School’s been out for a week.
That’s a good thing
The bad thing is I haven’t been able to write anything in the past week. It’s like my brain has been turned off.
I find that I will have times of complete creativity. All I can do is write, write write.
And I find I have times when I can’t even think of something I might even remotely write about one day.
This seems to go in cycles.
Doe anybody else have similiar experiences? Does anybody have an suggestions?
It’s driving me crazy. I just need one lil, teenie, itsy bitsy weeny idea.
Nothing helps creativity more than caffeine. At least, that’s what I’ve found. That and bus rides seem to help too. Or just sit there and stare at something for a while, and just let it come to you of it’s own volition. The worst thing you can do is to try to think of something. Oh yeah, reading also helps.
I’m an aspiring novelist and I was having the same problem trying to get my novel to gel. Months woud go by and nothing new written.
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Do you know what you want to write? If you don’t have something in mind when you sit down to write, don’t expect things to flow out of you. Brainstorm, write down all kinds of ideas then pick which ones you think have the most potential.
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Work on more than one idea at a time. If you gert stuck on one, write on the other and let your subconscious work on the problem.
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Not every idea is a gem. If you get continually stuck on one idea, maybe it’s cuz you having nothing else to say about it. Move on.
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Have the entire thing planned out in your head. If you get stuck on one area, write down whatever gets you past the problem spot and write the next thing. Go back and fix it after you’ve had time to think about it. Don’t fixate on one scene or line, move on, come back for it later!
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Always write. If you can’t think of anything specific, just play with words. Play a game of the minister’s cat with yourself, Write a sentence under 10 words, then write one using as many words as you can, but is still grammatically correct. Free flow, write whatever words pop into your head, whether they make sense or not. The subconscious comes up with some great shit if you let it.
I almost forgot
- Set aside time to write everyday if possible, around the same time of day. Make a habit of it and it will eventually become easier to sit down and write, since that is what your mind and body is used to doing.
Wait until after midnight - the peace really condenses thought.
Don’t force it - some people write best if they just let it happen, some just produce constantly and we must try not to hate them too much 
Trust that it will come when it’s ready, and don’t stress too much! Things that are meant to happen generally will given enough time.
Oh, not really a good tip to pass on, but chainsmoking really seems to help me
croak
Sorry, but I have to disagree with a couple of amijane’s statements.
While she may work better at night, not everyone does, some people are by nature day people and will do better work during the day. Work when you feel is the best times for you to work.
No, don’t force it, but if you aren’t writing what you want to, don’t quit and come back to it later. Write anything to get past the trouble spot and come back to it. If you find you’re 100% completely stuck, write something else entirely. A silly poem, pick some words out of the dictionary and write them into sentences, but you do need to write something every day, and around the same time each day if possible, even if it’s just coming here and writing something mudane and pointless, but make sure you write.
Bratman, those are some really good suggestions. Most of them are the polar opposite of how I function, but I think I will try them anyway.
Here’s an example of how I write. Picture this, Creative Writing class
8:10-Class write a poem about nature (Or any writing assignment, poem, story, whatever)
8:15-start writing words. Have no idea where they are going, have no idea what I’m thinking.
8:45-finish final draft of poem I just wrote. Read over it, be disgusted that I created such drivel
Turn it in
Get it back the next day with an A+ on the paper, and a request for various copies.
Read it a few days later, and be surprised that it’s a fairly ok poem (or whatever).
That method is no longer working for me. So I will begin to follow your points Bratman, maybe I will be more productive that way
Write badly. Have your characters do routine and mundane things. Use stilted and terrible dialog. Rhyme June and moon. Forget about adding color or personality to your writing. Simply put down words like a drone with a dictionary.
Finally you will look at the paper (or screen) yell “This sucks!” and go into a frenzy of editing, revising, revamping, rewriting and finally, creating. The block will be broken.
I do most of my writing in the very early morning/late night (think: 2-5 am). I do that just because there are no distractions.
A friend of mine used to get writer’s block occasionally and wrote about: writer’s block. She wrote poems about it. They were friggin’ hilarious.
The only advice beyond that I have it that if you’re not getting anything done on a particular topic, move d hell on. Er, perhaps you should try something else. Or imagine something and write down every single livid thing about it. And every single living thing.
I’d tell you what I write about, but recently all I’ve been writing (aside from a psyc paper) is these damned posts. And we have all read at least three of them.
I’m a screenwriter, and I’ll second what Bratman and Kunilou said. Especially the bit about writing every day, regardless of what it is. Don’t force yourself to write the thing you’re stuck on; write something else. Describe the lunch you had yesterday. Look out the window, pick something at random, and write about that. Often, that creative act will remove the block on the other topic, and you’ll start getting ideas. If you really have absolutely no idea what to write about, write “I would like to write” over and over and over. Eventually your creative mind will rebel at the repetition, and something will bubble up that you didn’t know was there.
In addition – and this goes to what Kunilou said – until you have something on paper, you have nothing to revise. There’s a moderately well-known story about a famous ballet choreographer (which means it’s probably apocryphal, but oh well) who was to work with a troupe at coming up with a performance. He had no ideas, though. At the beginning of rehearsal, he just sat there silently, and the dancers waited for inspiration to strike him. After a few minutes, he burst out with a shout, “Do something! Anything!” All the dancers looked at him in surprise: “Anything?” “Yes,” he said, “that way we’ll have something to change.”
My first screenplay took over a year to write. I got better discipline and habits, including the above, and the second was done in six months. My third went even faster. It really does make a difference.
These are some excellent suggestions. The majority of these pointers I never thought of before. Especially kunilou. Rhyme june and moon? LOL. Good idea 
Thank you, thank you everybody. If this stuff cracks the wall, you’ll be the first to get the finished product. (If you want it of course) 