Writing Advice: Getting Over Writers Block

(Originally written on 26/09/2024)

It seems like every writer has talked about writer's block at least once, and I’m surprised, at least from what I could tell, that I haven’t spoken about this. The truth is that I don’t know how to get over writer's block, at least not regularly.

Writers' Block differs from person to person, and what helps someone might not help you. The least I can do is talk about some of the writer's blocks I go through, hoping that some of the stuff I do might benefit you.

Why am I not writing?

This is the first question I ask myself. Is it because I’m dealing with trauma and burned out? Is it because I’m creating a new story and don’t know what to put on paper? Is it because I’m distracted by a new video game? Whatever the reason, figuring out why I’m not writing is the first step. Below are some common reasons why I stopped writing and how I handled them.

I’m depressed!

A lot of my writing slumps are because I’m either depressed or dealing with trauma in a way that prevents me from writing. Some people say writing is an excellent way to deal with trauma, and for that, I agree...it just doesn’t work for me all of the time.

If I’m going through a depressive episode, I can’t write. No matter how much I want to. Instead of forcing myself to push through this, I need time to recharge and relax.

I play video games, watch shows or movies, just do something for a week or two and just recharge and deal with my depression and trauma in a healthy way. I know I haven’t written anything in two weeks and want to, but once I get myself out of this cycle, I can get back to it.

I never found that pushing through my slump and just writing for the sake of writing was helpful. If anything, whenever I try to push through my depressive episode and write, I often get mad at my writing, which only makes the situation worse.

If your body tells you to take some time off and relax, I find it best to listen. Don’t fight your body; take a holiday, relax, and do something fun. Do whatever you have to recharge; when you feel better, you can return to your writing.

I just don’t know what to put on my paper!

I get this. Whenever I start a new story, I go through this a lot. Writing is hard. Creating ideas, stories, and characters is difficult when starting at square one. I’m writing this instead of my newest book simply because I don’t know what to put in it.

Authors create many different ways and techniques to help them escape this struggle, but writing something completely different often works for me. If I don’t know how to start a story, I fill out some character bios or do some world-building. If I don’t know what to put in this chapter, I go to the next one and move on. Suppose I’m having difficulty creating a new story from scratch where I don’t know the characters, world, lore, or anything. I often make a folder and put down straightforward things. Character A, B, dragons, fighting, and just leave it like that. This way, I can trick my brain into saying I’m working on this story; I know I don’t have much, but at least I have something.

Within those folders, I also just start putting random things in every once in a while, such as Character A...happy...short...something...it’s not much. Often times, Character A ends up becoming none of those things, but by putting even the randomness of things in a folder, I tell myself, yes, I’m writing, even if it’s by small amounts, I’m still writing.

Other times, I get upset if I haven’t written anything down for a while. To mitigate this, I write something that’s not related at all to what I want to write about, like creating writing advice articles! Or I might write a stupid letter to no one or express that I’m angry in a poem. I write for the sake of writing. Sometimes, if I struggle to write a story, writing something completely different helps my brain. How does that work? I’m not sure, but all I know is that it does.

Creating a little side project, something you can jump to whenever you’re stuck with your primary goal, helps me. Honestly,it’s why I created writing articles in the first place. Sometimes, your little side projects might take over your main writing for the next month or two, and honestly, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. If you need to take a break from your main writing project, you must take a break. If creating something on the side will help you with your creativity, go for it.

Other times, if I’m struggling, and it’s been like 1-2 weeks of not writing where I can’t seem to put anything down on paper. I write a simple word. Maybe it’s one word in the chapter I’m struggling with or one word in a character's bio. However, I’m telling myself I’m doing my best. It may be slow, but I’m doing my best, and when I’m ready, I’ll figure out more words to put down later.

I’m not good enough!

Sometimes, I get discouraged from writing when I notice others who seem to be achieving so much. My imposter syndrome often makes me hard on myself, and I believe my words are pathetic or cringe-worthy and that I should give up.

It’s challenging not to compare yourself to others, especially if you view them on a much higher pedestal than you. At times like these, I often reflect on where I came from. I kept a lot of my old writings from when I was young, and I chuckle as I try to figure out just what I was saying in those stories.

I look at the past to see how far I came along in the present, and while this doesn’t get rid of my imposter syndrome, it sometimes gets me out of it for just a moment to get me back into writing. If you can look back at your old writing and believe it’s horrible, then you know you’ve improved along your journey, and that’s great. You might be stuck now, but you’ve improved once, and you’ll do it again.

Writer's block is different for everyone, and you might experience writer's block in a way that I haven’t mentioned. If you’re struggling with this, I can give you one more piece of advice: simply chat with others. I’m a part of several writer's groups, and I enjoy talking with them or getting others to read my stories. And they could inform me what things they liked and didn’t like about my stories, and sometimes that might help me get out of my writing slump.

I engage in friendly conversations or debates. And sometimes, I chat about nothing in particular. I know we all write alone, but it’s good to know you're not alone in writing. Others are creating their stories alongside you, and cheering you on while you cheer them on is one of the greatest motivators I discovered. And I get that you might be an introvert and not want to socialise, or socialising takes a lot of energy. Many writers are introverts, so we understand the struggle of talking to others. Good writing groups won’t pick on you for not socialising. Good writing groups will encourage you to keep going. I know writing groups have their clicks and dramas, just like every online space, and talking in a place where there may be hundreds of people is scary. But if you can find a few people you click with, speak with them privately. Having a writing buddy and writing friends, even if it’s one or two, is a great way to get out of writing slumps.

That’s all I have about getting over writer's block; it’s a topic that doesn’t have a concrete answer because what works for someone might not work for you, and what does work for you one day might not work a second day. Just know it’s okay if your writing takes longer than you thought. Even professional writers struggle with this; you’re not alone. Take your time, take a breath, and I’m looking forward to seeing what you create in the future.

Creating your indigenous group

(Originally written on 25/09/2024) 

Creating your indigenous group.

Hi there, so you want to create an indigenous group in your world that’s not set on Earth? Great! I hope I can help by informing you of some things you should and shouldn’t do while creating your indigenous group for your story!

Before I continue, I must let you know I’m Taíno, and I don’t represent Native people as a whole, let alone represent my community as a whole, which is a perfect segue into the first point!

Indigenous groups aren’t a monolith!

When creating indigenous characters, many people will make everyone behave the same (except for one Native who’s different from the rest, and this is the only Native with whom the main character interacts).

For example, in Pocahontas, a 1995 Disney film, she’s the only one who acts differently from her tribe.

The Na'vi act the same, except for Neytiri.

The point I’m trying to make is that many people, when writing Indigenous characters, create a planet of the hat tropes. Sure, maybe two or three of the characters in a tribe might behave differently, but those are the exceptions. If anything, it proves what I just said: Most Indigenous groups are written to be monoliths.

Where you grow up and where you came from doesn’t automatically make you part of the hivemind. Let’s take the United States, for example. What’s the culture of America? How diverse is it? If I create a tribe based in America, what kind of people would I be making?

The United States isn't a monolith of ideologies and philosophies. An American from the North could have wildly different opinions and beliefs than an American from the South. So why does everyone in your indigenous group follow the same beliefs?

If you want to create a warrior Indigenous group whose central belief is “the strong will prevail” (First of all, that’s not original), but secondly, where’s the scientist? Where are the people who create better weapons to make fighting easier? Where are the people who generate armour so their warriors can stay in the fight longer? Where are the blacksmiths who made these weapons? Where are the teachers and educators to help train the newer warriors? Where are the doctors to help heal those who survived their fights so they can fight another day? Where are the cooks to ensure the warriors can fight on a full stomach?

See where I’m coming from? A society that’s bent on fighting still needs its basic needs met. A cook in a fighting society might be a cook because they don’t like to fight, but they don’t hate others who do. A teacher might be a teacher because they love the history of fighting and have more of a strategic mind than the quick reaction you need while in combat. A builder might be a builder because they can’t fight, but they can support their people by building them houses. Expand your society to something more than just a hivemind.

Religion

It’ll be hard to create an indigenous group without mentioning religion. For this reason, I’ll split this category into those without and those with computers.

Before computers (religion):

I don’t think I know of a single indigenous group with no connection to religion. Religion is the backbone of society. If you’re creating an indigenous tribe in a world that doesn’t have computers, you need to make a religion.

Please understand Indigenous people are the first people to set foot on your land and create a society. They could only survive because of religion. Religion helps teach others what’s right and what’s wrong. What’s dangerous, and what’s safe? To explain the unexplainable. The Norse and the Greek Gods? Those are religions, not myths. Religions that helped their community thrive and expand.

Religion gives a society a set of rules to follow and obey to keep everything in order. If you’re creating a society before computers, yes, many of your indigenous characters will be religious, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be a monolith.

Christians may believe in the same God and read the same book. However, you can still encounter two very different Christians from each other. Your indigenous group who follow a religion don’t all have to be the same person.

If you struggle with creating a religion or may have religious trauma, keep in mind that religion doesn’t have to be a core thing in your indigenous society, but more so, a set of codes and laws that affect the society you’re trying to create.

These codes and laws can be simple: "Thou shall not kill an innocent or steal from the hungry."

To something more complex, like saying a prayer before taking someone’s life or else they'll burn in Hell.

Religion also helps explain the unexplainable. Simple questions such as, "What is life?" "What’s my purpose?" "How was I created?" have been asked thousands of years ago, and all of these questions have been answered by religion in some way or another. Before science, before technology, before we knew the world was round, we had religion to explain things and guide us to where we are today.

After computers (religion):

If you’re creating an indigenous group of people set in a world with technology such as computers, yes, you still need to create a religion for said indigenous group. However, if you don’t want to write about religion, you can avoid it. Just because your indigenous character is indigenous doesn’t mean they have to be religious as well, especially in an age where technology is available.

Take, for example, me. I’m Taíno but not religious, though I understand and acknowledge the religion and myths my people created.

Religion doesn’t play as much of a role in a new-age society as an old-age one, so religion doesn’t have to be in your story if you don’t want it to. However, keep in mind if you’re creating an indigenous group. They wouldn’t have gotten to where they are if they didn’t have religion to guide them.

Culture

What’s the culture of America? Or Australia? What’s British culture? When we think of Indigenous culture, we often think of everyone acting the same. However, that’s only because when their history was being recorded, it was recorded using a biased lens and from a small selection of people that was then generalised for everyone.

Indigenous people have existed for thousands of years. We have a rich culture, and it has changed over the years. Still, we don’t know what we used to be or where we came from because when we were “discovered”, the people who "discovered" us only jotted down notes of what they saw and, more often than not, what they didn’t understand and assumed everyone in our tribe did the same thing when that’s simply not the case. Even “warrior-type” cultures like the Spartans or the Vikings, who fought a lot, had a rich and more profound culture that was more than just beating their opponents.

Indigenous people also spread out and didn’t stay in one area. We travelled and interacted with each other. We didn’t hide in our little corner of the world waiting to be “discovered” because we had already discovered others. Like today, we had beef with our rivals and greeted friends with open arms.

When you create your indigenous group, and you think of what their culture will be like, understand this. Culture is created and changed based on the general ideas and beliefs of the masses. You might have a group of Indigenous people be more peaceful, but then the war came, and they lost, so they changed into a more warrior-focused kind of tribe. Culture is formed and moulded by interaction with others, and often, things such as war will change the culture of a society. However, remember that smaller subcultures will emerge if your society is big enough. This is why it’s impossible to define current US culture.

Also, when talking about your indigenous culture, how big should your indigenous group be? I know 1,000 people sounds like a lot, but that’s a dying community. Depending on the story you’re creating, Indigenous people, before getting killed, were in the millions, just like the modern day. So, there’s a good chance subcultures might’ve formed.

You could have your indigenous group have a cultural mindset where you need to eat lots of food. They’re a peaceful group of people who don’t want to fight. However, they have a military because while they may be quiet, they understand if they’re defenceless, they’ll get killed. So, a warrior from the same tribe might also believe in eating as much as you can, but this warrior might do it for other reasons. The cultural idea of eating lots of food is prevalent in both groups, but they behave differently based on what they do and who they are.

Just remember the one thing I mentioned at the start of this article: Don’t create a monolith or a hive mind. Not everyone in your indigenous group will act the same as everyone else. If this kind of thing is challenging, try imagining the modern world. Not much has changed from when indigenous people roamed the world to what happens today; the main difference is technology and the speed at which everything gets done.

Indigenous people fought amongst themselves; they hated who ruled them, and there was religion, science, and wars, just like today. The only difference was that Indigenous history was erased and changed.

Look at Indigenous people for examples of creating your indigenous society.

This will depend on the kind of story you’re creating, the characteristics of the world, and so on. To simplify things, I’ll divide this into two sections: Before and after computers.

If your story is set in a world before computers, then you’ll most likely be thinking about creating your indigenous group to be kind of stereotypical. Keep in mind when looking at real-life examples, ask yourself this. “Why did they create this? Why did they believe that? How come they behave this way?”

Indigenous people created a club, then a spear, then a bow; if we weren’t killed off, would it be weird to assume we wouldn’t develop swords?

Indigenous people don’t wear clothes; is it because of the climate they are in? Is it because they believe the body is beautiful and has a different standard of beauty?

Indigenous people created herbal medicine; if we weren’t killed off, do you think we’ll just stick with that, or would we continue to craft what we made into more powerful medicine and maybe create pills?

If you’re creating Indigenous people set before computers, think about the area they live in and the climate. Look at others who lived in a similar environment to where you want your group to be. Figure out what and why they did what they did instead of just copying them.

It’s also a good idea to credit who you took inspiration from and speak to them. Ask questions, observe their community and learn their history. It’s the least you can do if you’re going to be using them as a base for creating your indigenous group.

After computers:

If you’re creating an indigenous group of people set in a world that has computers and other advanced technologies, and you keep them in the past, using spears and stuff...yeah...that’s just racist.

People grow with technology; anyone who doesn’t will get killed. The Spaniards and the British discovered how to use guns and smelt iron before the rest of the world, and they used that to their benefit.

Indigenous people of today, the reason why we cling to the past is because that’s all that we have left. Our ancestors didn’t survive long enough to adapt to the new world. So, if you’re creating an indigenous group of people set after computers, make sure they’re at the same level as everyone else and not stuck in the past. We’re not stuck in the past; it’s just that our ancestors couldn’t survive to make it to the present day, and the past is all we have left to prove to everyone we’re still alive.

Language

Depending on the story you’re creating, you don’t need to create a new language for your indigenous group. Take, for example, Avatar the Last Airbender. Nearly everyone is codded or was based on an indigenous group, with the water and air nations being the prominent examples; however, everyone speaks the same language.

If you’re creating a story with multiple different languages, then I recommend having your indigenous culture speak their own language. It’s just an extra bit of world-building that can help define your world better, as you can use this new language to create names and other things.

What are some examples of indigenous people in media?

Someone asked me for some examples of Indigenous people in media so they could see what other creators did and learn from them. The thing is, I can’t answer that, at least not in a way that says, “This is a good example.” Not because I don’t want to, but because I’m Taíno, and my group is so underrepresented that I can’t recall the last time we’ve been in the media.

I can’t and won’t speak on native rep when it comes to indigenous groups of whom I don’t belong. It’s hard to even talk about fictional Indigenous codded characters because most of them take massive inspiration from a single group of Indigenous people.

Examples are the following: The Celtics (Dragon Age Inquisition: Aavar), Aztecs, Mayans, Incans (Maya and the Three) Inuits, (Avatar the Last Airbender: Water Tribe), Native Americans (but more specifically, the natives who reside in modern America and parts of Canada...Avatar: Na’vi)

My view of these characters will differ from someone who’s a part of those cultures, and I won’t speak over their own views and opinions. So I can’t give you any examples for now because I don’t know any. Both The Pirates of the Caribbeans and Our Flag Means Death have Taíno rep. (Whether or not the writers knew natives who live in the Caribbean would be Taíno people is another topic)...I mean, in Dead Man Chest, the natives saw Jack Sparrow as a God...a white guy viewed as a God amongst the Natives...yeah...you can see why I can’t give you any good examples, right?

Overall, there are many factors to consider when creating an Indigenous group. If you have any more questions, please message me, and I’ll try to answer them. I hope you enjoyed this and have a good rest of your day.

Bo-matúm

Q: Turning into an animal and losing your humanity

 Q: Hello. I have two characters that slowly going crazy due to the powers and they are sacred of that happening since they could lose control of their powers and hurt the people they care about.

Would this fall under, the trope of “turning into an animal and losing your humanity”?

***

A: Hey there, and thanks so much for asking this question! I’m going to assume you mean this under the Indigenous umbrella, and the short answer is no, as the humanity thing is more specifically about getting turned into (physically) animals, beasts, or monsters.

Remember, many people don’t see us as humans, so a human losing their mind is still a human. A human who gets turned into another creature they’re no longer human and is dangerous. If you have a character who gets turned into a ‘savage beast’ that needs to get put down, it's the same belief when colonisers saw anyone with a different shade of colour.

However, I think you might need to speak with folks in the disability community because the trope of a character going crazy over time is more inclined to characters such as the Joker from Batman or even Handsome Jack from Borderlands.

This is outside my expertise, so I can’t help you with much on that front, but you should be fine as long as they aren’t physically changing.

But what if they are physically changing?

If you have physically transforming characters, I highly recommend that you make it clear that just because they transform, they don’t lose their ‘humanity’. As harsh as it is, it’s easier to genocide a bunch of people if you no longer see them as people. (*cough, Israel, cough*)

Characters who transformed are still people. They had a life before they transformed, and their lives and identities shouldn’t be stripped away just because they’re no longer human.

Let’s step back and talk about the Dark Spawn from the Dragon Age games. Every Warden fears the “Calling” because the calling means they’ll die and be transformed into Dark Spawns, and the Dark Spawns are monsters of pure evil. The Wardens lose their mind and are transformed, and I don’t mind this.

I don’t mind this because once a Warden falls to the Calling and is now a monster of pure evil, the story and characters still treat them as who they were, a Warden, and give them respect. They don’t like killing a fallen Warden, but nothing can be done. Once you become a Dark Spawn, that’s it; you can’t come back.

Losing your humanity and transforming can be done, but you must give the characters who transform respect—the same thing for most zombie stories. No one wants to be a zombie; when someone becomes a zombie, it’s shown as a devastating event. Jarled the Warden will always be Jarled the Warden, even after he becomes a Dark Spawn. The same thing goes for Tobey before he gets turned into a zombie; he’ll always be remembered as Tobey.

Suppose your characters lose their humanity and are physically transformed into creatures. In that case, I hope everyone will remember them as who they used to be instead of what they are now. I hope the other characters won’t be happy to kill the monsters because of what they are and will instead be upset that they can’t be turned back.

I hope this was helpful. Please let me know if you have any more questions, and I’ll try my best to answer them.

Q: Hi, I was wondering what are the common problematic tropes that you see in book?

Q: Hi, I was wondering what are the common problematic tropes that you see in book? 

A: Hey there! Thank you so much for asking this question; the short answer to your question is, I’m not sure ^^”

I’ve written lots of articles about problematic tropes (mainly when it comes to indigenous cultures), and the main one that comes to me is them being “savages”.

This one is straightforward: the main hero discovers a tribe of natives. The natives become hostile, barbaric savages—you get the point. They attack the hero, the hero defends themselves, and the story moves on.

Why is this one so bad in particular? What I just described was Christopher Columfuck's encounter with my people (the Taíno) and his discovery of Native Americans.

Indigenous people throughout history have always been shown as uncivilised. They attack the good people of [INSERT COLONISER COUNTRY HERE], so when we see this pop up in media, it kind of reinforces the stereotypes that all indigenous people are savages.

Now, let’s move on to disability. Disability tropes aren’t my thing, but if you have any disability questions about writing, I’d highly recommend going to the Cy-Cyborg Tumblr page and typing in the hashtag (#Writing disability with Cy Cyborg), as there’ll be several posts about disability tropes.

However, since it’s Disability Pride Month (This article was originally written in July of 2023), let’s talk about the “Being Disabled Is A Fate Worse Than Death” trope. This trope is written in a way that being disabled is so horrible the only thing you can do to escape it is to either kill yourself or let fate have mercy on your poor soul and take your life instead.

Such examples could be found if you watch the movie “Me Before You,” where the entire plot of the film is the main character is a billionaire who’s disabled, despite having all of the money in the world, despite falling in love, he hates being disabled so much he kills himself.

The second example is what happened to Snowkit from the Warriors series.

Snowkit is barely even a character, but it is notable in that it was the first deaf-named character in the series. They died in a single chapter because of their disability after a hawk garbed them. Several characters within the story claimed this was for the best. Keep in mind this is a children's story. If a deaf child saw this, it would send a message they could never be warriors and that they're better off dead.

There are several other problematic tropes in media, like the “Damsels in Distress”, which is pretty bad, or the reverse damsel in distress, where a hot woman kicks ass but is just there for the male gaze. (Think of any Michael Bay movie)

And here’s one that might shock you: “Love at First Sight/True Love Kiss” (Think of any Disney movie). The main character often has never been in a relationship before, finds the partner of their dream, and lives happily ever after. The problem is that love is messy, and the number of people staying with their first partner is so low I don’t think they’ll even appear on a stat board.

This trope teaches people (mainly children and teens) that their first love will be the love for them; it’ll be perfect, and when it doesn’t work, they get depressed, like really depressed. So yeah, in a way, I’ll add this as problematic for giving several teens false hope in their first love.

If you want to know more about any trope or writing question, please let me know, and I’ll do my best to answer it.