Severe Writer's block is kicking me in the @ss

[Xx....-Dark Vamp Writer-....Xx]

I don't know what's wrong with me lately. I can't write anymore my writing has seriously bombed within this past year. I can't get the first sentence out on a page it takes me an hour to come up with the first sentence. That's not like me I am always creative and I can sit here and think. I get up take a walk, go watch tv, or play my ps2. That doesn't work anymore by the time I am done doing something else to get my thoughts together I get distracted doing something else then I forget to write. I don't think it's fair to me and the regulars I get who read my stories. Not only that but I feel like some of the ideas I come up with are so cliche sometimes. I feel like somebody in the section has already come up with such ideas and that if I write it I am going to be labeled copy cat or some bs of that sort.

Yeah I get use to being bugged by readers asking when am I going to update but I feel so bad. Currently I am doing a re-write of a story so it's more tough. Have I lost it? Have all my ideas died? Is my mind not focused? I don't get it.

[Guest orleans]

Don't stress yourself!!

If you force yourself and try and try and try to get something done, you won't be sucessful!

Write a short note for your readers that you are taking a break. And just try and relax. I know it is easy to say. But I had the same problem once. I just put the story away and distanced myself. I stopped worrying, and then, out of nowhere, I was able to continue one day.

Don't let your readers bug you. The story is not only for them but for you as well. And if you are not happy with it, just let it be for a while.

Bah, I just hope I'm not talking nonsense here; it has been a long day....

I wish you the best!

orleans

[Wolfie]

Hey Hon,

I suffer from the dreaded WB bug all the time.

You can't force a story to come out. Trust me, I have tried numerous times and failed.

However,

Try writing in another fandom or even writing an *one shot* to get your muses started back up again. Even if you don't post it, just write for the fun of it.

I have so many WIP's not online that it isn't funny. Just take your time and relax. Let the story come to you and if your readers don't understand the concept, then you don't need them.

[Xx....-Dark Vamp Writer-....Xx]

Thanks you guys.... so far I have been sitting here for a few hours and I have a good story but it's going to take a little history research to get it done. I don't mind it's all good. I took a walk and did my chores to keep my mind open to new ideas. So far I am going to write another story rather than finish the re-write that I had in progress. Let's just hope it goes well. As far as my readers they can wait lol

[cu-kid9]

Not only that but I feel like some of the ideas I come up with are so cliche sometimes. I feel like somebody in the section has already come up with such ideas and that if I write it I am going to be labeled copy cat or some bs of that sort.

I wouldn't worry about whether or not your ideas are cliched or not. I'm usually of the mind that there are no such thing as new ideas; there are simply revised, updated versions of old ideas. I think that if you write well, even the most cliched idea can be fresh and interesting.

About being a copy-cat...Well...That sort of goes along with the whole "cliched ideas" thing. I stumbled on Holly Lisle's Writer's Index and, to my surprise, found something really interesting there -a section called How To (Legally and Ethically) Steal Ideas (It's not really what it sounds like ). Besides, you know what They say: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

[Shinju]

You should go do something really fun that you really enjoy.

Or you could do what I do and go on a overnight trip with some friends to the nearest large city and go on a wild, drunken bender. Speak to lots of random weird people. I guarantee lots of strange things will happen that you can use for inspiration. Since you will be drunk, it might be better if you take a tape recorder, a video camera or a few disposable cameras. If you take an expensive piece of equipment, make sure you have a sober person who is willing to watch over it while you all get drunk. Or you could just take a notepad and paper, but once you reach a certain point you may no longer be able to write, although it will be fun to try to decipher everything in the morning. Remember to draw on lots of napkins and find lots of existential topics to talk about. Do lots of things you wouldn't normally do but try to stay out of physical harm.

Good luck.

[Solaris]

I had a writer's block on one of my HP stories that was going on four years before I completed it.

Another HP story has one going for a total of 5 years and I may just delete the whole story since the muse on that story is not showing up anymore and I just do not like that story at all anymore. So I am probably going to delete the story from the datakey and a few other HP stories that I have tried to work on in the past few years and never really took off.

Beth