Writing and Wattpadding (a guide)

Writer's Block

A problem that every writer faces at one point or another it writer's block. In this section I'm going to give you some different things to try if you ever encounter that big, bad beast.

An common cause to writer's block is not providing yourself with adequate time to write. This is one of the problems I have when I find myself with a block. So that means...

Step 1: Give yourself time to write. The amount of time you need to give yourself all depends on how well you can get into 'writing mode.' For me, it takes a bit to get into the flow of things. You should have at least an hour of solid writing time, so I need to give myself about an hour and a half. That gives me a half hour to get into my mode and then a solid hour of productive writing time. If you make sure you set aside a good amount of time for productive writing, you might find that that block will start to disappear.

Sometimes you're just having issues coming up with new story ideas or just ideas for what will happen in a story you're currently writing. One thing that could help you with that is...

Step 2: Daydreaming. Let your mind wander. Maybe one day instead of sitting down and writing, you could set aside time to daydream. Think about anything, let your mind wander to whatever it wants to if you're trying to come up with a new idea. You could also daydream about your story. Those characters of yours should feel just like real people. The events that they go through are something you've created and have envisioned in your head. Think of those events, think of how your characters react to different situations. Maybe think about what they would do if they were brought into your world where you are right then. What would they do? What would they say? Put them in different situations to learn more about them. Some issues could stem from not knowing your characters as well as you could. This could help.

Step 3: Analyze your story. When you don't know what's going to happen next, try going over your story. Read it. One chapter, two, from the beginning, do something to submerge yourself into the world. Sometimes you'll get more ideas when you re-read pieces that you've already written.

Inspiration for writing can come from so many different places and writers should use those sources to their advantage. So many movies that come out now are from books, and there are so many different stories in the world today. So...

Step 4: Read and watch. Coming up with a concept that is completely and totally unique in our world today isn't really going to happen. All the common troupes have been used so now all you can do is take one and form it into your own concept. Read more stories. A writer who doesn't read is not a writer at all. That's like a baby skipping crawling and walking and going straight to running.

Read more stories. Read stories in the same genre that you write in, or that you want to write in. What are some of the common themes that you see? How can you take something like that and turn it into your own story?

Watch movies. I've gotten some ideas from watching movies and I know a few other people who've gotten new ideas that way too. It's a visual already in front of you instead of your mind creating the image. Use that to your advantage and make use of those stories that are already out there. (Just make sure you don't copy the work of someone else. Take those troupes and make them into your own story. There may not be any completely new and unique concepts, but that doesn't mean that you can't twist one and turn it into your own unique story.)

Sometimes you just need to write random things to get the ideas flowing in your head for the story your working on which leads me to my next idea to try...

Step 5: Freewrite. This is something to just force yourself to write. It can be just random scribbles or it can be random scribbles about your story. Put your pen or pencil to paper, start writing and just don't stop. Just write anything, it doesn't have to make sense as long as you're writing. Usually, what you're writing will come around to your characters and what they are doing and where they are going. You can come up with some good ideas for the direction your story can go, sometimes you'll come up with multiple directions your story could go. Freewrite can open up a lot of doors for your story.

Step 6: Listen to music. Music is packed full of emotion. I personally listen to epic movie scores. There is so much movement in musical pieces that can really stimulate the writing mind. I often write with music playing, but if I've hit a block I'll just sit back and listen to music and let my mind wander. This can be incorporated with Step 2 combining the two can be helpful.

Step 7: Take a break. It is possible to overwork your mind. You need to have a fresh mind to write otherwise the ideas won't come. Sometimes you just need to sit back and take your mind off the story and let it have time to rest. Go out to the mall, watch some TV, do anything besides think of your story. You may find that when you come back to your story refreshed that the ideas will start coming back to you and you can take off again.

Finally there's one more thing, and this may be the most important one out there.

Step 8: Write for you. You need to write for yourself and to tell the story you want to tell. Wattpad can be a dangerous world. You start out writing the story you want to tell, but then when you start posting and getting comments, things can take a sharp turn.

Comments are great because you can see what people are liking and what things may not be working in your story and while you're writing, you have time to make changes. However, it can also be dangerous because you're seeing what people want and you may stop thinking about the story you had initially started out with.

Listen to your readers and keep what they have to say in mind, but don't let them change the story their way. You're not going to be able to please everyone, and you shouldn't try to please everyone. You should be trying to please yourself. Don't abandon your character and make them do something they wouldn't do just because others want to see it happen. If you give in and start betraying your vision, then you could very well fall into the dangerous pit or writer's block.

If you have any other ideas that you use to get rid of writer's block then post it below. If you have any other questions you want to ask, you can ask it in the comments section or send me a PM and I will make a section on it.

This is the last question I've received, so I don't have any other topics to write on at the moment. If you'd like to see more posts, then leave me a question about writing or traversing the world of Wattpad then ask and I will answer it to the best of my ability.