20 February 2011

Writer's Block:
The Next Part Isn't That Interesting to Me

Writer's block is one problem with an assortment of causes. If you have stopped writing, it could be one of several things.

Lack of Interest Can Create Writers Block
A writer can stop because he or she is not that interested in writing the next part of the story. In this scenario, you know what you need to write. You know the topic or action that has to be covered, you just aren't that interested in writing it down.

This should set off red flags. If you think it's boring, it won't stand much of a chance for your reader either.

It's time to brainstorm. You have written continuously up to this point (hopefully) so you must have an interest in the subject overall. Something has gone wrong.

Fight Writers Block by Remembering Your Inspiration
Pull out your outline and look at several of the items that follow. At least some of the following points will catch your interest. The outline should remind you why you are writing the piece in the first place. You can do one of two things to pull out of this writer's block.

The first solution is to skip ahead. You might not need the boring part of the story anyway. If it is essential, shorten it to its details. If you can, put it into dialogue. Your characters might be able to paraphrase it for you.

Overcoming Writers Block Can Take Work
The second handling is a little more work. You will need to brainstorm a new path for your story. This does not mean you change the ending or any of the following parts. Invent a new way to arrive at the next interesting part of the story. Add something clever for your characters to do during this less dynamic section. Find something to include that makes it more exciting or makes it move along to the next part easily. When I take on this challenge, I play a game of making the new part even more exciting than the others. It raises my interest in the story to a point that I cannot wait to start writing again.

Writers Block Overview
Overview: If the section you are writing is not that interesting to you, skip ahead or brainstorm a more interesting storyline for that section of your work.

That is all for now. Writer's block has many causes, only one of which is covered here. Come back again to read the others in this series.

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