Depression and Writer's Block

kiwusek · Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 30

I have a bad case of it and just feel like scrapping the entire novel I began working on it. I am often forced to take prolonged breaks from it and as such the flow becomes mixed. I really have no idea where I am going to go with this. If I even want to continue writing it. Or do I want to separate the world into two worlds scrapping one part and developing the other part...

Any suggestions on what I should do? Anything that you know that can help me to get past this? I am so lost in what I want to do.

Michael · Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 12:11 pm Post subject:

It almost sounds like you don't have a clear plan for the novel, Kiwusek. Do you have an outline?
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kiwusek · Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 30

Well I did. But I just find it to be way to much like every other fantasy story out there it is just that the world is unique.

Michael · Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 1:15 pm Post subject:

Now that's a start, having a unique world. There's going to be difficulty making it different from other works of fantasy. In fact, there really are only so many plots to go around, and we have to try to mix and match them to come up with something even slightly different.

Probably what makes the most difference in a story are the characters and how they're portrayed. What I found really interesting about Donaldson's Thomas Covenant stories was Thomas Covenant. The Land surely wasn't Middle Earth, but in many ways the plot and the devices differed only marginally. Thomas Covenant, on the other hand, was a marvel. He was not a character you could love, and I rarely felt sympathy for him, because he was just so despicable. Anti-heroes are more commonplace now than when Donaldson started the series, but for it's time Covenant stood out.
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kiwusek · Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 30

Thanks for helping! I think what I need is to restart this story. Didn't get far before becoming fed up that it is falling into all the stereotypes...

msheald · Joined: 08 Jul 2007 Posts: 34

Hello! One thing that helps me at times is to write the life story of my characters in a couple of pages. Often, I haven't thought through who they are, and surprising pieces come up when I think about who they are their childhood, family relationships, current relatinships, important life events, internal conflicts, external conflicts, etc.
Going through this processoften jump starts my creative flow. Best regards.

Michael A. Heald

kiwusek · Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 30

Thanks for that tid bit of advice. In response I have moved to do a much shorter novelette to jumpstart a bit of creativity. It is still set in the same universe!

msheald · Joined: 08 Jul 2007 Posts: 34

So, what did you find helped you with your writer's block? Any suggestions for others? Best regards.

Michael A. Heald

kiwusek · Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 30

I put it down wrote a bit of poetry and some other stuff like short stories. Read a few novels; particularly 1984 by George Orwell.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU AT THE TOWER OF LIGHT FANTASY!!

msheald · Joined: 08 Jul 2007 Posts: 34

Good advice, and witha new year upon us, other authors' works should get our creative juices flowing as well.
Happy New Year!

Michael A. Heald