On writers block...

I've done a few behind the scenes write-ups, where I've focused on some technical aspects of making Light of my Life. Today I figured I'd do one about some other aspect of making the the game, which is the creative part, and more specifically, writers block and creative block.

So, the other day, I put an off-hand remark under the status update about having a short spell of writers block, and several people approached me on that, some to wish me luck, some expressing concern. 

Now, before we get started, let me just say I'm not blocked at all with creating Light of my Life, in any way. It's just one of those things that happens once in a while when you're creating. You have a bit of a creative block, an you have to find a way to deal with it.

In this post, I thought I'd share some of my experiences with it. Who knows, maybe you're creating too, in whatever capacity, and you get some use out of it. Or maybe you have some tips of your own you'd like to share in the comments. I'd love to hear them.

Well then, creative block. It happens. You're happily writing a scene, and all of a sudden you have no idea what happens next. Or there's a set to put together, or a visual to design, and you don't know where to go with it. Crap. 

And more often that not, it's not because you don't know what's supposed to happen. For Light of my Life, I have the overall arc and major story beats plotted out already, so I know what's happening in a few hours, days, and weeks. It's just, the bit right now that is a problem.

If you stare at the blank screen, the blank screen also stares back into you... 

So the first thing I do when I find I'm well and truly stuck, and nothing I try gives me anything I can work with, is go and do something else. If I'm stuck writing, perhaps I'll go and set up some images for the next scene. Or if I'm creating images, maybe I'll drop it and go process some of the rendered images awaiting to be put into the game. Or spend some time on a dialog for a scene a bit further down the line. Or I'll have a sammich. 

When I said before that I'm not blocked at all creating Light of my Life, it's because there's always something else to do. So a creative block isn't an impediment, it's just a signal for me to switch tracks for a bit.

Disengaging from the task you're blocked on, to let it sit to stew for a bit, does the trick most of the time. Just come back after a few hours, or a few days, and usually you be able to crack on. 

If you do take a break of more than a few hours, revisit that task you're blocked with once in a while, just to remind you it exists. Think of it as stirring the pot while the stew is bubbling away. It ensures that it's the low heat is still on somewhere in the back of your mind, and it keeps whatever process is going on in the depths of your consciousness moving forward.

Rubber ducking...

If that doesn't really do the trick, I find that externalizing the issues I'm having helps. And that can be to an actual person, but many software developers know about the rubber duck technique, and that works great here too. I'll just try to formulate or write down what the setup is and what I'm trying to achieve, as if to someone else. 

For instance, if it's a dialog, I'll write down who's involved, how they feel about the situation and each other, what I'd like to be the end result of the discussion.

In laying it all out like that, more often than not, something just clicks and all of a sudden things will start to fall into place, or you'll see a flaw in what you were trying to set up and another approach opens up.

Chipping away...

Sometimes, not even that gets you there, and then I find it's just a matter of chipping away at stuff. Basically, it's extending the rubber duck bit into zooming in further and further on details, in the hopes of finding a tiny crack that'll let me wedge the chisel in and crack it wide open. It can be the tiniest thing, like some simple ornament that becomes the kernel the rest of a set crystalizes around, or some minor detail about some previous event that is the first line of a dialog from which the rest flows.

If all else fails, give up.

Failure is always an option, and sometimes, it's just a matter of giving in. Perhaps whatever you were trying to achieve isn't meant to be for a reason. I find that it helps to have a talk with the characters to find out what they actually want. They know where they wanna go, and maybe I'm just getting in the way with fancy ideas. Just scrapping it and letting the characters tell you what's next resulted in some of the moment in Light of my Life I like a lot.

Conclusion

All of this is pretty abstract, and to be honest, I have no idea if it makes for an interesting read or not. But a lot of the fun in making a visual novel like Light of my Life is in the creative process. There's nothing quite like seeing things you had in your mind come together, but it's not always smooth sailing.

Feel free to share your tips and tricks on dealing with a creative block below.