All Comments on 'Cure for Writer's Block'

Entertaining as well as informative. I just mowed the lawn, we'll see if it helped. HE HE (~_*)

Even though I read it on a whim, and even though it turned out my mind was just "percolating," instead of "echoing with the void," I read this entire article.

The author is compelling even while being slightly pedantic. I was impressed at how true the beginning was: so many people immediately think the worst (a sort of light hypochondria), and don't consider other factors.

I'm glad I read this.

I figured im to lazy to write so i just dictate and my buddy typed. its still helped though.

Thank you so much!

Although I haven't used these excersizes recently (my issues with writing are depression/stress/etc based), I recognize a lot of things I used to do when I was younger. I didn't have any problems writing back then; I did a lot of the excersizes mentioned because of the advice one of my teachers (French, not English, go figure) had given me. He had me writing a dream journal, going to coffee shops and parks to observe people, writing outside instead of indoors, clusters, and freewriting. It seemed like I could write every day back then.

I will be using this article in the future to try some of the newer exercizes that I didn't know, as well as to remind myself of the older ones. Again, thank you.

~~Sinamynlee

Wow, I am really impressed - the first part alone (before you get into the itemized exercises) was extremely helpful, but the exercises are just killer! I'm so glad to know that I'm not the only one who sometimes feels like writing is a chore - but when I keep at it, it gets easier, and I think all of them are worth trying even if I'm not blocked, because they will make me a better writer. Thank you so much for your truly fabulous essay.

I was quite impressed with this "How To". I'm not sufferring from writer's block, but you gave me some good ideas to keep things flowing.

I'm bloody well cured.

I've been suffering madly with the Bloc for a week now.

But I did several of these things, and got better. I sat in an airport once and observed people, and ended up making some of the strangers into characters and making up something about their journey and so on.

It's been excellent!

Thank you for such an informative posting. My husband is going through a bout of writer's block with writing his first novel, and I have somehow convinced myself that I can't write (I sketch and paint; I also love to read but get impatient with writing). The exercises you listed would be great for both of us, in different ways. I'd love to write erotica for this site, but I get hung up on my lack of experience writing. I'll try the exercises to see if it helps my beginner's writing block. I'll refer my husband to this also to see if helps him!

Thanks not just for the sheer volume of tips but how easily readable you made them all, very informative. My problem seems to be a short attention span unfortunately. All my stories here so far have been written in the space of an hour, minus the poem. I've been planning and beginning novels, getting a few chapters in and then running out of steam, deliberation, purpose or interest. I'll follow your advice and see how it goes ;)

Thank you so much for posting this! Not what I would have expected in Literotica but just great. In a way, I've had writer's block for 20 years! You are so generous to share your knowledge and ideas with others! As soon as I have time (in about a month when I complete graduate school), I will try some of your suggestions and see what happens. Nothing gave me greater pleasur than creative writing as an undergrad... I wonder if I can have that experience again of being in the flow?

I'm a very creative person most of the time, even with words, but the problem comes when start trying to write the damned little beasties down. They won't stay put in my head much of the time, but I've discovered that when I CAN get something down, it's usually INCREDIBLY detailed; almost like a photograph, if I get it right. That, along with what you wrote, made me realize that I'm a "write-and-recharge" type of person. While I was going to community college classes recently, I'd bring my notebook on the bus and the subway -- almost invariably, I'd write something each day. Why? I suspect it's because my brain had little else to do, so it could just think, with no distractions to speak of.

I think this article is great, thanks for sharing.

You could republish this article with a few modifications and talk about idea generation too. I think they go hand in hand, and you've captured the essence, distilled it down, and shared. Thank you. Five stars.

I'll certainly keep this in mind. Thanks!

I'm fairly new to writing and I haven't had writers block as yet, but this looks really helpful. Thank you!

...or at least 50 for the exercises. They work better than Ex-Lax; to strangle the metaphor until it stops twitching, I think of them as a imaginative enema.

(but mea maxima culpa)