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Writer's Block Help

JuneKane

Planetoid
Joined
Aug 23, 2022
Hey all! I really enjoy writing on this site, but I find myself struggling to be consistent. I'll be on here non-stop for a few weeks, and then I won't have any desire to write for another few months. I really like the stories I have right now and would like to continue them, but I just can't find the interest anymore.

Does anyone have any tips for this writer's block? I want to be a better partner and more consistent!
 
Wondering if you've noticed or spotted any patterns or triggers for your writer's block?
Truthfully, it just seems like time? I have plots that I'm really interested in and excited for, but I just can't get myself to reply. I used to think it was because a response was too long, but it happens with anything from 50 to 450 words.

It's almost like a hyperfixation and when that's over, then it's over.
 
Just to be clear, when you say 'time'
it just seems like time?
You mean the passage of time, not amount of time available to you to write, nor the amount of time spent in composing a reply - is that correct?

So, you get going on a story... for a while you are excited, you post regularly then X more weeks go by and then you've lost interest? Is that about right?
 
So, you get going on a story... for a while you are excited, you post regularly then X more weeks go by - and you've just lost interest?
Closer to this! For example, this time I started writing again in late June, and I was constantly excited about my plots, but now it's late July, and even the plots I started last week are hard for me to reply to. It doesn't feel like I'm losing interest in the plots; it feels like I'm losing interest in writing altogether. Which sucks because this is a good escape for me and it feels like I'm losing that now.
 
So, the professional writers at cons will talk about just sitting down and writing something, anything. And to be honest sometimes that is in fact enough to dislodge me when it comes to writer's block. Sometimes the words won't just flow until I am in the midst of just writing it out. Getting started feels daunting, continuing always feels easier.

The other thing is sometimes you can just get into a post or two that feels like a slog. Maybe the pacing isn't what you want, or like, it just feels like you have too much stuff planned out and writing becomes something of a chore. It's helpful to remember that despite sometimes feeling that 'my writing isn't great', we are our own harshest critics. It's very likely not as bad as you make it out to be in your head.

But beyond that, I guess another suggestion I would have is make sure to have an underlying plot or character that you're excited for developing beyond the steamy bits. Lots of times I've looked at a potential rp and been like "ah yeah, that's a hot idea" but ultimately if there's nothing you're interested in exploring through the writing, then it's going to get harder and harder to motivate yourself to continue once the initial novelty of the scenario wears off.
 
I'll be on here non-stop for a few weeks, and then I won't have any desire to write for another few months.
This is a very common thing in any hobby. There are games I play all day long for a week, then don't bother touching for another year; there are projects I spent all my free time on for a month and then just let sit unfinished for the rest of eternity. It's especially painful in roleplay due to its collaborative nature, but do keep in mind that you're not the only one struggling with this.

That said, the best way I've overcome this is by just doing it, instead of waiting for motivation to magically strike you. Even if you just write a few sentences or make a few notes of what your next response should address, simply pushing yourself to do something could be enough to get your mind back in the groove.

Secondly, talk about this with your partners and be up front about it. Like I said, this isn't uncommon at all, and most writers will be very understanding. Though some people will prefer a more regular pacing, it's good to set expectations from the start -- it'll keep you from feeling guilty when you feel you've lost your inspiration, too.
 
So, the professional writers at cons will talk about just sitting down and writing something, anything. And to be honest sometimes that is in fact enough to dislodge me when it comes to writer's block. Sometimes the words won't just flow until I am in the midst of just writing it out. Getting started feels daunting, continuing always feels easier.
Yes! It's always the starting that feels the most difficult, but you make a really good point!
But beyond that, I guess another suggestion I would have is make sure to have an underlying plot or character that you're excited for developing beyond the steamy bits. Lots of times I've looked at a potential rp and been like "ah yeah, that's a hot idea" but ultimately if there's nothing you're interested in exploring through the writing, then it's going to get harder and harder to motivate yourself to continue once the initial novelty of the scenario wears off.
I think this is also something that I need to look into. All of the stories I have are action-based instead of character-based, and when I get really excited about a character, that's when I do my best. A different approach to how I actually write isn't something I considered, but I think it makes a lot of sense. Thank you!
 
This is a very common thing in any hobby. There are games I play all day long for a week, then don't bother touching for another year; there are projects I spent all my free time on for a month and then just let sit unfinished for the rest of eternity. It's especially painful in roleplay due to its collaborative nature, but do keep in mind that you're not the only one struggling with this.
I think that's the biggest thing: I feel like I'm letting people down if I'm not replying. It's kind of whatever when I lose interest in games because that's just me, but I really like writing and the people I write with! But you're right, it happens to everyone. Thank you for your suggestions!
 
I've developed a few strategies over the past cough cough 15 years of roleplaying. Most of them probably won't apply to most people, maybe a few will.

Before I Start



Play with people who are genuinely interesting to you.

I do quite a lot of tabletop D&D (as DM and player), and one important rule is: It's fun to roleplay with people with whom it's fun to talk.

The same applies to this thing we are doing here, literate sexual roleplay. If a person is not fun to talk to, I won't enjoy playing with them. I'm not saying the person is boring. A person needs to be above average fun to talk to.

For me, it's a "Hell Yes" or it's a no. Interpret mild "yes" as a "no" too.

Number of RPs

The hard truth is that it's hard to keep too many stories in mind. I find that I can keep 6 stories at the same time, and those slots are shared between tabletops, books, and roleplays. If I have a D&D campaign, and a book I'm reading, I have a spot for about 4 roleplays, beyond that, I start to lose interest. Probably because my mind can not keep track of ideas or something. I don't know, I'm not a brain doctor, I'm the naughty kind of doctor.

It can lead to some hard conversations, but I try to be upfront when I hit my mental limit. It's especially tricky right after bumping my RTs. When one gets a wave of interest.



The Process



Discuss Endings

This can be the ending of a full RP, a post, a scene, or even just a short exchange. Show the last two lines of how you would like to end the segment, maybe a punchline, and discuss ideas on how to get there. The discussion can make it exciting to write.

Doesn't really have to be an ending, can be a punchline, or a cool phrase or imagery you want to incorporate.

Workshop Dialogues

Workshop is a dialogue, without descriptions. It can be interesting and extremely helpful to map out the conversation, and have a dialogue ready, to know who says what, but leave the feelings, emotions, descriptions, actions, and thoughts to be described later.

Makes for nicer writing, too, when both of us know what our characters are talking about for the next couple of posts.

Outlines

Work on the outlines. I find it helpful to write an outline, and then have a laugh with writing partners about how we ignored it.

That doesn't mean that outline was shit. The outline was the first (or second, or third) that inspired us to write the better stuff.

Skip Around. Start a Second one

If you enjoy writing with a person, see if they are open to skipping to the next scene. Maybe rebooting it, or starting something else in the "Cinematic Universe", you can come back to the original later or swap between them.



Feels



Delight

We all love to be delighted from time to time.
Do something nice for your partner every now and then — a custom meme, a hand-picked set of GIFs, or a nostalgic screenshot from a past scene.
A delighted (and reciprocating) partner often leads to delightful RPs.
Since my true passion is Excel and data analysis, I love to drop weird diagrams and statistics from time to time. ^_^

The Why

We roleplay because we want to get certain things. Communicate what kind of emotions you'd like to get, and ask what your partner is looking to scratch.

Depending on how long you have known each other, you may want to go for the first principles. Not just scenes or dynamics, but what are the underlying emotions that we are trying to evoke?



Random Advice



Copy Hunter S. Thompson

Copywork is a technique famously used by Hunter S. Thompson (The Rum Diary), where he would copy other writers' work word-for-word before writing anything of his own.

There are some RPs where I would do that before writing. I have one Dune RP where I randomly just copy 2-3 paragraphs of Frank Herbert (as in type them word by word) before starting writing on my own reply, to get into the style of writing. This gets you over the block, too.

Sometimes I would copywork a couple of my partner's paragraphs or my own to get over the hump and finish the cup of coffee or tea.
 
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I find switching mediums for a bit helps me. I'll try handwriting a post in a notebook to see if that unsticks anything. If the block is especially stubborn I'll switch which hand I'm writing with. Legibility doesn't matter, the point is to get words going. Once words are happening I can either transcribe anything I got down that was good (and I can read, if I had to switch hands) or just switch to typing up the post from word 0 again.

If I'm mid-post and get stuck I go back either ~100 words or ten sentences, depending on how deep in I am, and start over there. Nothing I cut when doing that is ever lost; I have a cutting room floor document I save everything on (including other edits beyond minor word/phrasing changes and grammar corrections) I can go over for phrasing that was good but just didn't work where I put it originally, or details/descriptions I took out because they didn't fit into that particular post.

Going back and rereading a couple posts upthread helps, too, both to find the pattern of our characters again and to find any details or continuous threads I can pick back up and lean on. Sometimes I can spot a scenery detail for my character to interact with, or something in dialog for them to realize, and that gives me a bit of writing momentum.

Oh, and I nearly forgot: it's fine to write a clunky start to get words going. I go back and rewrite the first few lines all the time, because my write-brain hadn't fully booted yet but I needed to get something down to get going. You can go back and clean things up, it doesn't have to be gold on the first pass.
 
Oh, and I nearly forgot: it's fine to write a clunky start to get words going.
To add to this, you don't have to start at the start, either. Plenty of times I start by writing the end of my post, or somewhere in the middle if I feel like writing that first. Recently I've noticed that I pause halfway one sentence to write down something that'd suit the next sentence/paragraph, or write down five essentially identical sentences and pick the one that has the right flow. Only when I've cut and pasted all of those individual paragraphs/sentences/words into some Frankenstein of a post, I worry about polishing it into something that's actually nice to read.
 
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