In my defense I have started 3 different short stories for this class. I started one in the summer and decided it was too young-adult-I-hate-my-parents. I started another one soon after that, but couldn't decide where it was going. I mean how many ways can an adult stalking a child story end? The third story I got a full paragraph into before dragging it to my desktop trash can. So that one may not count.
Here's my problem: EVERYTHING IS CLICHE.
I can think up characters and settings, but conflicts...I'm tired of reading about love, divorce, death, drugs, blackmail, stalking, obsessions, stereotypes, life epiphanies, cold feet, abuse of all forms, adultery, running away, etc.
I think I'm just tired of humanity's drama.
This doesn't bode well for the writing of short stories. I can't write something evolved around complete contentedness.
So my objective for today was to take something realistic and make it different...somehow.
And thus, writer's block was formed.
According to Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman, a writer at Suite 101, writer's block is caused by fear--and worrying about it only makes it worse. You can't think your way out of it.
That was my first mistake. I gave myself a migraine trying to think of profound story ideas. I also learned a few other things that should be avoided:
- Don't bring your crazed puppy on the walk around your block. You can't think if you're constantly checking for edible hazards (rocks).
- While it seemingly works for the brooding artists in the movies, drinking and cigarettes don't bring inspiration; they just give your breath a bar smell.
- Staring at the blank document on the screen---daunting, not helpful.
Ten Ways to Cure Writer's Block
I'm totally serious about getting together to brainstorm. I know that most of my ideas are super crazy out-there fantasies, but your more realistic and down-to-earth plots might work together in some sort of a balance. My friend and I used to bounce stories and characters off of each other all the time in high school. Sometimes we'd have the same characters, the same basic plotline, and have such completely different outcomes, but they were fun. That's what I miss about writing. The fun of it. I feel like the older I get, the more life and stress weighs down on me and my imagination is snuffed out.
ReplyDeleteBut more on topic, I liked the suggestions in the article you linked, particularly in translating works from a foreign language. Sometimes seeing unfamiliar words and trying to sound out the beauty of them in our harsher tongue sounds almost romantic, and can instantly inspire. I came up with so many stories during my Latin classes in high school, and that's hearing a language I can understand! Imagine reading something in Russian, or Portugese. I'll have to try that myself.
I think I could use crazy out-there fantasy ideas. Maybe it could aid in my inspiration--which has evidently packed up and left me.
ReplyDeleteWhere's your hobby blog? Don't you have tons of spare time now? ;)