This teenage boy I know says, "I have a
great idea for story: Batman goes into this virtual reality game in a contest
against Ra's al Ghul, only Batman doesn’t know that the game actually creates
real events. At the end of my story, Batman must be the one who goes back in time
to kill his own parents."
So this boy writes the best parts of his juicy,
action-packed story but get's writer's block when it comes to storyline rules,
such as writing a compelling first page, creating masterful segues and crafting
spine-tingling page-turners.
This type of writer's block is okay, and very
normal! Don't let it stop you!
Go ahead and write all your favorite parts. You
can fill in the gaps later. Your favorite portions are the heart and soul of
your masterpiece. If you find that you are lamenting over fragmentation (how to
string the pieces together), just have some trust in yourself and give it time.
Three key tips on fragmentation that I have
found to be useful in overcoming writer's block include:
1. Before you go to sleep, write down your problem on a piece of paper. You can phrase it in the form of a question, such as: "How do I get Batman to accept a challenge from Ra's al Ghul?" This allows your subconscious to contemplate the issue.
2. Many writers have fragments of other stories in their treasure chests. Why not incorporate elements of your other stories into your current endeavor?
3. Use real events. Although we have never played a virtual reality game against a villain, we have had to deal with bullies at some point in our lives. How did you meet that bully? How did he make you feel? What elements in the bully's life formed him into such a tyrant?
I don’t normally create an outline until the
primary sequence of events are clear. You may find that writing an outline is
helpful at some stage, and I'd love to hear from you on this topic.
Keep writing and keep sharing! - Cronin Detzz
