Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms. She writes weird books for teens in lots of weird genres like, fantasy (Blood of Kings trilogy), science fiction (Replication), and dystopian (The Safe Lands trilogy). Find Jill on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or on her author website.
It's time for lunch! After typing so many words yesterday, I left a few holes in my story. It happens. So now I need to go back in and fix a lot of things.
Is there a place in your story where you're stuck right now? If not, have you ever been stuck before? Share some ways you solved the problem and were able to write through that scene. And if you're stuck right now, brainstorm ten options of things that could happen. I bet you like one of them. But if you're still stuck after that, see if you can get some people on the loop or in the comments to help you brainstorm a way out.
If you're just now finding us, it's not too late to join the email loop.
Is there a place in your story where you're stuck right now? If not, have you ever been stuck before? Share some ways you solved the problem and were able to write through that scene. And if you're stuck right now, brainstorm ten options of things that could happen. I bet you like one of them. But if you're still stuck after that, see if you can get some people on the loop or in the comments to help you brainstorm a way out.
If you're just now finding us, it's not too late to join the email loop.
Our giveaway for this post is the Science Fiction Prize Pack!
A paperback copy of Replication: The Jason Experiment by Jill Williamson and a paperback of The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson. (Click on the titles to read more about each book on Amazon.com. And ... guess what? This giveaway is open to international entries!)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
A paperback copy of Replication: The Jason Experiment by Jill Williamson and a paperback of The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson. (Click on the titles to read more about each book on Amazon.com. And ... guess what? This giveaway is open to international entries!)
Sometimes I'll get cornered into a story hole. (i.e. like the President is really evil and trying to kill my main characters. Not real easy to avoid a President of the United States. :/ )
ReplyDeleteI won't know how to get out of the situation, because anything I do seems ridiculously unrealistic. I can usually work past it though dreaming the scene out in my head in bed, talking through it to people, watching similar movies/reading similar books, and yes, even watching the news helps.
Normally, the way I get stuck is I end up not knowing something to do with research. When this happens, I have to find out what I need to know so I know what my characters should do.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of stuck right now. I know what I want to happen, but I'm not sure how to make it happen.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually kind of stuck right now, but I've been brainstorming and I hope to come up with a solution.
ReplyDeleteI'm not stuck, for once in my life. I actually know how things are going to work from here for a while.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I get stuck when I don't really know where the scene is going. Usually I will refer to my list of what needs to happen in the book and try to fit something into the scene. If I can't, and nothing important was happening anyway, sometimes I just cut it. Because if I'm stuck writing it, my reader will probably get stuck reading it too.
ReplyDeleteUgh, yes. Same.
DeleteI usually just brainstorm what should logically happen next. Daniel S. (creator of OYAN) said to "drop a body from the ceiling" or write in something surprising or unexpected.
ReplyDeleteI often get stuck in the middle of my story (though I'm not really at that point yet with my WIP). I have a beginning, and an ending, but very little to connect the two. What I usually do at that point is just write the parts I know are going to happen, and then fill in the blanks. Sometimes the ending ends up changing a bit in that process, but it works out.
ReplyDeleteI've only truly gotten stuck once, and that was before I wrote my outline. So I forced myself to write the outline and I'm going strong now! (Kind of... haven't written in that project for a while XD Been busy with others.)
ReplyDeleteI normally get stuck in just the small things. Sort of like research and stuff. I find it hard to make sure the stuff your writing about is realistic enough. But it can be fixed, it just takes a lot of research from my experience.
ReplyDeleteFor once, I'm not stuck! :D I've had so many ideas, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to fit all of them in!
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm stuck, I have to walk away from my manuscript. Then, I do some daydreaming and imagine the story like it's a movie or something. A lot of times, once I start imagining a scene at the point where I'm stuck, the characters will keep interacting with each other, taking the plot to the next step. Later, sometimes I have to cut out a good bit of dialogue, but it usually helps me get unstuck :)
ReplyDeleteAnd to answer the giveaway question: I set aside a big chunk of time yesterday to focus on writing. It seems like a small way of working toward a dream, but I know all of those moments will add up one day.
I usually get stuck before I even reach 10K. Maybe more extensive planning could solve that . . . It's like I know what's going to happen, but I can't think of any good ways to get there, if that makes any sense.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it does. I have that issue too. It's frustrating, isn't it?
DeleteI didn't think I was ever stuck in the sense of not knowing what to write... or not being able to write, except when I was younger maybe. I just have had the problem of NOT writing, as in taking the time. You kind of have to push through. If you push through the hard part to write, you'll get to the good stuff pretty soon. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I get stuck, I try to move on and write something I do know and then come back later when I have a better idea of the scene or whatever. I also try freewriting to get my thoughts moving or look for inspiration on my pinterest boards for my WIPs.
ReplyDeleteI'm not currently stuck, but when I am, it usually just means I've stopped writing and am confused about my plot. I have to go back and reread some (if not all) of my manuscript so I get it back in my head.
ReplyDeleteI've been stuck plenty of times. When I am, I tend to go to Pinterest and look at the different writers boards that I follow. In the past I've found tips for getting over different problems that way. My most recent one was the main fight scene that was in my book; I had no idea how to even start. I found an article from a writer's blog on fight scenes, and was able to push on. I love Pinterest!
ReplyDeleteWhen I get stuck, I sit staring at the page, slowly adding words until I get out of the stuck spot.
ReplyDeleteThis week, I've been finding inspiration around me for my writing and that's helped a lot. I'm not stuck anymore and I'm closer towards my dream.
ReplyDelete-Ella
I'm Stuck with writers block at the moment which sucks. :-\
ReplyDeleteI am not stuck, but I am not sure how to transition from the beginning to the rising action and still make it interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I get stuck, I talk to my friend who is a fellow writer and she really helps me brainstorm ideas to get me out of the muck of writers block.
ReplyDeleteNothing, honestly, other than research.
ReplyDeleteLayla.
Usually, I get unstuck by talking over my story with my sister. Sometimes just talking out loud helps me come to a conclusion. That or my sister gives me some insight into the potential a scene has that I hadn't even noticed while writing it--if that makes any sense. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm stuck it's usually because I'm dealing with a bout of depression (which is unrelated to my writing and something I need to deal with entirely separately, usually by putting the story aside for a while), or because I keep going back and tweaking things. I haven't been STUCK-stuck for a while, but when that happens I usually just daydream in my bed at night. (I think that was kind of an oxymoron). At the moment it's more of a "once more unto the breach!" kind of thing, though.
ReplyDeleteI was stuck on my short story after half a page, but then I realized that I had started in the wrong place. When I am stuck, I try to write other scenarios that would move the story further.
ReplyDeleteOoh, stick parts are tricky. Thankfully I have sisters for that! It's so great to be able to bounce problems off people who love me and can still be honest. Plus, they love writing too! We respect our dreams together.
ReplyDeleteWorking toward my dream...
ReplyDeleteTHE WRITING RETREAT!!! I've almost gotten 4,000 words!
As for getting stuck...
I just brainstorm until I get what I want and then I keep working.
Tw
I got:::::
Delete~~~~4,480 Words this weekend!!!!!!!! Thank you so much! And for keeping it open it too!
Tw
I am re-writing one of my old, dusty stories in hope to prepare it for publishing in the next few years to come!
ReplyDeleteThese books sound absolutely fantastic!
I got a bunch of books at the library on writing novels.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm taking part in this really cool online Teen Writers Retreat.... ;)
I've done...eh...mostly nothing! I've been really slack with the writing at the moment. But I'm slooowly starting my next project. Also writing query letters/synopsis and eating chocolate, which I think all counts to the ultimate dream of crazy-author.
ReplyDeleteAlso. International giveaway?! thankyouthankyou!!
It's funny that you should ask if I'm stuck somewhere. I think I'm stuck today :P Well, I can't quite say that, since I haven't even begun writing yet (and I have almost three thousand words to pen today! ugh!). Let's hope I get past it :)
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be the same question for each giveaway. :D What's something different than what I've written for the other ones... Hm... Well, I want to get closer to God, so I've been working on praying and reading the Bible everyday.
ReplyDeleteI have been stuck many times before. When I am, I will usually talk to my mom about the story until an idea surfaces. Other wise I will try to put myself in the story and decide what I would do next. Though my characters will not react the same, knowing my reaction helps find theirs.
ReplyDeleteI'm stuck like on every story of mine at the moment, the problem is, I don't really motivate myself like the last question was about. The only time I get motivated is when I get a sudden inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI know where most of my stories are going, I just don't know how to take them there. That's why I'm just focusing on character development right now.
(MJ)
THIS RETREAT.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I get stuck when I just don't feel like writing. But when I start writing and lose myself in the scene the words fly by. (:
ReplyDeleteRight now, things are going pretty well for me in my writing. Hopefully it lasts :)
ReplyDeleteI just try and write past it. Currently, that means I have loads of plot-holes, but that's a first-draft problem.
ReplyDeleteIf it's just a temporary block, I can usually just try a few different plot options--still getting from Point A to general Point B, but by an alternate route--and work my way through. But sometimes, if it's a really nasty case, I end up having to take a step back and recharge. I'm definitely mentally bookmarking your tip about brainstorming 10 options, though.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I've done this past week to further my writing goals is decide to purchase and use the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum for this school year! I'm really excited and hope this'll help me actually get to writing... Not just read and learn about how to write:-)
ReplyDeleteI'm stuck right now. Haven't figured out how to move on yet
ReplyDeleteOne thing in the past week? Writing. It's always writing. And sometimes I'd like to think that with every word I write, I'm getting better (the reality is that some of the words are worse than the last, but it's a cumulative thing...the good words build up).
ReplyDeleteI've written, plotted, thought some things over... Basically, I've done this retreat, and related things to advance my writing career. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty stuck right now - time to brainstorm!
ReplyDeleteI was stuck at about 30000 words for the longest time! I called up a writing friend and we took her dog on a long walk, brainstorming the whole time. After an hour or so of coming up with a bunch of ideas, we were stuck with a wave of genius. I went home straight away and wrote everything down.
ReplyDeleteI sold another copy of my book! :D
ReplyDelete