Anyone have a cure for writer's block?

[General Michi]

For the artsy among I'm aware that writer's block is a pain in the ass and I am presently going through it (song writing). For anyone who is going through it too or if you've found ways around it in the past please share your knowledge for anyone who may need it

Cheers folks

Note: This can be any form of writer's block, not strictly musical. This is for any poets and story writers (and internet comedy troupes?) etc. too

[Elomin Sha]

Steal someone else's idea.
Move onto something else.
Video games.
Music.

[The Mimm]

I usually either:
Start working on something else
Go for a walk
Do something completely unrelated and menial (washing up, laundry, hoovering... something that keeps your hands and part of your brain occupied without begging much concentration)
Or
Nice hot cup of tea/coffee/whatever your favoutire beverage is.

[frivminiclip]

Why steel, you have to make it your own! Would be better!

[iamafish]

drink.

on a serious note, watch/read/listen to/look at something inspiring. something artsy that you know gets your creative juices flowing again.

[General Michi]

Lovin the ideas folks

[SecretsOfMoon]

Why steel, you have to make it your own! Would be better!

Because welcome to the real world sonny boy.

I've found that emotional extremes usually work, except depression, that doesn't work. But really the only patently reliable method I think there is, is "hit it with a hammer", keep bashing it until it works.

[semysane]

Why steel, you have to make it your own! Would be better!

Spambot is bot.

On topic:
Music, video games and porn. LOTS of porn.

[JustAName]

Watch the "Braincrack" video by Ze Frank or look up "Nanowrimo Vlogbrothers" on YouTube.

[tamaness]

http://www.writingexcuses.com/2008/05/2 ... -keyboard/

Writing Excuses has a cure for writer's block here. It seems to work for me.

[epocalypse]

If you're a polymath creative type: Work on something else.

If you're any other kind or option one fails: Wait it out.

[Alja-Markir]

Travel.

I have a window open next week, could probably slip three or four people offworld for a few days. Should be fun, provided no one involved suffers terribly from vertigo, motion sickness, seizures, or an aversion to consuming remarkably foreign foodstuffs.

~Alja~

[Deedles]

When I have art- or writer's block I stop myself from thinking and bring myself down to a basic sense of emotions, so that I feel them to an extreme degree.

That or I simply stop trying. I sit down and write whatever comes to mind, whether it rhymes or not. As long as it feels like it flows, to me, it's all good.

I also find that talking to someone about ideas, inspirations or something like that tends to work really well.

And I agree that music, movies, books and such, like others have suggested, works really well too!

[Geoff_B]

I stop and try to think about exactly what it is i'm trying to write. if what's come before doesn't match up with that then something's gone wrong and that's probably the reason why the writer's block is there.

[Evil Jim]

A Writer's Book of Days has daily prompts & exercises, simple topics to write on to get your juices flowing. Just a couple words, a short scene description, a line of dialog. Enough of a seed to get you to continue on your own.

Here is what I wrote for the suggestion, "A year after your death. . ."

[Lord Chrusher]

Few people think more than two or three times a year; I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week.

[Mowinckel]

When I have writers block I usually roleplay a bit in my head in the world/story I am making (novels) or watching/reading/listening to stuff of the same genre or theme as the thing I am making

[James Ether]

I had a large bought of writers block a while ago. I used to try and force myself to write songs and realised that most of the stuff I'd written in that period was utter crap.

I tend to find my song writing is instigated by events in my life nowadays though. I tend to mess around on my guitar a lot and if something sounds kinda cool I'll follow that lead really. I try to let it all flow naturally if it sounds like theres something there. If there's nothing there it's not a bad thing, it's just nnot the time for a song to be made.

[General Michi]

This is really helping I guess, for me anyway, I just need to chill and not force anything out because the result will also sound forced.

[Dave-O_Boy]

Go someplace you've never been before. Look for some new adventure.

Learn your craft better. Art is not "divine inspiration." It's terrible to think that way. Rather it is the understanding and ability to manipulate and work within the rules and limits of your medium and genre.

Can't write a song? Learn a new chord pattern. Analyze some jazz standards. A favorite thing of mine to do when working in a minor key is use a chain of diminish chords in place of a chain of dominants. Of course it doesn't have to be harmonic, it's just laying out harmony can be a helpful step in building a song. You can do the same with rhythm, melody, timbre, dynamics, and such. Harmony, I find, is just the easiest place to start.

[Metcarfre]

A tried and true method would be to get smashed.

[ebMusicMan]

Personally I've never been good at songwriting, and I've tried for a long time. When it comes to writing words I have two methods that I use.

First I keep a dream journal. Doesn't necessarily help solving a specific problem, but it is an amazing source of new ideas.

Second. When I'm having trouble solving a specific plot problem I try to use my subconscious. Start by saying out loud what the problem is and then give your subconscious a time frame to complete the problem in (I usually do about three days). Then stop thinking about it for that time. When the time is up do something relaxing like a long walk or hot bath. Once you're completely relaxed start thinking about the problem, give yourself at least a half hour, and an answer will usually come. It doesn't work 100% of the time for me, but when it does work it's almost like magic!

[Wolfenbarg]

I've got two ways to work around it:

1) If everything is planned out already and you are stuck on an individual point, then write through it anyway. It doesn't matter what you fill the blanks in with, just get from point A to point B any way you can, then fix the mistakes later. Working from scratch is always far more difficult than refining something that already exists, even if it's bad.

2) Do something else. Unless you're doing it professionally, writing is one of the few things where you can play video games, listen to music, watch television, and many other leisurely things and still claim to be working. At least, that's the case with me. I tend to get all of my best ideas when consuming completely unrelated media. I once got an idea for a lucid dream styled short film by watching the Bus scene from Superbad. You can never know where your ideas will come from, so just expose yourself to everything.

If all else fails: ball kicks. That's what the internet really wants.

[Highlander]

If all else fails, Coffee, a metric fuckton of coffee

[AmazingPjotrMan]

A bottle of brandy, a tall glass of kool-aid and a big bowl of cheesetwirls.