I’ve really been enjoying writing on my current project, but ever since yesterday, I’ve hit a wall. I’ve got the basic plot figured out and it’s not like I’ve run out of ideas, I’m just sorta stuck on how to move to the next beat. Are there any general tips y’all have for that sort of thing? Would love to hear what you have to say!
Switch gears. A change is as good as a rest, sometimes. Try adding a chapter to another story, or doing a review.
So here are a few tricks I have when I hit a writing wall 1. Definitely switch genres/gears as suggested above! From a practical point of view perhaps find a public story and add a chapter, even if it is a set up or linking chapter than can help revitalise a stale branch. Treat it as an exercise rather than get too worried about it. 2. This might sound a bit crazy, but sometimes I will literally talk to myself. Specifically, I will do the dialogue of the characters in the safety of my own home almost like improv and not worry too much about the description of the surroundings and then write down the dialogue. In a sense its not changing genres so much as changing medium from writing to improv. 3. Also with erotica I will sometimes just jump to the sexy bits I know I want to write. Often that inspires me to write my chapters backward to find the link to where I am stuck. E.g Chapter A B and C are done. I know roughly I want to get to H which is a massive orgy or whatever but I am stuck on D. I will just write H. Often this will allow me to write G and then F etc. Once I have the through line from A to H then going back and editing and amending is much easier than writing from scratch. 4. Also consider whether the transition chapters are strictly necessary. e.g you want the character to travel from LA to New York and for it to be a terrible journey with a delay and to have an argument with his girlfriend about something stupid and they don't speak for the trip. You're stuck writing the Chapter. Except we've all had this kind of trip, or at least have seen it on TV or whatever, so perhaps consider whether literally a one or two line sentence is actually all that is necessary. In other words what is the extra detail adding and can you get the reader's imagination to do the heavy lifting? That said you can only do this a bit and the more the readers know the characters and the context the easier it is. (This is something I am trying to get better at myself). 5. Similar to above I write down what the Chapter is trying to achieve. As in, how is this building the world? how is this advancing the plot, how is this developing a character? (+ for CHOYA what sex scene am I adding!). Don't force any answers. If you are coming back blank then the answer to why you are hitting the wall might be that the Chapter is just a stepping stone or an "establishing shot" (to use a cinema term) and might only need to be a paragraph or even less. 6. Sometimes I get hung up on a previous Chapter not getting the likes I think it "deserves" (kind of daft really considering it's written porn lol) or some other non-creative ego reason and that makes me doubt myself and where the story is going. So maybe there's a mental pressure thing happening. 7. Finally you might literally just need a break for a day or two. Watch a movie or whatever!
Thank you so much! That was some of the most helpful and concise advice I’ve ever gotten! I’ll be sure to try it all out.
When this happens to me, it's almost always a sign I'm taking the story in the wrong direction. It usually starts with "OK, I just have to write this boring bit and then we'll get back to good stuff". Wrong! There shouldn't be any boring bits! So my suggestion would be to take another look at your plot outline and see if you can't find a more enjoyable route to get where you want to go.
Force yourself to write. Sounds brutal and counter productive, I know. But the worst enemy with dealing with a writers block is procrastination. Motivation, and inspiration comes by a large majority by doing stuff. And yes, what you will put down via such a forced writing session will most likely be garbage. That's fine. My first draft of pretty much anything is complete trash. But it works as a foundation upon which I can build. Either by improving or serving as an example as what won't work. On the subjects of breaks. Yes, of course you should take breaks. But make sure they are controlled breaks. What I mean with that is that you don't try to write, get stuck and decide to check Youtube for a bit instead. Set yourself a clear break time. This can even be a whole day! But make sure it's controlled.
I've lost count of how many great plots, wonderful characters and brilliant ideas I've had that I was sure would be my best work yet. Only to then hit a brick wall early in the process. I'd estimate that 80% of the ideas I try to develop don't make it past the first chapter or two and don't get published. However, it doesn't mean the idea was worthless and can't be used in some way. Most of the stories I have written on Chyoa are kind of Frankenstein's monster made up from the best bits of the projects that never got off the ground. Occasionally I know I've hit a wall with a project that has merit and persevere with it, leaving it for a while before coming back to carry it on. But for the most part, once I hit that brick wall I'll leave it in the pile of spare parts I'll scavenge for future works. It's not easy though, when you've put so much of yourself into what feels like a great idea, to then let it go, it feels like defeat. But I don't consider it defeat, just another step on the path to the next story. I'm not suggesting that you need to abandon your story, but perhaps step away for a bit and work on something else or see if there is anything in the pile of half worked ideas from other projects that could be added to bring the right path.
