Dealing with Frustration

[ALynnPowers]

I tend to get most frustrated after I have already finished writing something and then try to go back and edit it. I always come across problems with the story, and I get so angry at myself for not noticing some huge plot hole sooner. The best way for me to deal is to ust set it aside for a while and then come back to read it a few weeks later with fresh eyes and better motivation.

[Skillian]

This will sound silly, but dance breaks are the best. I put on something fun and jump around for a while. It relieves stress due to the whole exercise thing, but also there is something about doing anything that makes you feel goofy for a moment that just kind of breaks that inner ice. If I can laugh at myself usually my brain will stop the whole anxious freezing up wanting to die before typing more this is so monotonous why can't my computer just suck the idea out of my head and format it for me I wish I could afford to just talk to my computer and have it type it I wonder how much it would cost to hire someone to type for me maybe I could convince my niece to do it for low wages that is probably illegal child labor laws and all oh man I'm really procrastinating now...-ness.

[npandit]

This will sound silly, but dance breaks are the best. I put on something fun and jump around for a while. It relieves stress due to the whole exercise thing, but also there is something about doing anything that makes you feel goofy for a moment that just kind of breaks that inner ice. If I can laugh at myself usually my brain will stop the whole anxious freezing up wanting to die before typing more this is so monotonous why can't my computer just suck the idea out of my head and format it for me I wish I could afford to just talk to my computer and have it type it I wonder how much it would cost to hire someone to type for me maybe I could convince my niece to do it for low wages that is probably illegal child labor laws and all oh man I'm really procrastinating now...-ness.

hahahaa...This is awesome. I'm going to dance every time I'm frustrated now, for anything. It should be a federal requirement for all employees to start spontaneously dancing right at the moment the work becomes overwhelming and they feel they'll go crazy. Thanks for the laugh and great idea!

[LivreAmour217]

I take a deep breath, push myself away from the paper or computer screen, and do something that I really enjoy, such as going for a walk or listening to my favorite music. I also remind myself that I am my own worst critic, and once I have calmed down, I might see what I've written in a different light. Many times I've almost thrown my work in the trash, only to come back to it later and think that it's one of the best things I've ever written.

[Hadiqa]

This will sound silly, but dance breaks are the best. I put on something fun and jump around for a while. It relieves stress due to the whole exercise thing, but also there is something about doing anything that makes you feel goofy for a moment that just kind of breaks that inner ice. If I can laugh at myself usually my brain will stop the whole anxious freezing up wanting to die before typing more this is so monotonous why can't my computer just suck the idea out of my head and format it for me I wish I could afford to just talk to my computer and have it type it I wonder how much it would cost to hire someone to type for me maybe I could convince my niece to do it for low wages that is probably illegal child labor laws and all oh man I'm really procrastinating now...-ness.

I actually agree, dancing, listening to music and playing sports help a lot!

[Amheiser]

I don't get frustrated with what or how to write something. I get frustrated because I like to have a block of time to write so I can get all my thoughts down and sorted out and if I have to keep starting and stopping it's very frustrating. I hate it when I get interrupted and then when I get back to what I was trying to write, I can't remember how I had figured out to say something. I try to write quick notes to remind myself where I was going with something but sometimes I just don't remember how I was going to say it. I feel like I had it thought it out better in my head before I got interrupted than when I finally get it written down on paper.

[ALynnPowers]

Currently dealing with frustration because my story just feels boring.... trying to get the "set-up" ready for the main plot points, but it just feels like it is dragging and won't come on out already! Arg!

[moderntimes]

I find it's not always necessary to take a physical break, but definitely getting away from your writing is the idea.

I'll surf the internet and visit sports or gun forums (two things that I enjoy) or maybe a movie forum, or look for some silly youtube posting. That sort of thing.

Or I'll pick up a book and read a while, maybe pop a movie into the DVR and watch it.

I agree, anything to take a break is good.

However, another hint -- if you're stuck on a particular portion of your new book or article or whatever, go to another spot in the document, something that you've already written, and read that and try to find a small tweak or edit that will make it better. This may give you the needed break and at the same time, keep your mind on the overall task at hand.

Sometimes, if I'm stuck for a while on, say "chapter 14" of my novel, I'll skip forward and start writing, oh, "chapter 22" where there's a big love scene or fight or whatever. I've found this is an excellent way to keep working on the book but provide the much needed break from where you're stuck.

[Gustavsson]

When I get super frustrated and stuck on a place, I have two solutions.
1. Take a break. Eat food or throw a dance party like Skillian. Then come back and give yourself an easier time.
2 (My usual go-to). Turn on the music and don't stop writing while the music's playing. If you stop writing, you have to pause the music. I use Spotify for this, so it's usually pretty easy for me. But it still makes me conscious of the fact that I have to keep going and the music also drowns out my inner editor. Also, whenever I hear a beat I always get more motivated, in writing or in other matters.

[moderntimes]

I have trouble writing while listening to music, because when I'm playing Verdi or Mozart or Beethoven, my mind is too captivated by the immortal music to do much else. And for me, "background music" is just static, so I can't listen to that either. I write best when it's quiet, and just the sound of my cat walking across the keyboard to "help me" with my writing intrudes. ha ha

[Chris Dutton]

It depends. It might be sh@@e prose...forgive my language... But a good idea. Get the idea down, and then rewrite the prose when in a better frame. If it's good prose, s@@ite idea, bear with it and then adapt it. If it's all s@@te, step away from the nib .

[moderntimes]

You're correct, Chris. Sometimes the facts slowly become obvious, that we're just writing junk!

I found myself doing this last year as I was working to finish my 3rd mystery novel. I got off on a tangent that wasn't viable and it became more and more thick and unwieldy and eventually I realized I was creating dreck. So I cut out all those chapters (at least 10,000 words) and stuck them into a separate file ("for later") and re-read the book's beginning -- that much was good -- and restarted from the cutoff point, and then things just began to flow properly.

I then found myself writing what I consider my best novel thus far, with a "brilliant" (ha ha) couple of plot twists and revelations and the book really sings. Those deleted chapters sit idly now in a separate folder on the hard disk, and will likely never see daylight again.

But yeah... sometimes the frustration at what you've been trying to write is real, and it's due to the simple fact that you've been trying to write dreck. Happens to all of us. What makes it a learning experience is that we eventually realize the error and start anew in a different direction.

[Braktooth]

I take a walk and listen to music. Shut out as much of the world as possible, and breathe. My subconscious is smarter than I am anyway, I figure it's better to let it deal with it. When I've given it some time, I go back and see what's changed. Inevitably, something has, and I try to figure out how to work with that.

[zeldas_lullaby]

I try not to write unless I'm "in the zone." When I'm in the zone, it just flows like magic. Trying to force it, on the other hand, may or may not work out. And I'm not above highlighting a huge passage and just deleting it. If it's completely wrong, I just remove it. If it's not flowing, then it's going to bite, more or less. Then I ask myself, "What went wrong, plot-wise?" And I wait until I know what direction to take the story in, and I just rewrite the whole darned scene.

[moderntimes]

I'm one of those few people who never get writer's block but I do get into a bad streak occasionally and I then have to write my way out of that box. I usually switch genres and work a while on a horror short story or maybe this big epic and likely forever in progress horror novel, and after a day or so I get back on track.

And I SAVE everything. Even the bad stuff. There may be a fun turn of phrase or small fragment that will be useful later.