Since I have been stuck and people usually complain about writer's block very often, I am writing down all the tips and tricks that have worked for me in overcoming it in the past (and I hope these work out now too, I am going to try all one by one).

A long time ago, I had written help books on my original account Purplemist14 so the following excerpts are taken from there with a few modifications to suit the DC theme of this account.

Of course there comes a time when all of us experience this and unfortunately, I am currently going through it. Either authors lose the inspiration to write or they are stuck in a situation knowing not what to do with their story next.

What exactly is Writer's Block?

Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work, or experiences a creative slowdown. The condition ranges in difficulty from coming up with original ideas to being unable to produce a work for years.

[Definition credits go to Wikipedia].

Following are some ideas for you to overcome writer's block:

* Brainstorming

Now this method works all the time. Brainstorming is great when you are stuck at a story.

For instance, let's suppose you're writing a story on Tim Drake's life and you are stuck. All you have to do is relax and take a paper and pen.

On the paper state in bullets the important events you have covered in your story and also list all the events that would follow according to the timeline present in the Wiki (but for DC, no one really cares about the timeline so make one up on your own, it doesn't matter).

In that way you will get a clear mental outline on all the important events that will take place in the story and trust me, once you get a hold on the main stuff, you will be easily able to add in the chapters which lead to the main events.

You should always set a goal before proceeding towards it and in this case, the main events become your goal and the filler chapters or other chapters constitute the journey.

This is called Brainstorming. And it helps a lot.

Also, when you're not progressing in your writing, write/note down everything you can think of, even if it's bad. Lower your standards and keep writing. You can refer to them later and might conveniently construct a new idea.

In other words, don't be a perfectionist at this point of time, just write what you can think of, as you can always edit it later. Even if it's not related to what you're currently writing, write it down. It might come in handy in your next projects. Abandon nothing when it comes to writing ideas.

* Collective Suggestions

Collective Suggestion means asking a friend on what should be done. Taking other people's suggestions always helps.

If you are stuck and don't know what to do onwards, worry no more. Ask a friend or a continuous reader on what he/she thinks about the story so far. This not only helps you out by getting to know what your readers are expecting from you but it also makes you a quite approachable writer.

Authors don't always take reader's suggestions because they have this slight issue of what would their readers think about them if they did, whether their story counts would drop or some such sort of unnecessary phobias.

Trust me, there is nothing wrong in asking for an opinion.

In fact, readers feel more connected to the story in that way.

And if you are asking a friend, it is also good for you. All of us have creativity inside us and sometimes when it gets a bit rusted all it needs is a little push from someone else, a boost from someone else's creativity.

It does nothing to your self esteem if you ask a simple question. In fact it is only going to prove as more helpful for you. What if the friend has a much better idea than you? In the end it is going to be in your story and it will make your story better.

Friends are always there for help and this writing community on Wattpad is considerate enough to be on the help list as well.

Furthermore, you can go through all the comments left by your readers on your books. Sometimes one right comment can be the source of inspiration for you. I have come across many readers who give helpful and hilarious comments and not only does it feel good to see what others think bout your work it also helps if you get some criticism or some ways to correct a few aspects of your book.

* Update Schedule

Even though it works for some people, I personally do not use it.

Some people tend to create whole update schedules fixing time periods for giving time to their stories in order to cope with writer's block.

I don't really see how it helps but many people claim that it does so I am including it in here as well. Though to be honest, it has hardly ever worked for me.

Update schedules are made as follows:

Monday - 10:00 to 12:00 - story A, 01:00 to 03:00 - story B and so on and so on.

The process continues in the same way until you have a full outline of which story to write in what time. In that case you are able to manage your time and also take some time out for stories.

Set a personal dateline – some authors work better under pressure, some don't. Change your dateline according to your comfort level. Time is a very important factor, regardless you're within a dateline or not.

Always start early, prepare yourself sufficiently and this should minimize any obstacles you may find. Commit yourself to achieving a word count, not writing for a certain amount of time. Aim for your optimum number of words, double it if you feel good. Otherwise, just aim for your minimum.

I do admit it is great for time management but I don't really see how you can write without inspiration. Inspiration comes in the most unexpected of times so setting a specific time for a specific story might help or it might not be of any use.

For me, it all depends upon the inspiration.

* Music

If you have read a lot of books on WP then you would know that a great many writers use playlists. That is, at the beginning of their story or at the beginning of each chapter they insert a song.

Basically this song, or group of songs, collaborates rather well with both the plot and the characters. The lyrics are fitting and so is the theme. It somehow creates and sets a specific mood for the story.

Thinking how that might be able to help you?

Right. All you have to do is think on a few songs that you believe would fit well with your story. Set your own playlist. And whenever you have run out of ideas or are suffering Writer's block, just turn on that playlist and listen to it. Be calm and relaxed. Sometimes you don't even know how quick it helps.

Sometimes while listening to the song you strike upon a lyric that may become the perfect inspiration for your next chapter.

For example, my friend writes on Wattpad too and she has this habit of choosing songs for playlists of her various stories. And whenever she gets Writer's Block she would turn up the music, relax, listen and most of the times gets the inspiration to write again. It works for her nearly every time.

Of course I'm not sure whether it would work for you or not but it is worthwhile to give it a try.

* Photos/Videos

Writer's get stuck while writing more than just often. And at times it becomes difficult to get out of where you are stuck.

There are many effective ways to overcome Writer's Block out of which this seems to me the most effective. Re-watching videos or photos related to the particular scene you are stuck in.

Sometimes re-watching the scenes in which your story is set helps a lot.

For instance, suppose that you are stuck on Jason's death scene and you do not have an idea what to do with it, the first thing you should do is carefully re-watch the whole original scene in the movie Under The Red Hood. Watch it carefully, keep all the dialogues in mind, pay attention to the the details and I'm sure that it will set you off in the right path towards inspiration for writing more.

You can also google images and sometimes it helps give you a great idea while just browsing through pictures related to your specific scene.

And if your story does not follow the movie's plot line or the comic's plot line and is based on a person not much elaborated in canon, like Victoria Vale or Lucius Fox, then you can just browse through videos which contain that character or rather search Youtube for their character study videos (i.e those fan made videos in which they represent a single character and deduce points about his/her personality based on the few scenes they have in the books or shows).

I'm sure it will help.

* Tips That Worked For Me

Below, I am stating all the tips that have worked for me in the past (and I wish they work again because I hate getting stuck on stories) so try these out and let me know if these were helpful or not.

1. Changing Location: For me, it has always worked. I usually write in the drawing room of our house but when I get stuck and can't think of what to do next I change surroundings such as going on the terrace, the garden or my bedroom.

2. Research: You are more likely to write easily when you have all the information at your fingertips.

3. Reading books related to the genre I'm writing on: For example, I have been working on a mystery thriller novel for quite a while now and it explains why I have John Grisham's books in my library and other crime fics loaded in as well.

4. Sketching: Art is my hobby and it helps me to calm down and blow off some steam. When I'm stuck at some scene I draw whatever image catches my eye on the internet or I draw some of my favorite characters and it relaxes me a lot. It sometimes also gives the inspiration I need.

5. Reread what I have written while drinking coffee/tea: I do this all the time. I love going through my writing journals with a cup of coffee to keep my brain awake.

6. Writing chapters that come after the part I'm stuck on: I have usually written the endings for all my books. And it helps in a way because a destination is set out for me and all I have to do is move towards it step by step.

7. Questioning myself about stuff I'm writing continuously and consistently: Sometimes questioning yourself can provide you with all the answers you need.

8. Starting another work in the meanwhile and leaving the story at rest temporarily: That's why I have 22 stories in my drafts and no time to work on them individually. So try this at your own risk.

9. Reading quotes and poetry on different topics: Very very helpful. Not only do these quotes trigger up my inspiration gears but they also serve as very good starting lines for book descriptions.

10. Digging my old writing materials and going through them: Sometimes it makes me cringe seeing my old work but sometimes it makes me proud of myself to see how far I have come. Also at times I figure out an abandoned paragraph or chapter which can get the stuck story back on track very well.

***

This is all for now. The main reason I wrote this chapter out here was so I could revisit all the tips I have followed in the past and note them down in one place so that it could be helpful for me as well as you guys.

I hope you find it helpful and I really really hope my writer's block gets ended soon too because there are so many stories I have to write and I can't wait to get them all completed.