Do you ever go through weeks at a time when you just can not figure out what to put in your next episode (or even next scene)?
Here’s a couple tips for you, coming from a fellow author:
When you have a surge of creativity, write down anything you are thinking about, related to the story or not.
When you’re having writer’s block, it’s so hard to think of new stuff, but when that surge of creativity comes, it’s so important to write down everything you think could possibly be useful to your story. Even if you think the stuff coming out of your head is complete horsesh*t, I promise you this is important.
Remember: You can always tweak your ideas if they are WIPs or poorly thought of, but don’t get rid of them, because you never know when they’ll come in handy.
If you don’t have any ideas, look at previous scenes and episodes.
This may not work for everyone, I admit it doesn’t work for me all the time, but if you’re having writer’s block, try to either use previous scenes/episodes for ideas for new episodes/scenes, or even add to the old ones. Your story can never be “too good,” so if you’re struggling to add new content, just work on the old stuff; add more dialogue, more animations, more overlays, or more advanced directing.
PLAN AHEAD!!!
I know, you want to focus on what you’re writing now so you don’t rush the story to get to that super juicy scene you thought of last night, and good on you for caring about making a good story. I’m not telling someone who is just beginning a story to be thinking about episode 50, because that’s when rushing and useless filler scenes become frequent. Create a system! When I start a story, I finish a draft of the first episode to get an idea of the feel of the story and how I want it to be written. Once I’m finished, I create a Google Doc to put my plan. I personally structure it like this:
Give yourself a break
Take a second and think about why you’re having writer’s block:
- Are you unmotivated?
- Are you feeling uncreative?
- Are you overworking yourself and just experiencing burnout?
-If you’re eager to write, you’re just coming up short on ideas, it’s probably the second.
-If you don’t want to add to what you’ve written, but you still want to write, it’s probably the first.
-If you’re tired and don’t want to add to what you’ve written, but feel obligated to do so because you have readers begging for updates, it’s most likely the third.
If you’re working on a story because you feel like you owe the readers another episode, you need to take a break. Post on Instagram (if you use it) and add to the newest story update and let the readers know that you’re taking a few weeks or a few months off from writing, so when you come back, you can produce the best possible content. Chances are they’ll be a little disappointed, but they’ll understand. Don’t forget that there are thousands (maybe millions) of stories on Episode. It isn’t the end of the world if someone’s favorite author doesn’t upload for a while.
You’re mental health is more important than your stories, and it’s more important than your readers.
Feel free to add more tips and tricks that have worked for you:
