So.

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

I need some help. I have completely and utterly hit a literary brick wall.

Work shifts have been a bit more sensible over the last week or so, ranging from 7am and 8am starts to 5pm and 6pm finishes, but with my daughter being ill and the ludicrious deadlines at work looming over me like some thundercloud of pure fuck, I can't concentrate on anything. I even ran a red light before and I am a careful guy usually on the road.

I have literally sat down on five seperate occasions tonight to post for Storm in the Gisela and nothing is coming out that I don't absolutely despise to my very core. I am churning out utter shit, and honestly its quite demoralizing because I know I am better than that. So, I tried a warm up post in Children of the Sun. Fifteen minutes later I'm staring hopelessly at a blank word document.

Does anyone, ANYONE at all, have any suggestions? Any techniques for clearing the mind (like emigrating to another country or becoming invisible?)

[Storm Veritas]

🥃

[Amari]

To rest and stop being so hard on yourself. Write for the enjoyment of writing not for some ridiculous high standard you set yourself. Just enjoy it.

[Yvonne]

There are multiple methods that you can try to utilize to clear your mind. It's important to realize that no matter how chaotic your life may be that you are in control of your mind and what you are thinking at any given time.

Distraction is a powerful tool if you can harness it for yourself, instead of feeling like you're at the mercy of distractions. When you realize you're thinking about something you don't want to think about, either look for something else to focus on, or deliberately focus on something you do and keep thinking about that.

Suppression is more useful for erasing your mind of memories and traumatic experiences that you wished never happened. Don't like a thought? Disregard it. It's like dragging and dropping a file into your computer's recycle bin. You don't need to think about it. Forget it. Do this enough times without thinking about something and you will forget about it.

Substitution can be particularly useful for putting yourself in the frame of mind to write. By replacing your thoughts and allowing your imagination some time to take over, you can swap what you're experiencing for something else. Close your eyes and imagine yourself as your character, in another time and place, doing entirely different things. Just be careful not to bump into walls or pointy objects...

Meditation is, in my opinion, the most effective practice for the long run. It requires taking seriously, but given a chance, will have some rather radical benefits on your brain. Look into it, gain an understanding of how to properly meditate, and do it. Doesn't take long. 5 minutes each day. Be consistant with it and you'll see. Meditation is buddhist monk magic for clearing your mind of unwanted thoughts.

[Philomel]

One method is to have a chat with me, come up to Glasgow go hang out :D that'll work right?

All that Yvonne said is excellent advice in terms of mindfulness and being kind to yourself. Relax, try to get things off your mind, do things a little differently. If you need to take days off, then do that.

[Lye]

Beer.

[Breaker]

My methods for dealing with writer's block typically fall into two categories; work through it, or work around it. The first method involves staying focused on your main goal. If you have a deadline that you need to meet for a specific piece, then get it done. Accept that your "best work" is equivalent to the best work you can do right now, and just write it. Not everything is always going to feel like it's your best, and sometimes other people will love the stuff that you consider sub-par.

If you're not on a deadline or the above method just won't work for you, you can also work through it by doing some planning. I personally find that even when I can't summon the will to write, I can usually work on the plot outline. Doing so may inspire you to write, but at the very least it will give you ideas to work with when you do find the energy to write. If that doesn't work for you, try writing or plotting a different story, or even just doing some brainstorming for general ideas. To me writer's block usually amounts to a lack of inspiration, so basically you want to find a way to get inspired about the piece you're working on.

If none of the above seems to help, that's when I turn to working around the problem. This generally involves doing things other than writing in order to refresh your mind. Put some time into playing piano (for me it's guitar), for example, or just go for a walk and let your mind wander. When I'm really struggling with writer's block I will usually go for a walk, and while I'm walking I'll decide on a project to work on. When I get home from my walk I sit down in front of the computer and force myself to write SOMETHING. Even if it's 500 words of crap in a silly story I don't care about, getting words out is a step towards getting GOOD words out, so I'll take it.

Overall it does sound like you're being really hard on yourself. One thing you might try is writing a thread (perhaps a quick solo) in which you just focus on getting the words out, not on how good they are. You could then have it judged or submit it to the workshop, and you'll probably be surprised by how positive the feedback will be despite the fact it's "not your best". As a professional writer I almost never have the luxury of making sure my writing is my "best" because there's always another project to move on to. You're a good writer, so anything you write will probably at least be decent by virtue of the fact that you wrote it. Lean into that and focus on getting something done rather than worrying about the quality. You may be surprised by the results.

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

Thanks guys. Going to try a few of these suggestions and see if I can come up with something.

[Cydnar Yrene]

Stop trying to write the next Patrick Rothus novel and write something, anything!

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

Fair play, Cyd.

To try and shake off some of the rust, I opted for a style change. I seldom write in the first person, but I am attempting it in Count to Zero (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?1151-Count-to-Zero), so we'll see what that brings.

Feels a bit odd but in the long run I think it will probably pay dividends.

WE. SHALL. SEE.

[FennWenn]

Good luck with shaking off the rust!

As one would expect from meee, I recommend sleep and blankets. Lots of blankets.

[Cydnar Yrene]

Second to that is accepting that this happens, with any passion, it ebbs and flows and can't be perfect all the time. If you need a break, take it. But persevere a little more first, you man hun o' spunk you!