Right, time to work on...o_0 a shiny penny, I WANT IT!

[KynloStephen66515]

Right, the reason behind this post is the fact I am completely fed up of going to edit a document, or work on a piece of software and then getting distracted and either don't do it, or do something less productive.

I have been working on a novel for about 5 years, and i currently only have 72 book size pages (appx 30 A4) and for the past 4 month I have had the WORST writers block ever.

Does anybody else have times like this?  If so, how do you work around it?

Love to hear your ideas of how to get motivated into working on ONE project at once, rather than 875239 different things!

[Josh]

Sorry, saw this post and immediately thought of our fearless leader mouser

[KynloStephen66515]

haha, guess I'm not the only one this happens to then 

[Shades]

Seclusion?

Perhaps on an island...out of the range from any cell phone provider...without internet...or any other form of media.

A place similar to RobbenEiland would help I think

[Stoic Joker]

I've found that the fastest way to get anything done is to slow down - Screw the "Big Picture" it's fuzzy chaotic and detail-less. Well defined problems always have simple answers and frenetic motion just wastes energy. Stick to the nuts & bolts.

Looking at a project in it's entirety can/will quickly overwhelm you, so just pick part of it, an small part and boil it down to its most basic form ... Then do that. And the next bit, and the next...and pretty soon you'll find yourself at the other end if it - Done. Now step back for a "Big Picture" view of only that project. If anything is missing do that (only), if not move to next project.

[KynloStephen66515]

Certainly seems like the logical way to do it, but it's much easier said than done.

I have tried writing a list of what needs to be done, that was an epic fail, then I tried doing 1 chapter at once, kept getting distracted, and I have tried countless other things.

I'm thinking of maybe wiping off one of my computers, putting myself in a locked room and make sure the only thing on that computer is the project I wanna work on, and NOTHING else, not even pre-installed games like Solitaire and such lol

[tomos]

I've found that the fastest way to get anything done is to slow down - Screw the "Big Picture" it's fuzzy chaotic and detail-less. Well defined problems always have simple answers and frenetic motion just wastes energy. Stick to the nuts & bolts.

Looking at a project in it's entirety can/will quickly overwhelm you, so just pick part of it, an small part and boil it down to its most basic form ... Then do that. And the next bit, and the next...and pretty soon you'll find yourself at the other end if it - Done. Now step back for a "Big Picture" view of only that project. If anything is missing do that (only), if not move to next project.

that's a great post

I'm thinking of maybe wiping off one of my computers, putting myself in a locked room and make sure the only thing on that computer is the project I wanna work on, and NOTHING else, not even pre-installed games like Solitaire and such lol

I tried that lately, dusted off my old laptop (which has no internet connection), cleaned up the contents a bit, spent an intense hour or so writing, & thought great - do that again tomorrow night.
The laptop died the next time I turned it on - I even lost what I had written lol

[KynloStephen66515]

I tried that lately, dusted off my old laptop (which has no internet connection), cleaned up the contents a bit, spent an intense hour or so writing, & thought great - do that again tomorrow night.
The laptop died the next time I turned it on - I even lost what I had written lol

lmfao, unlucky

[Stoic Joker]

Certainly seems like the logical way to do it, but it's much easier said than done.

True, but that's why you start with something small - It doesn't take a ton of energy to focus on. Most of the time we find ourselves trying to force ourselves into creative mode - Quick Say Something Brillient... (Um...) - Which fails every time.

The trick is to suck yourself into the project, by focusing on small point X throughout the day. Face it, we all spend a great deal of our day doing thing that don't exactly require our full attention... Use that time. Once you find an angle on the problem that you want to try, and have let it fester in you mind all day ... Getting started becomes much easier.

[app103]

If I were to tell you to clear your mind of everything else and focus on one thing for 10 minutes, then you can have a 2 minute break to do all that other stuff, then back to work for another 10...etc.

And you don't even have to watch the clock because I'll do that for you and tell you when to take a break and when to get back to work, do you think you could be more focused?

For some people, knowing they only have to work for a short time and that they have a set scheduled break to check email, reorganize their paperclips, twitter, facebook, or whatever else normally clutters their head while working, and knowing they don't have to watch the clock for fear they might miss the opportunity to do all that stuff, helps them concentrate better on what they are supposed to be doing.

It's probably why so many people love my Instant Boss application.

[KynloStephen66515]

If I were to tell you to clear your mind of everything else and focus on one thing for 10 minutes, then you can have a 2 minute break to do all that other stuff, then back to work for another 10...etc.

And you don't even have to watch the clock because I'll do that for you and tell you when to take a break and when to get back to work, do you think you could be more focused?

For some people, knowing they only have to work for a short time and that they have a set scheduled break to check email, reorganize their paperclips, twitter, facebook, or whatever else normally clutters their head while working, and knowing they don't have to watch the clock for fear they might miss the opportunity to do all that stuff, helps them concentrate better on what they are supposed to be doing.

It's probably why so many people love my Instant Boss application.

A> Love the plug haha
B> Already got Instant Boss, Already Use It, Love It, But like everything else, it fails me when writing my book.  I think it is just a literal case of writer's block, which can take unknown amounts of time to go away

[slowmaker]

Certainly seems like the logical way to do it, but it's much easier said than done.

I have tried writing a list of what needs to be done, that was an epic fail, then I tried doing 1 chapter at once, kept getting distracted, and I have tried countless other things.

Two suggestions, both of which may fall under the heading of the countless other things you already tried, but here goes:

1) random dictionary attack: open the dictionary to a random point with your eyes closed, stab your finger down somewhere, then open your eyes and do your best to make that work apply somehow to the current page of your novel, no matter how retarded the connection may seem.

2) what would.. attack: ask yourself, as if you were talking to another person, what a non-blocked writer would be doing at that point in the story. If the answer is "I dunno" even after a few minutes, ask yourself what someone who did know be doing. If the answer is "this is stupid", ask yourself what would someone who did not think this is stupid be doing, etc.

Both a little off the wall, but both have worked for me in other problem areas, so you might want to try.

[Shades]

How about: 'waking up your muse' (google books)

Here is another link describing the (exact) same subject (everything.com).

With the advise provided by these links you can still indulge each of your whims and call it....book research.  

[KynloStephen66515]

How about: 'waking up your muse' (google books)

Here is another link describing the (exact) same subject (everything.com).

With the advise provided by these links you can still indulge each of your whims and call it....book research. 

Cheers, I will take a proper look at them later when I get a free minute