How does one get over writer's block?

Write, write, write. I've been doing it since I was in elementary school. Not until around high school did I think maybe I could do something with writing. But then I turned to film and wanted to pursue that calling. Life got in the way of that one.

Recently I have been contemplating writing again but I've got a huge case of writer's block. I come up with some good ideas but then someone comes along as says "oh, that sounds like such and such."

How does one come up with a truly original idea? I used to be so creative but it's like it has all been flushed.

I've also got a problem keeping a story flowing smoothly. But that is something for another day.

reply to post by angrymomma
Just write, and tell yourself it doesn't count. You are just writing to kill time and you are not going to use any of it. When the pressure is off, sometimes some good stuff pops through. Or, even if nothing good comes, at least you are moving in the right direction and getting rid of the kinks, eventually, even if it's weeks or months, you will come up with something good. So, write like it doesn't matter, even if it's not original.

im not into books and the only one i ever read was watership down. and only then because we had to in school.
but to address your problem. to come up with a new idea. well what came to mind immediately was if you tried something new. do something that you would never think of doing. go on a canoeing holiday. enter a poker competition. volunteer for a weeks charity work. the obvious thing here is to stimulate the senses. open up.
you've probably thought of doing something with yourself and im beating against the bush. just typing what im thinking

How I beat my writer's block was easy
I got off conspiracy sites for a bit. I left the stress and the fear monger behind and focused on my writing. I'm stressed as hell right now. But that's my advice. Peace.
Bad news for me is I'm back in the same spot I was before, scared and breakdown-ish.

Don't worry about having an original concept. If the setting is earth, it's been done before. Several great and not so great stories are based off Shakespeare so the concept doesn't have to be completely original, although you should be very conscious your story telling doesn't come off as unoriginal. Have a solid lead character, who is this person? why should I be interested? can I relate to him/her?

If you're really that worried about being unoriginal, create a new culture, a new species, and a new planet to base this story around, but if you do base the story on a new species or something, make sure a regular person can relate to them.

Honestly just get me interested in the main character, the rest is fair game.

As for writers block, don't try to think about writing an amazing first line... "Now is the winter of our discontent" or "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times". You'll have plenty of time to think about that after you've started writing. Describe a setting, describe a character, don't even worry about giving them a name, just write.

you're trying too hard.

take a break. do other things you enjoy and relax. the new material will come when it's ready.

go with stuff you wouldn't usually do too.. even if you hate it. you'll be amazed what you can find when you're looking for something else!

I don't write much, though I always tell myself I'll start again 'soon'. I find a few things that seem to work for me at least.

1) Try to fit in things into your writing that are personal. For instance, if, hypothetically speaking, a girl you were interested in told you that she had no interest in you (this may or may not have happened to me this last weekend ) then that will provide a certain emotional slant to your writing, and you might be able to find something that works.

2) Pay attention to your dreams at night. I don't know about other people, but sometimes I have some pretty cool ideas, and I'd try to write them down so I'd remember them. For instance, I had one dream where I was watching this strange scene. Some guy had died and was about to be reincarnated, but before he was, he woke up in a kind of 'between life' place with millions of sleeping/dead bodies and some mysterious character that was running it all. I actually wrote the first chapter or two of that one, and I thought it was a pretty sweet idea, but eventually I got distracted by other things.

3) Ask lots of 'what if' questions. For instance, 'what if' the president was assassinated? What would follow in the aftermath? What if aliens made themselves known to the people of earth tomorrow? How would that change things? Or imagine strange scenarios and then try to fit a story around it. For instance, imagine what would happen if a T-Rex started rampaging in downtown New York, or some crazy naked guy with a sword was running around claiming he was King Arthur returned. Then try to find a story that would fit the scenario.

4) Sometimes you just get stuck on one story. If that happens, try working on a different project that day, and come back to the other one another time.

5) I've never tried this one, but it's one I've thought might work. Try writing some sort of fan fiction in somebody else's world. Write a Star Trek story or something. (or whatever, that's just an example since the book I'm reading right now is a star trek novel and it came to mind) For obvious reasons, that would probably not be one you could sell, unless it was in a shared universe like the Star Trek example. (JK Rowling might be pissed off if you tried to sell a story about Hogwarts for instance :p)

reply to post by DragonsDemesne


#5 is how I got the current idea I want to work on. I daydream...a lot. I put my own character into a specific show story line. I loved the character I came up with and decided that's who I want to write about. It's just coming up with the best ideas for the story. I thought up a good story and then when I started thinking about it, it started to sound like something I have read before. Completely different scenario but almost the same kind of story. That's what kills me. I haven't thought about the book in question in years so I know I came up with "my" own original thing but it just feels too close for comfort.

It kills me because it's something I thought was awesome.

The best thing I find is to write out the entire thing, mistakes and all, leave it for a month or so and come back in with a fresh perspective.

Writing it out is the first step and the second is going in and fixing everything that doesn't fit. Once you have a general idea complete it's easy to go back and make it unique.

NOTHING is truly original. There are reasons formulas are used...it is because they work.

Take Harry Potter for instance. Pretty original in its way. She created a whole world that sucked in readers.

However, she borrowed and stole all over the place.

Compare Harry to Star Wars

Both Harry and Luke are Orphans, thrust into a world they know little about beyond their familiar surroundings, and facing a dark enemy.

Both have a male and female best friend help them in this struggle

Both have a wise old man for guidance

Both have a skill they are exceptional at

Both use magic of one kind or another

Both conclude with an epic battle

etc, etc,

I don't think any work can ever really be 100% original. The trick is to put as much of your own ideas in the story as possible, though. For instance, one of the ideas I have floating around in my head right now involves time travel, and one of the things I was going to do in it is basically a ripoff from Back to the Future, where somebody goes back and gives his previous self a bunch of information he can get rich off of. However, that's only the first part of the story, and the rest of the idea doesn't steal from that movie at all, and as far as I know is original. (unless I forgot the source :p)

reply to post by angrymomma


I feel your pain. I was writing a book about something I had thought of for years. I got into about chapter 4 when I saw a movie that was so close to my story line it was freaky. I dropped the project for a couple years. Only recently have I started working on it again. It's kind of disconcerting when that happens, but I figure I might as well finish mine because it is not exactly like what I saw.

by the way, look at how many Vampire books/movies have been done. Just put a different spin on it and run with it. Just because another story line like it exists, doesn't mean it is that good.

The best way that I've found to overcome writer's block is to maintain strict informational hygiene or intellectual asceticism. Every little thing that you let in splits your mind in a new direction. If you get up in the morning, read your email, and look at two news sites, you've already taken in whatever emails you received, whatever news stories you read, and probably a solid ten advertisements. You may not think that these things affect your writing, but they do. You've got a finite amount of "willpower" that you can divert to the various concerns of your life. If you're serious about writing, that's where that willpower should go.

Get up in the morning, sit down, and write. Only read things that you are comfortable influencing your work. The same goes to watching television and movies and browsing the Internet. Maintain informational hygiene, or you just won't have what you need to put words on the page.

The same goes for experiences. Experiences are, broadly speaking, good for writing. Doing and knowing more gives you a broader pool to draw from for ideas and whatnot--if the knowledge and experience is valuable.

Basically, to be a writer (based on my observations and experience, at least), it is important to reform one's lifestyle to support writing. No big deal.