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Where do you get your inspiration when you are out of ideas?

When writer's block hits, what do you do to combat that? I find that oftentimes when I am writing, I'll run out of ideas for my story, abandon it, and start something new, only for the cycle to begin all over again.

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A’s Answer

BEST ADVICE I EVER GOT (from an Emmy-Award winning writer, no less): Writer's Block is the fear of writing BADLY. What this means is that when you have writer's block, just write SOMETHING. ANYTHING, and dedicate yourself to the idea that it's going to be terrible. Once you've written something, you can always go back and revise it into something better, or writing something badly may nonetheless spark your mind with an idea of what to write (I find that happening often when I just start writing an absurdity). Then go back and revise what you wrote or mine the good ideas out of it. Good luck!

A recommends the following next steps:

Revise your terrible writing
Alternatively, mine good ideas out of it and write that.
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david’s Answer

Hello, Marin,
Tough question. And what works for me may not work for you. It's been a few years since my last book was published, but I do keep a blog active and I do some other writing. My approach is to have a pencil and pad at all times, making brief notes of anything I see. For example, a brief moment while in a grocery store aisle opened the window for an extensive article I wrote on my having observed a woman shopping and how her few comments affected me and my view of her. Normally, a meaningless event, but when you take a moment to scribble a few thoughts, you find later that the first sentence grows to a paragraph, and then to a page. You fight writer's block by continually writing. When the day is done, and you look at your scribbles, you will see at least one story. Consider it to the photographer who shoots 1000 photos at an event, only to use one picture. This approach doesn't work all the time, but this approach keeps your creative mind always alert. Anyway, I hope you find something here of use.
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Kimberly’s Answer

When I hit a writers block, I put my writing aside and start to read. Keep your mind open to different genres such as, poetry. Someone else’s view of life, nature or the world can click in the missing pieces that you are looking for.

Go for a walk, observe what is around you. That may be people, animals, observation of the weather, flowers, etc. Don’t forget a pen and little notebook for notes, or take a picture with a phone, to later go home and analyze the images.

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Leonard’s Answer

Basically when building your story, look at the source of your content, engage your subjects featured to answer questions specific to your story and their impact. For example, we write many blogs around volunteerism so we can frame the story with some detail on the person featured, their career path, personal story and why and how they volunteer and their impact.
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Gina’s Answer

When struck with writer's block or, in my case, ADHD paralysis, the best advice I've been given is to rest your brain. Get out of your head and go for a walk in nature. Clear your brain. Ensure sleep is restful. As your mind rests, creativity will flourish. If it's a subject you are not interested in, find some quirky facts to keep it fresh. If you cannot stand it, use the timer method and just get it done.
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Aaron’s Answer

I love writing and I find lots of my blocks come from not enough world building, not creating a timeline, and frustration with organizing my stuff. Creating time lines helps you know when to move on with a scene. "Save the cat beats" is a good outline to fill out when starting to write once you have a basic concept.

I love the app Scrivener although it's a little of an investment because the app has to be purchased. However, it helps you click and drag "scenes" into a timeline as you write. You can create character templates which helps guide you in what information each character should have (prompts you to write a quick background, name, birthplace, etc for each character). You can create a research section where you save photos and insert them into notes so that as you write you can see a photo of the forest you're trying to describe etc. You can start off with prebuilt file structures and templates to write a novel or short story, etc. The draft/version control is awesome too. You can overlay your different versions of a page and compare just in case you want to go back a version or keep half of a previous version. You can also connect it to dropbox so you can work from your phone or laptop etc. Anyways, not advertising but having an app that can take the frustrations of organizing your written work helps a ton.

My next favorite site is in https://inkarnate.com/. Its free on the most part and you got all the tools to just doodle and create a fictional map/world.
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Fernando’s Answer

When it comes to dealing with writer's block my preferred method is to take a step back from the story I'm writing and reflect. Giving your mind some breathing room helps to not only find new ideas, but re-evaluate what you've already written to see what needs adjustments. Jumping to another story is a good way to filter new ideas, but it shouldn't be over-relied upon cause you'll just end up with a bunch of incomplete stories. When you have too many incomplete stories that can cause anxiety and sometimes a bit of imposter syndrome since you feel like you keep hitting the same wall.

If you have to jump between stories try to stick to 3 at most, this way you're always coming back to each story with either renewed motivation or new ideas to complete it. As for inspirations I personally draw inspiration from various shows, books and even current events for my stories.
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Keith’s Answer

That's a great question and wonderful to think about. I often find inspiration in the marvels of the outdoors. I am a "city mouse" by nature and prefer the hustle and bustle of the lifestyle. But there is a large part of me that longs for the wonders of outsidee and still impress me, even though they are views I have seen a thousand times before. Go outside and look up every now and again. Listen when it is quiet...the stillness. Early morning, brisk coffee and bird songs while the sun rises. Realizing the interconnectivity of all things on Earth always inspires me.
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Carlos’s Answer

Perhaps this is due to the need to be original among beginning writers. Also to the false belief that inspiration will come with each step and page that we write. You should know that every script is based on existing plots and tropes... nothing is new under the sun. Tropes and archetypes are combined and twists are given to stories told a thousand times. You read carefully and observe the films analytically and you will realize that everything comes from something earlier. I recommend you see www.tropes.org use a structure, define archetypes and then from there, let your imagination flow. Many writers suffer from undiagnosed ADHD, meditate and do yoga...it helps a lot. Excuse my English... I am a native speaker of Spanish.
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Kevin’s Answer

Writer's block is quite common, and approaching it can depend a lot on someone's writing style. Some make daily journaling an emphasis in order to get the creative juices flowing. An additional options could be; reading literature, watching movies that challenge the mind, and going for a walk while listening to music or podcasts. During any of these approaches, I'd highly recommend starting a "story ideas" document on your phone/computer. Lastly, try storyboarding/outlining your ideas, you might develop a larger idea, and create a collection of stories. Try taking a step back from simply writing, ask yourself "what are the characters' motivations? All the best to you.
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