Writer's Block Daily

So because I can't help myself, I now have two fanfics going for the same fandom at a time. But the fun part is that the new one is intended to be an experiment so I can be a lot more creative with what happens, as the other is Original Flavor for the most part. Oh, and the new one is a psychological horror "Groundhog Day" Loop except some things are retained after each loop and the characters are going to feel the effects even if they aren't aware of the loop.

So, yeah, I'm pretty into my new story, my problem is just that I keep adding more stories to my pile and now have to try and make room for all of them in my brain and schedule.

Edited by WarJay77 on Mar 4th 2023 at 11:28:58 AM

When it comes to an Alien invasion story, how does a story with a main story and 4 sub-groups sound? Would 5 suffice as long they can get a seameless development and a connected plot or too bloated?

Depends on the needs of the story that you're trying to tell, and the eternally unquantifiable and completely subjective bugbear of making sure you execute those subplots properly. I would expect these subplots to intersect or at least contribute meaning or context to the main plot. Perhaps you could seek out some stories that have multiple subplots, and examine how they handle them and what you do and don't like.

Well, I added it because a story that feels of this where only the protagonists can get anything meaningful done gets stale for a while, and I want to try to show how a conflict can affect many individuals and how connected their actions they can be on the grand scheme of things.

I've had a few story ideas for a while, but I've never been able to actually work on them, even when I actually have free time.

Is there anything I can do to get out of this rut?

Mmm, one thing I do to keep motivated is to play "drinking games" except with sentences instead of alcohol. So for example I'll play a game and every time I die I have to write a few sentences. It's a slow process and can be tedious at times, but it keeps me from losing focus too quickly while also allowing me to have a brief mental break in between. It's worth at least trying, just to see if it helps you get motivated.

Or, maybe schedule even just a few minutes of writing time a day (if you're not like me and actually have a schedule beyond "wake up at some point and eventually sleep again" lmao). I know for a lot of people, putting things down on a schedule helps them actually do it. I'd say that even just around 10-30 minutes a day can help you get the ball rolling.

aw man, just looking at my old AO 3 account and the page for the story i have written...what could've been, had i been the kind of person that is more perseverant and patient...

oh well, it did lead me to some introspection and i eventually found what i love doing, which is fan editing. a bad for a good, i guess.

i keep thinking aboutthat baseball story i came up with a few weeks ago, especially after watching the greatest baseball tournament of all time not too long ago...though there are, like, a million baseball stories outthere...well, i guess none of them talks about amateur baseball...at least, the kind that my uncle's club plays, beign a bunch of former players and amateurs travelling and competing in tourneys and shit...thing is, there's really nothing new to add to sports stories.

Edited by Kinni454 on Mar 24th 2023 at 7:02:13 AM

Figured I'll try outlining my The Great Gatsby AU fic.

My method is that I'm using it on Google Docs (unable to use Scribener cause my laptop broke) and using bolded headings for the chapters. Underneath the headings are a bullet point list describing what happens in the chapter. Each scene in a chapter has different colored text so I can differentiate them It's just a method I came up with, so um quite experimental and subject to change lol (And also outlining the basic plot Synopsis too)

Edited by Cutegirl920fire on Mar 28th 2023 at 12:55:59 PM

Fun fact: The Great Gatsby is in the Public Domain. So when you finish your fic, you could just full-on publish it and earn some cash.

IK but I'm content with publishing it on AO3 lol

Meanwhile I can't traditionally publish my Gatsby/Fate Series fic cause the Fate Series ain't in the problem domain

I have been working on Chapter 9 of my webnovel, and am currently editing it.

Suffice it to say, the stakes have really been raised.

…Impressive.

Edited by SkyCat32 on Apr 10th 2023 at 8:12:50 AM

Ayyyy good job. I just uploaded the 572nd chapter of my webnovel today.

...Don't end up like me. [sobs because I wanted to end in ch. 350 but now I probably will end around 750~800 chapters]

Edited by dRoy on Apr 10th 2023 at 7:40:19 PM

Today's the 98th anniversary of The Great Gatsby's publication! Now's a perfect time to be working on my Gatsby AU fic.

(Before anyone brings up that I can theoretically publish the fic as a book and make money as Gatsby is in the Public Domain, I'm content with just publishing it on AO3)

So, I'm questioning now whether submitting my short stories to online magazines is the best way for me to go—especially as I have yet to have a single successful publication...

In terms of "pros":

• They offer reach (and thus potential audience) that I just don't have right now, I fear
• There's a sense of accomplishment that I associate with being "officially" published
• There's a potential track from such magazines to paper anthologies, and being so published would be nice, I feel.

But in terms of "cons":

• They seem to receive so very many submissions that the chances of any one story being accepted seems to be pretty low...
• It can take a long time—even a year or more—to get through a full round of submissions, during which time one is effectively just...sitting on the story.
  • Many seem to disallow simultaneous submissions
  • Some take a fairly long time to respond

This all comes up—aside from general experience in trying to get my stories published—from a current situation, one that I think that I've brought up before:

I have a story submitted to an online magazine, and—at long last!—have received interest in it!

Then medical issues apparently hit the editorship of the magazine, resulting in a very long delay in responses. Indeed, it has been, since first I submitted to them, more than a year...

(And as they don't allow simultaneous submissions, I haven't been at liberty to submit elsewhere while I've waited.)

I keep thinking to pull the story, but it doesn't seem worth doing so until another magazine opens to submissions—or I decide to pull out of submitting to magazines entirely.

In the meanwhile, I have begun posting some (*ahem* two) of my stories on itch.io, along with my games. (Those being stories with which I've already been through the submission cycle, I feel.)

I haven't seen a huge response (perhaps at least in part due to the abovementioned issue of "reach") but I have had a few downloads, which means that the stories have at least been read beyond my friends...

(I will confess that there is an insidious thought trying to convince me that this really reflects a lack in my stories—and in some cases perhaps those stories haven't been strong enough. (For which latter reason I've held back on posting more of my unpublished stories on itch.) But conversely, I've had enough positive feedback on my writing that I'm not convinced that this is the case for all of my stories.)

Been writing a novel and tweaking the outline simultaneously. It's a genre I don't normally write in, so I am kinda at a lost what to do.

I'm worried about plot holes, but it is still the rough draft, so I just gotta chug along and get it finished.

My favourite thing I've noticed I do for writing surreal or dreamlike scenes is to attach the right adjectives to the wrong nouns. Especially when the subjective adjectives are attributed to the objective nouns and vice versa.

So, what can I do when dealing with a control freak unofficial editor who wants to force me to write what they think it's best for me?

Stop using them as editor, I would suggest; seek another if called for.

(How you part from them, and how difficult that is, may of course depend on the specifics of your situation.)

Well, the brigth side is that this one is an unofficial one, meaning that I'd take most of the advice from an professional one even more. Hell, I would create some duplicate pages containing the bits he wants while I keep what I and others think it's best.

I really need to get my writing motivation back. To do that I gotta get over my current round of anxiety and get some actual sleep, tho...

This is, I fear, a familiar experience to me. ^^;

Well, let me simply say: Good luck to you, and I hope that you do gain that peace from (undue) anxiety, that sleep, and that return to literary motivation. ^_^

So I got an email after posting here in this forum to introduce myself in this subforum, so hey I guess. I'm kinda aspiring to be a writer but besides a few competent but somewhat amateur stories I made on wattpad in 2019 I have almost no experience with writing stories. I have like maybe a few ideas I would like to test for myself, and I might be a bit active on this forum, but not too much.

and Thank you!

Edited by ZuggaluggalocoroG on Jun 7th 2023 at 8:25:50 AM

Greetings, and welcome! ^_^

And, well, writing infrequently is still writing, I would say! ^_^

Welcome!

I'm sure your stories are well done and even then, as long you keep writing and practicing, they'll improve!

Whew, it's nice to get back into writing. I always feel kind of restless and unproductive if I don't write for a while, but at least it helps me clear my mind and get some ideas back.