Having a writer's blocks of sorts

[Sageash]

I don't know why but I am suddenly self-doubting a lot. Earlier I used to write in flow and didn't care much but now I overthink stuff like if I am putting the character's personality properly, am I doing the pacing right, and all sorts of things it is eating my brainnnn.

Any ideas on how to deal with it?

 

[Deleted member 54065]

For this, it's not really a writer's block, but rather, self-doubt in your work.

For me, I deal with this by having a trusted beta-reader. I got my brother (who's a journalism graduate and a writer himself) and another friend to give me their opinions on my manuscripts.

Look for someone like that among your friends, both online and offline. You can also look for some beta-readers in some sites; though, most would require you to pay for them. But you can still be lucky and find ones who offer their services for free.

 

[Gryphon]

Oh I used to have this one bad. Believe it or not, positive reinforcement from close ones can make this worse because you'll probably just think they're being nice to you cause they know you or don't want to hurt your feelings. At least that's how it was when I went through all that.

Believe it or not, writing publicly can help with this. Not only is it easier for people to point out genuine flaws, but if your work is good, than getting the compliments from seemingly random strangers can help with your self-doubt. Just write what you want to, and if people find any flaws, then you'll know what to work on in the future. My main motto is you can never get better if you don't fail first, and doing it where everyone can read early cringe, though embarrassing in the moment, can help in the future.

 

[LilRora]

I personally just said to myself: fuck that, I'm writing good, I'm not going to belittle myself, and continued writing. As crude and unhelpful as it sounds, it really helped me.

I have five or so scenes in my story that in hindsight I think I could have done better, but I don't bother with it too much. I wrote them as I did, and I'm not going to change it, because I would be killing the first experience they were (no idea how to explain it better).

I think that doubting yourself is a sign that you're becoming self-conscious of the quality of your story and trying to improve it. My advice is: don't care too much. Don't overthink what bad things you can see in your story, but focus on writing it like you want it to be. If you notice you could have done it better, think what was the mistake, and don't make it next time, not scrap the scene and write it again. You'll just make another mistake if you try to fix it.

In my case, the worst case of self-doubt I had was when I was writing a turning point in my story that bordered on tragedy. I was putting it off for a really long while, trying to get inspiration or something and well aware it was an excuse, but I finally pushed myself to just write it, not make it good or show something. Afterwards I noticed it was pretty short and it would probably be better if I made it longer with more details. So I said to myself: nah, it's good, it shows how quick the events were from the mc's perspective. And I went on.

TLDR: Don't give a shit. Write, and improve along the way. Don't put it off, because that's an excuse (whatever it is this time).

 

[Sageash]

I personally just said to myself: fuck that, I'm writing good, I'm not going to belittle myself, and continued writing. As crude and unhelpful as it sounds, it really helped me.

I have five or so scenes in my story that in hindsight I think I could have done better, but I don't bother with it too much. I wrote them as I did, and I'm not going to change it, because I would be killing the first experience they were (no idea how to explain it better).

I think that doubting yourself is a sign that you're becoming self-conscious of the quality of your story and trying to improve it. My advice is: don't care too much. Don't overthink what bad things you can see in your story, but focus on writing it like you want it to be. If you notice you could have done it better, think what was the mistake, and don't make it next time, not scrap the scene and write it again. You'll just make another mistake if you try to fix it.

In my case, the worst case of self-doubt I had was when I was writing a turning point in my story that bordered on tragedy. I was putting it off for a really long while, trying to get inspiration or something and well aware it was an excuse, but I finally pushed myself to just write it, not make it good or show something. Afterwards I noticed it was pretty short and it would probably be better if I made it longer with more details. So I said to myself: nah, it's good, it shows how quick the events were from the mc's perspective. And I went on.

TLDR: Don't give a shit. Write, and improve along the way. Don't put it off, because that's an excuse (whatever it is this time).

I tried this but I always am like


Am I putting the personality of the characters distinct enough? are they sounding different from each other?

Is the pacing right?

 

[YuukeiRorogan]

I tried this but I always am like


Am I putting the personality of the characters distinct enough? are they sounding different from each other?

Is the pacing right?

I'm just a beginner at righting but, I have a simple suggestion. How about you write your characters on a note first? Not like I'm doing it.

Example, like

Character1: He acts like this bla bla bla, so there's no way he will do something terrible or something
Character2: Personality is bad so he talks and plans like a terrible person bla bla
Character3: Talks like this bla bla and is a demon lord something something bla bla

Or simply just try to interact with real people and used them as an inspiration. Don't worry too much, as authors, our characters tend to act like us.

 

[LilRora]

Am I putting the personality of the characters distinct enough? are they sounding different from each other?

Is the pacing right?

Well that's one thing I noticed I didn't do properly. I'm still asking myself that, and more often that you'd think I arrive at the answer 'no, they are not'. I don't think I'll ever be free of those questions, but I just learned not pay much attention to whatever my brain throws at me. I'm afraid that's not something I can teach tho.

As for the character's personality, I'd say that keeping it distinct is not necessary. It is real good if you manage that of course, but if you keep it consistent and reasonable, it's more than enough for a good story. To make them sound different from each other, my advice is to find the reasons for their emotions, not their actions. If you ask yourself 'why is this guy so livid?' you'll be able to paint a much clearer image of his personality than by asking 'why is he trying to get his ass kicked by the mc?'.

For pacing, I just go with my own emotions about the story (which is not the best idea, arguably, but it works for me). When I don't have much exciting ideas, I make it slow and slice-of-lifey, when I'm excited to write I make detailed, fast-paced action scenes. I generally try to match the pacing to the the mc, though that works mostly because I'm writing in first person.

But generally I just learn from my mistakes. Keep writing and improve. Around two weeks ago i started writing a new book and imagine my surprise when I had one thing planned, but when I was wtiting I had a sudden idea as to what one character would do, and then I was looking at it with my mind blown and wondering which eldritch god just gave me such absolutely incredible inspiration. I was just sitting there for a long while and staring at this text, thinking to myself 'damn, I did it so fucking good.' I think that just comes and goes as you write.

And you know what? Now two weeks after that I'm wondering if it really was this good. I'm thinking that this was pretty out of character and might scare a lot of readers away. Guess what I'll do? Nothing. I'm leaving it as is and I'll be happy. Clear enough?

I'm just a beginner at righting but, I have a simple suggestion. How about you write your characters on a note first? Not like I'm doing it.

Oh, that as well. I'm not doing it myself much, but it's good to describe the characters for yourself so you'll have a reference when writing. Helps with consistency.

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

Well, there are two kinds of writer's block. There's writer's block, and then there's burnout. If it's writer's block, then you can fix it by tackling something new. If it's burnout, then you need to take some time off and rest.

 

[RavenRunes]

I get that. Sudden cold sweat in middle of night when I wake up thinking shit, did I overkill that one, was there too much telling and not enough showing? Maybe my work is just shit?
What if it is, though? At the end of the day I'm telling the story I have a passion for. I imagine there's a lot wrong with it but until I finish it, I won't know, and I can deal with it then.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Write. No matter how bad, write it.
BURY IT. Come back a week later.
Re-read it and rewrite it.

You will find, no matter how bad the idea, if you write it out, even if you write badly, you will have an idea. You can put the idea in storage to use later for another project, or you can rewrite it. Bad ideas rewritten often become quite usable.

It's amazing what giving yourself a week then coming back and re-reading and re-writing can do.

 

[WinterTimeCrime]

I agree with the above post's thinking. Just keep writing as you have the drive if you're contemplating whether your characters' personalities are right or not.

Also, I don't know if you do this, but you could make a character sheet so you can look back to see if their tone matches the things they say. For my character sketches, usually include things like a picture, their age, three adjectives to describe them, their likes/dislikes, etc. so if I have any doubts I can go back and see if I need to change their dialogue or inner thinking.

Hope this helps!

 

[larareispoetry]

I don't know why but I am suddenly self-doubting a lot. Earlier I used to write in flow and didn't care much but now I overthink stuff like if I am putting the character's personality properly, am I doing the pacing right, and all sorts of things it is eating my brainnnn.

Any ideas on how to deal with it?

Having a story board helps. Organizing the timeline, characters feature, and quotes that are perfect for later. It doesn't need to be pretty. It just needs to be in a way so you can't be lost and have a solid structure of your ideas. Than you just follow with a bit of this and that.

Cannot attach fotos... :(