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Writer's Block Broken
3 years ago
As the title says, it appears that the challenges that have been facing me were not in the area of actually being able to generate content. Given a different environment and with less to actually have to generate on my own, I've been able to toss out 22 chapters of an adventure of my own design over the past two weeks. Now, I will admit that much of what happens is a direct result of gameplay, so there is a bit of cheating going on, but the fact remains that I have put out readable and enjoyable pieces to the tune of over 100 8.5" x 11" pages in a little less than 14 days.
So... A little suggestion for those of us struggling to generate something and feeling the need to write but not being able to: CHEAT.
I've been playing Skyrim as a new character and literally converting what I'm doing in-game into the story, but doing so with a writer's focus. Rather than a simple repetition of what is happening when I play, I try to describe the scenes and situations when I enter a new location. Using the characters already present in Skyrim and the dungeons that already exist, I've overlaid a new story line that has nothing to do with the actual game play and then added in NPCs, treasures, information and clues where I felt they would most make sense, given the story I am writing.
And it works!
I'll play for a bit and then switch screens to describe a scene. Skipping the most repetitive combats (after all, you can only fight the same type of monster so often and have it be interesting in a piece of literature) and focusing on important battles, traps or situations, I am creating a story that has already exceeded the length of anything I have written in the past TEN YEARS. Is it technically fan-fiction? YES. But it is still my own creation. Borrowed characters and locations? YES! But what happens there is mine to describe as I wish and my own added elements make it something other than just "another Skyrim walkthrough."
I'm learning things by doing this. I'm editing savagely after an hour or so of initially posting it, looking for word repetition, bad transitions, better examples of description or definition... Doing so has allowed me to publish... something(!)... on the various sites I send my work to, and it has allowed me to pay better attention to the actual WORK that goes into crafting a decent story into one people want to read.
So... Next time you find yourself brain dead and unable to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), pick up a game and create something new within it's structure. Tell your own tale, and watch your creative juices flow with a minimum of focus on world background and character design. Predesigned characters have no words for your tale - so give them to them. Treasure found in dungeons doesn't give you what you need for your story to flow? It does in your version...
Your Mileage May Vary, but it worked for me and I can't BELIEVE how much I've written since giving this a try.
So... A little suggestion for those of us struggling to generate something and feeling the need to write but not being able to: CHEAT.
I've been playing Skyrim as a new character and literally converting what I'm doing in-game into the story, but doing so with a writer's focus. Rather than a simple repetition of what is happening when I play, I try to describe the scenes and situations when I enter a new location. Using the characters already present in Skyrim and the dungeons that already exist, I've overlaid a new story line that has nothing to do with the actual game play and then added in NPCs, treasures, information and clues where I felt they would most make sense, given the story I am writing.
And it works!
I'll play for a bit and then switch screens to describe a scene. Skipping the most repetitive combats (after all, you can only fight the same type of monster so often and have it be interesting in a piece of literature) and focusing on important battles, traps or situations, I am creating a story that has already exceeded the length of anything I have written in the past TEN YEARS. Is it technically fan-fiction? YES. But it is still my own creation. Borrowed characters and locations? YES! But what happens there is mine to describe as I wish and my own added elements make it something other than just "another Skyrim walkthrough."
I'm learning things by doing this. I'm editing savagely after an hour or so of initially posting it, looking for word repetition, bad transitions, better examples of description or definition... Doing so has allowed me to publish... something(!)... on the various sites I send my work to, and it has allowed me to pay better attention to the actual WORK that goes into crafting a decent story into one people want to read.
So... Next time you find yourself brain dead and unable to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), pick up a game and create something new within it's structure. Tell your own tale, and watch your creative juices flow with a minimum of focus on world background and character design. Predesigned characters have no words for your tale - so give them to them. Treasure found in dungeons doesn't give you what you need for your story to flow? It does in your version...
Your Mileage May Vary, but it worked for me and I can't BELIEVE how much I've written since giving this a try.
~Playyer.finishstory
Does not seem to be working?
Bad Jokes Aside, glad it is helping you learn as a writer and reach goal. Sadly, not all of us can do that. nonetheless, inspiration is inspiration.
I've been seeing them flood in chapter after chapter and don't see of a quality drop. So impressive, much impressive in that much short of time.
". I'm editing savagely after an hour or so of initially posting it, looking for word repetition, bad transitions, better examples of description or definition... Doing so has allowed me to publish... something(!)... on the various sites I send my work to, and it has allowed me to pay better attention to the actual WORK that goes into crafting a decent story into one people want to read."
Congratulations on reaching a new important level of writing enlightenment. Every frothing rabid moment where I talk about rewrites and edits, this is what I mean. I've gone back end edited and rewrote entire sections a Fey tale about seven times this week, so this is the way of doing things.
Glad it opened up the plug and out it pourith.