check in day 17

[lilly_c]

How is the writing going today? What about yesterday?

Poll #22217

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7

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Today I

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wrote
3 (42.9%)

edited
0 (0.0%)

posted
0 (0.0%)

sent to beta
0 (0.0%)

researched
1 (14.3%)

planned
2 (28.6%)

had a cheeky break
2 (28.6%)

dealt with life
1 (14.3%)

Discussion: stuck. When you get stuck with a fic what kind of things do you do to get past it?

Comments

[lilly_c]

Cheeky break for me. I've spent most of the day with my best friends and it was definitely something that was needed.

When I get stuck it pretty depends on why/how I'm stuck and usually I get past it by setting aside for a couple of days or I'll print off what I have so far and go over it with a pen (similar to my editing process)

[linaewen]

I also had a cheeky break.

When I get stuck, I go back and read previous chapters to get back into the flow, or I do some more research if the stuckness involves something off in my plan or canon research.

[samuraiter]

I think I've lurched into the planning stage, but I'm not planning any one thing in particular. I'm just kind of flitting from one idea to another, unable to really settle on any one of them. I might just be tired.

Getting past a block depends entirely on which story it is, but my most common technique for getting unstuck is revisiting the prewriting to see if I missed a key detail.

[doranwen]

I spent the day working on some planning/correlating of standards with the curriculum I'm developing. Which is actually more fun for me than it probably sounds, lol, certainly more fun than some worksheet creation. But also very necessary. Plus my usual Monday volunteer duty. There was absolutely no time to write. Sleep is the next thing on my plate.

Depends on why I get stuck - if it's just general "it doesn't sound right", sometimes reading over the whole fic will help me see what I need to do. If it's characterization issues, I'll try to review canon bits that might help with getting a better grasp on the characters. If it's a detail I need to know to "see" the scene properly, I'll research everything I can to see if I can find the detail to let me write more. If it's general plot "I don't know where to go next", only an alpha reader can help with that, and that's typically the point that—without one—the story will turn into a permanent WIP. I've gotten a few of those built up over the years…