Writer's Block

[Neo Emolga]

@Undyne needs help. She's got writer's block. Anyone have any advice for her?

YES! @Undyne

Reread what you've already written. Sometimes, what you need is to reenergize the reasons why you started the story in the first place. And it could be a matter of temporarily pushing out what you know about the story. Try pretending you're a new reader to your own story and you're looking at things from a fresh perspective. Read it again with an open mind for all kinds of possibilities. Along the way, you might find a loose end that never got its ends tied or something poked out that said something more/different could be done. Along the way, you're also proofreading your story for mistakes, so it's a double win. Not every movie gets flimed in one continuous take, so be open to editing certain things out and consider alternate options .

The other path not traveled. Maybe there was a fork in the road for your characters and they made a decision while there existed another choice that wasn't taken. Invent some kind of consequence for not going with that other decision (they missed out on something important, something expected them to show up, or their adversaries found something there that they didn't). That might give you some extra material to work with, and that may be all you need to get back on track. Either that, or have them make that alternate choice instead. What might happen?

Have something drastic happen. This may involve having some major occurrence happen or introduce a new character that has a vital role. Even if it feels like you're shoe-horning it into your plot, it might just save it from the muck. And all it may take is just having something explain their arrival later on.

Push the clocks back. Sometimes, the best way to pull yourself out of the mud is to fall back to a previous point in your story and make something different happen. Yes, this may involve deleting stuff, and yes, I have done it before and I wouldn't have completed my story otherwise (save a backup just in case it doesn't work out!). I've deleted as much as thirty pages worth of stuff because things got that bad and there was a much better way to do things. No regrets either, it had to be done and it worked when it did this.

Strongly consider NOT writing something else. Chances are good if you start something new, you're never going to return to the previous story that you abandoned. Unless you're really giving up on your manuscript, I don't recommend giving in to temptation. Sometimes it means just patching a leak in your story ship as opposed to taking a lifeboat of abandonment.

What inspired you to write this in the first place? Was it a movie or a video game? Try revisiting it, and then maybe watch/experience something new from the same genre. Something cool might poke out that says "hey, I could try to put something along these lines into my own story."

Every bad thing that comes my way. Add a dark event to your story. Maybe someone turns out to be a traitor, something badly doesn't go the way the protagonist expected, or dump some bad luck on your character's lap. Remember, characters are NOT admired for their victories; they're admired for how they try and sometimes the struggle is more important than the success. Having them fail and be defeated makes them more realistic and the experience makes them smarter and stronger. How often do most major characters get things right the first time? Almost never.

Try it. ;)