Episode 28 - Workshops, Writer's Block, and You!

[Enigmatic Immortal]

In the next installment of the ALthanas Community Radio, we try to get official and help promote what's going on around the site and discuss how to handle writer's block, identify symptoms, and avoid it! We also answer some great questions, and invite Kyle AKA Taskmienster to the show!

So here you go!

Althanas Community Radio Episode 28 - Workshops, Writer's Block, and You! (http://althanas.com/world/podcasts/Workshops,%20Writer's%20Block,%20and%20you.mp3)

[Hysteria]

Good Episode guys, great hearing three olbies talk about times past without just talking about character and RPers I didn't know :p

I've similar to Task, in order to get rid of writers block looking at devientart, or just writing through it helps. Sometimes that includes writing a post of crap, going and watching some show with fights or battles or something, and that gets my creative juices flowing. I also use music, so I listen to a song when I write, and then turn it off and do a proof read in silence with myself reading aloud. I've only started that after battling Karuka, and i've found it really useful.

I'd strong suggest the 'just write whatever' method. I've heard that from a lot of creative people that often it is about just spitting out dozens and dozens of ideas, then go back and clean out the crap and focus and grow one or two good ones.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

I second using music as a way to break writer's block.

I tend to put a couple albums on shuffle or turn on an internet radio station, making sure the music is going to fit the characters and tone of the scene I'm going to be writing.

[grim137]

EI brought up a good point about having too many ideas. Some time when you have a bunch swirling around in your head it can make you feel overwhelmed, disorganized and unfocused. That or it can cause people to overextend themselves in terms of how many things they have going on at once at burn out. You almost have to force yourself to take a step back and say "ok, I'm going to finish X, Y and Z up first before I start A, B, and C".

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Those are all great tips for beating the great evil of writing. I think you expanded on my idea perfectly Grim. Once you get going it's good to state what projects you will focus on and what projects can wait. Also as with Andy saying last week, the best thing you can do for yourself is to submit threads opened that have been sitting too long. 6 months no hide nor hair of the other writer, it's ok to submit.