-deep in either work stuff or family stuff (or both at once), it's easy to feel just too burned out to do any proper writing even when those blessed few hours of me-time roll around at the end of the day. I'm hoping that achieving a bit more balance will help, perhaps doing tiny bits here and there throughout the day. And yes, occasional prompts like this one are indeed helpful (as well as fun), so I'm going to see what a regular dose of them will do for my fanfic productivity.

    The role of the audience... that's a very good question and one I'll have to think about a bit more. Just having an audience helps a lot. Thoughtful comments that show that a reader has paid attention to details—things that go beyond just "Cool!" and "[face_laugh]" (though I don't object to those either ;) )—can be immensely helpful, not just as morale boosters but also as inspiration: readers sometimes come up with angles on stories that the authors miss. (Even in my short time here I've had that happen with my readers.)
     
  22. taramidala

    taramidala Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 18, 1999
    Discussion answer: My writer's "block" is very time-related. If I have a ton of time, I can't write a stitch. If I'm busy? Forget it: all I want to do is write. To answer Nyota's question, yes, talking things out with friends/betas can be useful and productive, if only to get yourself back into the swing of things.
     
  23. Cushing's Admirer

    Cushing's Admirer Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jun 8, 2006
    Amen to that. My little brothers of the heart listening to Cushy and telling me it's okay to write and can/will write good words for Sir showed Cushy they have faith in Cushy's purpose when Cushy lost it due to trauma and doubt. Discussion and being understood can restore hope and provide needed validation/comfort.

    Cushy's blocks are much more stress based than time. Right now I am on a block because I need to decide if I am just going to time jump and not fill in further details of the interim or not. Plus, I need to decide how old the cublings are at the jump so I can work on how they figure in the plot.

    Plus, I have to decide if I'm giving Gilad an OC family because I'm not cool with how EU handled his relationships. :(
     
  24. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    Here is my response to Block Breaker #2:
    Dear Father
     
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  25. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    Just an FYI, the next Block Breaker will be late seeing as how I'll be on Hoth without internet until late Sunday night and I'll probably just go right to bed when I get home.
     
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