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cutestgirlyhere
Oct '20

So an issue I've been dealing with for a few days now is being stuck with one of my chapters. I have the vague idea for what I want to have happen at the start, I know how the scene is supposed to end, and I literally just have 2 more chapters after this part before I'm done with this arc.

Yet I keep getting stuck, I have no clue how to actually go about writing the full scene, and whenever I get an idea for it it I wind up scrapping it afterwards since it doesn't quite fit as well. Or I can't quite figure out a good way to describe a certain action, or can't figure out who's perspective to switch to, or some other issue.

I just keep drawing a blank, or if I get an idea it doesn't fit with how I want the scene to go, and I've just been writing 2 or 3 paragraphs and scrapping it repeatedly without any real progress. I have ideas for how to handle later chapters, and I'm excited to try and get to those parts, and I've been able to write for other things just fine outside of this story, it's just this one part I can't seem to get past.

So I was wondering, how do all of you usually handle it when you get stuck while writing? Do you have any sort of advice for how to handle this sort of hurdle, or anything like that.

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    Oct '20

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    Oct '20
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DWaM22
Oct '20

I listen to a song, get a completely different idea of how the story should go after getting caught up on a certain lyric, throw all my previous plans in the garbage, and then spend the next few days struggling over the fact this new idea is also kind of a pain in the ass to write. Rinse and repeat until one comes along that I feel pumped to sit down and write immediately. (Or just force myself to pick and stick with one. Story's gotta get done, after all.)

0 out of 128 people found this advice helpful

domisotto
Oct '20

My usual fall back is the dialogue. It is usually the easiest thing for me to write, so I push through without much of anything else, until the hard sequence is finished. Then I go back and add everything else, explanations, backdrops, body movements.

If I am not sure about how to connect the plot dots, I look at my outline file, and start tweaking it, seeing if I can do something that links forward or backwards.

joannekwan(ง ˙o˙)ว here to help~
Oct '20

Sometimes it helps to reread what you've written for the chapters leading up the one you're stuck on.
See whose perspectives you use in your previous chapters. See how you described actions then. If the previous installments were fast paced, perhaps it would be good to slow it down or vice versa.

alharingrey
Oct '20

It sounds to me like you're more invested in the next part of your work. You want to write the next bit, so you're struggling to write this bit. Add that into the difficulty of writing a conclusion for anything (even an arc within an overall story) and it is easy to get stuck in a pit.

My advice is...go write the bit you are excited to write. Make some notes for this current part that you're at, then go write the next part. As I'm sure you know, you don't need to write your tale in chronological order. You just need to publish it that way! You may find that once you've gotten "in the zone" and written the part you're excited about, your characters will form "memories" of what happened before, which will help you write the part prior.

I hope this helps! Best of luck!

WOSTR
Oct '20

I've been cleaning up previous chapters that have yet to be uploaded, it often gives me ideas, such as where to slot things in, expand, or a reminder of a small detail I may have forgot.
So often I'm more invested in a chapter way ahead but I've got to finish what I started, so sometimes, just leaving the current on in draft or scheduled for a month ahead gives insensitive to finish it, yet time to start the fresher idea.

cutestgirlyhere
Oct '20

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm gonna try and write the later parts and come back to this part in a bit. I think I might try and slow the pace a bit more, or add in more dialogue, since it's a very action heavy chapter and the lack of dialogue might be part of what's messing me up.

CosmicLeon
Oct '20

what I do is have a friend read it and give me ideas. OR I ask them questions about what they think will happen, to try and figure out their thought process, and then reevaluate. (you can find a writing group if it helps) Sometimes if I know how I want something to go, but know know how to get their, I write the thing i'm thinking about (the end goal) This makes it a little easier later, and you can copy the text into your story once you figure out how you are going to get there.

R.n.P
Oct '20

I would say avoid getting stuck all together, write a summary listing each part of the chapter, write down how many pages you think it would take for each part before you start drawing anything and revise them for like a day or two, i just recently started n now i can finish my sketches a week earlier than before so i can start inking early n paneling, all cuz no i no longer get stcuk from time to time wondering where to go next

Sadistic_Senpai
Oct '20

I just write it down even if I'm unsatisfied with it. But don't post it. The next day, or after a few days, when I'm motivated, I reread whatever I've written and end up changing the whole thing, parts of it, or adding new things until I'm okay or satisfied with it. If I still feel it shouldn't be like this. I just repeat the process and leave it, waiting.

I'm not sure if every writer does it this way, but when I write a scene or story, I have to completely visualize the whole thing happening in my head, with dialogues and all, like watching a movie in your head with narration. Something like that. :sweat_smile:

Raven554
Oct '20

I find changing the page colour to a minty green and having the font in comic sans actuallys really helps me with writing and I've found Im getting less stuck with writers block etc since doing this!
Another thing I do is to start writing a different part of the story, the next chapter perhaps. Something you plan on getting to later on and then you can say "okay, now how will we get to this point" and then you know exactly where you want to be and can work forward from there. If you end up changing what you've written once you get there then thats fine.

ButterflyEmpress
Oct '20

I always thought of writing a story as completing a maze. When you hit a dead end sometimes you need to go back and take another path. I'll write myself into a roadblock and get passed it by looking back at the events that lead to it and making some changes. If I still can't figure out what to change, I'll go back to it at a later time with fresh eyes.

kmlangleyauthor
Oct '20

I’m struggling with the same thing right now. I have a really weird part of a chapter that I know exactly what I want and need out of it... but I can’t figure out how to write it. (And this is firmly in the middle of what I have already written, so this is weird because I hadn’t realized how strangely cutoff the scene read until I went to edit it a few weeks ago).

Your dry humor is hilarious and you can officially change it to “1 out of 128” :joy: I actually might need to try this because I’m just so blocked on this weird little section (and it’s supposed to go up next week - yay :rolling_eyes:)

Jenny-Toons
Oct '20

It helps to draw out the scenes and the visuals you see in your head. The drawings don't have to be good. This is what I call "concept hours"

I do this a lot when I'm scripting a comic or just writing a story: a draw out quick scenes. Nothing fancy (hell, it might even be stick-figure level drawings). I draw character gestures, dialogue I see stuck in my head, and then I piece it together for the chapter (be it writing or just script).

My end goal is always --- "how can I use what I see to convey those same feelings to my audience?" Once I got the barebones of scenes and characters, I can kinda find ways to connect this chapter to the previous and then the next.