F'n writer's block

[PhilaYank36]

For the life of me, I can't get this one article going. Nothing seems to be clicking and my frontal lobe feels like it's going to burst with absolute nothingness. What do all of you ladies & gentlemen do when you're dealing with WB?

 

[jgmacg]

There's no such thing as...well....the phenomenon you describe.

That said, just start typing. Grocery list. Christmas list. Passover menu. Ending of the story. Middle of the story. Transcribe your quotes. Transcribe your notes. Find further rhymes for "notes and quotes". Finish this: "There once was a man from Nantucket..." Retype the first two pages of "Oliver Twist." Just type. Repeat as necessary.

Good luck with your, um, phenomenon.

 

[KnuteRockne]

Outline your piece. What is the conflict? What is the resolution? What developments get the subject from point A (your lede) to point C (your end)?

Just come up with your structure and then start overlaying your words.

Use the SI formula if it helps:

A. Introduce the readers to the subject and what a stud he is
B. Flashback to your character's adversity in getting to the point he is at now and bring it on home

 

[Songbird]

Just start writing, even if you think it's jibberish. Type in all of your notes and maybe one of them will spark a lede. Don't walk away, though. Type whatever comes to mind. Something good will pop up.

 

[21]

Talk about it, out loud. Describe the story, what you want to do with it, why it matters. Just tell the story, to the dog or the goldfish, doesn't matter....but it does help to hear yourself say what you want to say, without worrying about beautiful words.

Then write the parts that come easily....just get it down. You'll be rolling in no time.

Although...I do find that when I absolutely cannot write something, there's usually a reason. Either I don't know the story well enough to tell it, or it's just not a very good story.

 

[KnuteRockne]

Also, don't worry about the words. Worry about the ideas you need to get into the story, then polish the word play up later on.

 

[Ace]

Start writing where you can. Write the lede later.

 

[SoSueMe]

I take a break and read.

 

[Songbird]

If you have a boss there, go ...

You: "Hey (insert name here), I have a story but can't find the theme or start writing it."
Boss: "What's it about?"

Then start telling him why you thought it was a good story in the first place. He/she will probably hear a good buzzword or two and say, "There's your lede."

 

[Rosie]

Usually when I suffer the dreaded writer's block, it's because I have too much other stuff on my mind. Since I work at home now, I've learned to do most my writing when everyone is either in bed or gone.

That said, I will get away from the computer for a little while -- take a walk, do the dishes, something mindless. But only for a short time.

Then, do like the rest have mentioned already. Do an outline, write a couple grafs to rearrange later. Transcribe your notes. It will start clicking, it just takes a little time sometimes. Just try not to stress over it, that will usually make it worse.

 

[RokSki]

I just sit down and start typing, and shape it as I go.

If that fails, I go through my research and make sure I'm confident in what I'm working from.

 

[fishwrapper]

For the life of me, I can't get this one article going. Nothing seems to be clicking and my frontal lobe feels like it's going to burst with absolute nothingness. What do all of you ladies & gentlemen do when you're dealing with WB?

Problem could be that you're using your frontal lobe.
Try the temporal lobe. It's where high language functions reside.

 

[Money007]

Just for the record, I have found this to be a very helpful thread. Youngans in the audience will probably agree.

One thing I try to do when I write any story (be it gamer, feature, recipe) is figure out what makes it different from everything else I've written and start with that. It could be a single play, an interesting quote or even the weather - anything to get me started and avoid the typical "The Bumblescrew High School Peanuts beat the Rival High Losers 7-6 last Saturday night."

 

[PhilaYank36]

Dammit, Smithers! This isn't rocket science; it's brain surgery!

I appreciate all the help from everyone and the ball is finally starting to roll down the hill. I had the first three graph written to begin with, but I was having trouble making the transition. The tough part about this particular article was it felt like you needed a crowbar to pry the words out of my subject's mouth. Not a bad guy, but definitely on the shy-side.

 

[RokSki]

Dammit, Smithers! This isn't rocket science; it's brain surgery!

I appreciate all the help from everyone and the ball is finally starting to roll down the hill. I had the first three graph written to begin with, but I was having trouble making the transition. The tough part about this particular article was it felt like you needed a crowbar to pry the words out of my subject's mouth. Not a bad guy, but definitely on the shy-side.

Good luck, man. :)

 

[Clever username]

I like to take a pee. Leads always pop into my head when I'm peeing. I have no idea why.

 

[PhilaYank36]

I like to take a pee. Leads always pop into my head when I'm peeing. I have no idea why.

Well, they say you always do your best thinking while in or on the john.

 

[Ike Broflovski]

An former editor of mine, who is also a brilliant writer, gave me a tip that has always worked. At the top of your blank computer screen, write this:

This story is about:

Then write one short sentence -- not a word or a phrase or two sentences, but one sentence.

What that does is helps you focus in on the what you think the point of the story is. It's easier to get started when you know which direction the story will be headed. Try it. The best part is that you won't have a frustrating blank screen after you write that one sentence.

 

[chazp]

There's no such thing as...well....the phenomenon you describe.

That said, just start typing. Grocery list. Christmas list. Passover menu. Ending of the story. Middle of the story. Transcribe your quotes. Transcribe your notes. Find further rhymes for "notes and quotes". Finish this: "There once was a man from Nantucket..." Retype the first two pages of "Oliver Twist." Just type. Repeat as necessary.

Good luck with your, um, phenomenon.

What he said about transcribing quotes. When you start, you'll begin thinking which ones goes first which would work with the lede, which can be left out, ect.

 

[jfs1000]

For the life of me, I can't get this one article going. Nothing seems to be clicking and my frontal lobe feels like it's going to burst with absolute nothingness. What do all of you ladies & gentlemen do when you're dealing with WB?

Are you sure your material is good enough for a story?

Best advice I ever got: You are never better than your material.

Writers block comes from trying to be better than what you got. Just tell the story. Don't force it.

Why are you writing a story on this person? If he is worthy of a story, then start right there.

Don't try and make the story something its not.

That, and try to find good stories.

Also, if you got tape transcribe the notes (I actually think you should do this whenever you have tape).

Transscribing notes helps collect your thoughts.