So when you're writing something, what is usually the one thing that makes you stop writing for a very long time? Do you get stuck with the plot? Character or city names? Or do you just lose the inspiration to write?

This counts towards poetry as well, or any other sort of written work.

Also, for those that don't write too much but would like to write more, what is the thing that makes you discouraged from writing?

I normally start getting bored.
That, or there are two different directions (or more) I could take it at a certain point, so I take a break to figure out which one, and it just gets forgotten, or I cannot decide.

I haven't written in a while, though, mainly due to time. I never have any anymore. When I do have the time, I intimidate myself by saying it all sucks, or it will end up abandoned like past works, isn't worth it, whatever. That, or something else distracts me.

So, to keep my writing skills up, I roleplay a lot. =P

Names usually aren't too bad for me. I can come up with first names fairly easily/fast. Depending on fast, if I think on it, usually less than a week of thinking about it on and off, I come up with something I like. It's the last names where I die. I know when it fits, but finding the whole name that DOES fit, can be very difficult. Names of cities, nations, countries, etc., not a real big deal.

For me its a mix of plot and inspiration/motivation. In general, before I even write I have the general plot thought out. But with every story, it has its ups and downs. There are parts of the story I REALLY want to write because its exciting, fun, full of action, things like that. But there are several chapters not quite up to the excitement as that one part of the story that I have to write through, to get to that part. I know its necessary and can still be fun, getting the reader to know characters better and things, but I just enjoy the epic confrontation a lot more.

That goes into motivation. I think I tend to act that I have to wait for some epiphone to strike me into a burst of genius writing material. Truth is, that doesn't happen so often. That kind of thing doesn't come, so I end up not writing. Plus its easy for me...not to. I have my laptop, a tv, radio, video games and books all in my room. The only thing I'm missing is a mini fridge and a toilet. Its much easier to sit around and watch tv or play video games than muster up my mental strength to write. A lot of easier and more fun things to do really.

Funny thing though, I find writing and exercising to be similar things. When you just think about it off hand, you usually aren't in the mood to do it. But when you 'get up' (in case of writing probably not) and decide to go and do it, you get into it. When you finish exercising, it was a little tough, but you feel better after you did it, despite it making you work a little. Same with writing, you get a good feeling out of it when you finish something.

In any case, with me, I just have one story here that I do. I have all the characters and plot figured out, its all motivation really. So usually, that's what holds me back. But if you have the will to fight it, you can get over it. I got over my writing slumps by just forcing myself to open up that word document and start writing/thinking until I got over whatever it was I needed to work through. Just recently I did just that, I feel much better and enjoy writing for my story a lot more now. Like I said, funny how that can work out. Then again, it may just be me.

I’ve always got ideas spinning around, so I can’t say I’ve run out of them as an excuse to not write, but I mostly just ride off whatever I have as horrible or whatever and then I’ll take a break. A long break. So for me, roadblocks to writing are generally depression and stress. (No that’s not a clichéd sentence. D= ).

Believe it or not, actually WRITING it makes me stop for a long time. It's REALLY easy for me to outline characters, create ideas, brainstorm symbolism, and decide what I want to do with a story. But then when I actually sit down to WRITE it, I get impatient, lazy, and it tends to make me stop. It's a terrible flaw of mine loll

Too much keeps me from writting. My feel and such just slipped away over the years. I used to love to write. At some point, it dropped to I noticed my spelling was getting bad. Then the grammar. And by the time I noticed I was not discribing stuff too well on a LOT of areas, and shoveling on the other errors, well, I just felt I needed to quit. I do kid myself and try, but it, like most anything I honestly try at, just fails and makes me wish I never tried in my life. I've had many stories in my head I wanted to write for 10 years now, and so far, I've written nothing good enough to save. I've shown some people before, and they liked it, but I still can't see what they liked X/ And any commenting of "well, at least you're better then me" is the kind of false encouragement that made me loath even showing anyone, them or others, whatever I had written at that time.

Ironically, once again, I am trying to come up with small, nothing stories to show to a friend so he can help me out (being the english freak he is), but for two weeks I'm lucky if I've made six-to-eight paragraphs by now, and looking it over, I feel if I continue, I'll ramble on and will stretch out, and not sound too discriptive, but keeping it short will make it look scrunched together, deatailed, but looks it could have been inflated larger by putting more time into the story both in writting and in the story's time frame X/ I'm so close at hating writting now I am about ready to just bench it with cooking.

hmmmm..... I think what kills me the most is when I lose work I've written. I write best when I do it off the top of my head and not when I'm trying to remember what I once had put on paper. I lost several stories that way over the years and there isn't a help for it but to keep lots of backup copies. Recently I've started a blog where I put all my raw ideas on , hopefully that will keep them somewhere I won't lose them.

A few times losing work has actually helped me out. If you read some of my stuff you will notice as the years go by I get better. Sometimes I'm able to put something in a story that would have never been there if If I hadn't left it sit waiting until I got an inspiration. Also actual experience changes your writing voice. All my work I've done after I joined the Army in 2005 I think has been more combat realistic. I've been to Iraq and been shot at so Its not any longer a distant experience for me I know what it feels like.

I think the things a person reads is probably the most important thing of all however. For a long time I had the bad habit of taking up the author's voice after reading their books. Time was, that I would read a particular author just to use his voice in my work. You might pick up on it in some of my stuff if you know what to look for. The thing I hate though is to use something that has been picked to to death, I like to forge my own path when I look for ideas. Thats probably why I get stuck so often. Its hard for me to write if feels too much like something I'm reading because It doesn't feel like me and my voice.

The greatest enemy of any writer I think may also be time. As a person gets older and learns more the longer you put off writing a book it gets harder and harder to drift back into the story and take the reins again. I've been writing since I was about fifteen, and its always a learning process. I also have many bad habits that constantly war with my ability to tell a story. (such as hyperactive comma placement) As I work I learn to write better and tailor my work to focus towards a particular effort I often change my style and then when I go back to older projects I can't simply write the same way. The result is my inability to get a book past 60 pages.

Sharing the work helps immensely, but I've found its what you see around you and the experiences happening to you that shape your mind as you work. Sometimes it is the combination of talking with other writers, getting input and experience that bumps your block down. Its happened before, and its an invaluable tool to use.

Sometimes, its a good idea to wipe the slate clean, or you might find yourself forcing the work before its ready to come out. The result is something that can kill a story and leave you grasping for the next thread. I write for the enjoyment itself, more than any monetary reason so I think one of the greatest and worst things about myself is that there are few deadlines thrown in my path. Its good too, because if you are deep in a story it often is bursting to come out. Especially if its a totally new idea and poses unique challenges.

Sometimes Fetch, when I find I can't write anymore about what I'm working on I start little stories, abut random things like I take a particular character and write about his or her day in their world. I put my shoes into the clerks, the mechanic that fixes the starfighter or the soldier as he cleans his weapons and ponders battles to come. It does two things, it keeps your frame of mind fresh and it adds more back story. Sometimes those little tales can actually be added to the main work if you can fit them in somehow. I started this shortly after I got back from Iraq and started work on Warfeathers because of it. I hadn't actually written anything in my year of deployment and even a few years before that.

It was hard, and for a long time I didn't think I would ever write again. Then as I wrote, first about little things then I discovered how much I had missed it. For me the writing was therapy, and many of the things I went through popped up, and were exposed to be swept away as I made sense of them. Oh and if you do a lot of online stories like I do, a good idea is to get Firefox. I think it auto corrects if you have the right stuff activated and installed on it. Half of the things I write would be unreadable if I didn't have that feature so don't fee bad about your English.

I get frustrated with the start... beginning is always the hardest for me....

That, and the character development... I start off knowing where I want the people, but it takes forever for them to get there.... they get lost easily.....

Often times getting started is complicated and hard. You try to start off on the right foot, but it doesn't quite come out how you invision it. For me, the beginning and end are the easiest. Its the middle that's always hazy. How to get from point A to point B without boring the reader, keeping everything coherent and interesting so people don't lose interest. That's the hardest part for me, when it comes to that. Still, I think a lot of people who want/like to write often don't get to that middle part because of the beginning struggles.

Yeah, I'd agree with Exire...I usually get more frustrated with middles than beginnings...Which is why I tend to just write some random garbage for the middle just so that I can continue on. That's why we go back to edit afterwards, right? =P.

For me wirter block come when I can't put my words on paper. I forget my plot and the meaning of the story. That what happen when you have bad vocabualry. and bad spelling.