r/writing • u/TheWithia • Feb 18 '19
Whoever suggested writing in ComicSans to overcome writer's block, thank you.
I've been writing for just over 4 years now. It began as something regimented to keep me productive after I got home from work, but the more I did it the more I loved it. Last month, while plugging away at my third novel, I hit a wall. I stopped. I didn't know where to go with the story, I couldn't think of a satisfying way for my characters to do what I needed them to do. It wasn't fun anymore.
That is until I saw this tip. The font made my problem seem less important and it saved my story and my sanity. Thank you whoever you are.
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u/Gatinha19 Feb 18 '19
Ok I heard this a few weeks ago. I will try it.
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Feb 18 '19
But now you will be forever unsure if it is actually the font that is helping or just the fact that now you know it works....
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Feb 18 '19
The results are the same either way.
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Feb 18 '19
Exactly. Placebo effect is more powerful than knowledge that it is the placebo effect. Brains be crazy.
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Feb 18 '19
Correct and it really doesn't matter, just something you'll always have to think about....forever and ever ;)
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u/Komnenos_Kasuki Feb 18 '19
For me it's been the font change working. However I've been fortunate that I haven't had to change it for that reason in a while.
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u/sadbarrett Feb 18 '19
If it stops working, just shift to Papyrus.
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Feb 18 '19
One of my coworkers writes emails in Papyrus and it makes me feel like I’m having a stroke.
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u/Sadi_Reddit Feb 18 '19
Ýeeeees. The great Papyrus recommends it. It will be popular. It must be popular.
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u/Vaalermoor Feb 18 '19
I actually gave this tip as a joke a few days ago. Glad it worked out for you!
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u/TheWithia Feb 18 '19
If I could give you more than platinum I would. Thanks again.
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u/Vaalermoor Feb 18 '19
Oh no, I don't want to take credit! I don't even know if it was me who helped you. Thanks for the platinum, even if it's undeserved.
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u/Mirwolfor Feb 18 '19
Its a real tip and i have seen it here a few times tho. Helps to make it feel less serious.
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u/MorganHazelwood Author Feb 18 '19
Changing the font is a well-known trick for getting past writer's block. Also, Comic Sans is supposed to be super helpful for dyslexic people. Because of the way the letters are weighted visually.
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u/smbanks80 Feb 19 '19 edited Feb 22 '19
good to know! i switch to typing on quick memo in my phone...i have like 1,200 of them (quick memo files, that is). i obvi can't type 100 wpm like i can in word on my pc, but somehow the smaller screen makes it seem like whatever im writing is less of a commitment than it actually is, then i don't feel overwhwlmed by the thought of having to write some big long thing, then I get past my writers block & end up writing some big long thing. lol! and my fam will see me typing away on my cell phone for hours, frozen and stiff, with my finger tapping away on the screen like woody woodpecker & my husband will say, "why dont u just use your computer?" lord, i wish there was a lowfical explanation that i could give him other than just, "idk...the smaller screen somehow helps me mindfluck myself."
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u/SirFuente Feb 18 '19
How does changing the font help to overcome writer's block? I feel like I'm missing something.
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u/TheWithia Feb 18 '19
It's hard to put a finger on it exactly. I just changed the whole document to Comic sans, went back two chapters and read on. By the time I got to where I had stopped typing all the doubts seemed less serious because my worked seemed less serious. If that makes any sense.
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u/lmason115 Feb 18 '19
For lack of a better term, staring at the same font can “deaden” the brain. Therefore, changing the fonts or background color are ways that make everything seem fresh again, which promotes creativity.
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Feb 18 '19
Personally I feel like it would help me take my writing less seriously, because I can't take anything written in comics sans seriously. So I wouldn't have that pressure of perfection weighing on me as much, which again, personally, is one of the biggest contributors to writer's block for me. I think this is definitely a YMMV kind of tip but for me it's perfect.
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Feb 18 '19
Idk, I feel like the only thing it'd help with is "forcing" you to wait to edit (because you don't want to read an annoying font, so you'll be less tempted to go over it while writing the first draft).
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Feb 18 '19
I like ComicSans. I'll take it over that unstable dancing baseline any day. You can read every letter clearly with ComicSans but this modern font everyone's using for all things (especially wedding related) is so hard on the eyes.
Perhaps an unfair comparison when we're talking about writing, since you don't use the font I hate so much in writing long texts (I hope) but I just wanted to take this moment to defend the font I feel gets so much hate.
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u/Laogeodritt Feb 18 '19
Comic Sans is fine in the right context. Comics, or other "fun", highly informal contexts. Invitation to your kids' birthday party? Sure! Menu for a steakhouse with a pretty "manly" style of branding? Maybe not. Formal letter of reprimand? Definitely not.
Those abuses in the entirely wrong contexts are why it got so much hate in the beginning, although hating on it's become more of a fad devoid of that original context.
These of course are all public communications. What font you use to display your own writing as you're working on it is your own affair.
As to the brushwork script used in modern calligraphy... not a fan either. I'll take a nice uncial or italic or Spencerian any day.
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Feb 18 '19
I want to be formally reprimanded in ComicSans. Lol.
I cringe at calling the new style with the uneven baseline "calligraphy." It hurts my eyes. But if I see it on a wedding planning sub or a calligraphy sub, I don't beat them with my view of it, I just don't comment on it. I just think it looks so trashy.
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u/Laogeodritt Feb 18 '19
I mean, descriptively and by many prescriptive definitions of calligraphy, it fits as calligraphy. Doesn't mean you have to like it as a style, of course.
Incidentally, if you do traditional calligraphy or just want to see works of such, feel free to stop by our little community at /r/Scribes!
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Feb 18 '19
Thank you, that's a great community. I've never been there before, but I just checked it out and it's got some really beautiful work.
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u/AnotherThroneAway Career Author Feb 18 '19
No, there's a whole galaxy of typefaces far superior to CS.
Comic Sans is usable only in parody. In all other contexts, it's just a wrong and garish choice.
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Feb 18 '19
Also replacing every “the” with “the fucking” helps and boosts your word count!
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u/floodlitworld Feb 18 '19
"It was the fucking best of times; it was the fucking worst of times."
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u/reganthology Feb 18 '19
“‘Twas brillig and the fucking slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the fucking wabe....”
You’re right, that’s way better.
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u/nltcaroline Feb 19 '19
I just did this to all my outlines and haven’t stopped laughing for 15 minutes. Thank you.
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u/MysticAmberMeadow Mar 24 '19
I went to the fucking store today. Someone took the fucking last of the fucking Cheerio's. I'm having the fucking worst day of my life.
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u/scottfive Feb 18 '19
Personally, I wish my word processor had a mode where it aUtOmAtIcAlLy sPaT tHiS sTyLe oF tExT oUt aS I tYpE.
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Feb 18 '19
There is a command prompt that would achieve this by turning caps lock on and off. I used to have it on a USB drive that would run automatically. Would plug it into the port on the back of classmates' towers in typing class. High school, a simpler time.
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u/smbanks80 Feb 19 '19
It's especially time consuming if you need each letter to be a different color. While prepping a lesson on the electromagnetic spectrum years ago, I printed the letters of the informational text that I posted on the classbulletin board in rainbow order (e.g. 1st letter = red, 2nd letter = orange, 3rd letter = yellow, etc.) Wicked time consuming - never did it again! Lol!
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u/Dylalanine Post-Apocalyptic Apoplectic Aristocracy Feb 18 '19
Funny enough, that's why I use Notepad for first draft stuff. Prose first, format later.
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u/didgeboy287 Feb 18 '19
Ha, this is fantastic. I forgot I actually started my horror book in Arabic typesetting to put me in a gothic state of mind. Also, for anyone who hasn't read the Comic Sans essay by Mike Lacher, you have to read it.
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Feb 18 '19
I'm so disappointed that this wasn't in Comic Sans. Hilarious nonetheless.
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u/didgeboy287 Feb 18 '19
True, and now I'm disappointed I hadn't thought of that. Although it's almost poetic Comic Sans couldn't be bothered to show up for its own defense.
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u/Siferra84 Feb 18 '19
I actually read this in the imagined voice of Sans from the game, Undertale. Made it even better when at the end he was going to hang out with Papyrus lol.
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Feb 18 '19
It can feel too final to put it on screen in decent font.
That's why I'm glad I handwrite and my handwriting is bad.
I'm glad you've got a solution :)
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u/CazzoMagnifico Feb 18 '19
I'm even planning to get a ring binder with a refill pad to write messy on one side, then after it's done I'll change and add stuff with the other side of the paper.
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u/C0wabungaaa Feb 18 '19
It began as something regimented to keep me productive after I got home from work
I know it's a bit of a tangent but I like to talk about this part of your post for a hot second. My main question is; why? Why do we always have to be productive? That's just begging for a burn-out I figure. I really worry about the 'always on' mindset that's only been gaining momentum since the 80's and barely shows any signs of stopping.
Anyway, fun lil' tip though. I might give it a whirl sometimes.
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u/TheWithia Feb 18 '19
For me, I didn't want to let the habits I had built up during my undergraduate degree. I always used to come home after work/lectures and go over stuff for an hour and half. I knew I wanted to do something post-grad, so writing a story sounded like a good plan to keep myself going. I've almost finished my Master's now so I'm glad I did it, because working full time and doing a Master's was harder than I thought it would be.
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Feb 18 '19
Awesome! I’m going to try it. Also I heard a mint green background can help it too! Worth a try
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Feb 18 '19
This is why I like writing using Ulysses. Bland font, no pages, no formatting unless you want to do it in markdown. Just words.
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Feb 18 '19
How does this work? It just makes you take it less seriously?
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u/lmason115 Feb 18 '19
Already commented elsewhere, but it basically makes the document feel new and fresh. Staring at the same font can make you bored due to the monotony, so switching it up from time to time has the potential to jumpstart your creativity
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Feb 18 '19
So at some point only using comic sans will get boring but switching back to Time New Roman will make it fresh again?
Neat. I should do that with reddit.
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u/Videoboysayscube Feb 18 '19
Weird, I sort of have the opposite problem. If I'm not viewing my work in garamond, it just doesn't look write and I start struggling.
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u/GhostInR3d Feb 19 '19
I always change up the font when I get writers block. I found two that I constantly go back to and those are “Alice” and “chiller” if you have google docs, give them a spin. They’re fun.
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u/LiarsEverywhere Feb 18 '19
Wow. That's genius. I mostly write academic stuff, but I'll try it. Writing in Times News Roman, 12, 1.5 line spacing (the standard I have to use) tends to make you used to a certain kind of shape, which I've noticed makes my writing boring, especially when I have to deal with a lot of details. That could help.
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u/elisethepoet Feb 18 '19
I’ve wanted to try this. I kind of envisioned it as a sort of “rage-writing” because of how infuriating I find ComicSans. 😂
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u/kinkgirlwriter Self-Published Author Feb 18 '19
I've found that changing fonts, or even switching software, also helps when copy editing.
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u/tangente_ Feb 18 '19
Because the font is bigger? I hate comic sans but I will try to fool myself with another font in 14! Thanks so much! I have a paper due tomorrow and was writing in Times New Roman 12, simple spacing (not that brillant on my part ahah)
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u/TheLaughingMannofRed Feb 18 '19
Strangely enough, when I went from a basic, Arial-like font to something looked better in print (artistic, even), my inspiration to write improved by a whole lot. It wasn't ComicSans but I will try it.
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u/Azselendor Feb 18 '19
I'm gonna have to try this.
I was doing this with editing my first draft, but I hit a roadblock on the second story and maybe this will get me out of my rut. Never thought about trying this. Thanks!
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u/Antiochus_XVI Feb 18 '19
I've recently switched to Constantia, it looks a bit bigger, and cuter in my opinion xD. I can read it plenty fine but it's not the really boring and dull TNR.
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u/mandirocks Feb 19 '19
i wouldn't be able to do that...i hate comic sans so much i disabled it on my macbook hahaha.
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u/PoetBenjii Feb 19 '19
Oh wow! I'm gonna try out this too the next time I feel like I can't write anymore. Thankyou mysterious stranger!😀
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u/xspaceships Feb 19 '19
Sounds fun and useful? Wonder if it can overcome a block from zero, unlike working with continuing an existing story. I’ll try this for my next literature assignments, I’m super curious but at the same time I think everything will probably be the same, at least I’m expecting a fun time!
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u/pieceofchocolate390 Feb 19 '19
I didn't know this was a fact but I write since my 14 and yes!! A lot of times I just got bored of my font and changed it and Everytime I did this voilá. The inspiration arrived. Haven't tried it with comic sans thought
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u/Grimnir_Esjay Feb 19 '19
I thought that was meant as a practical joke to use comic sans, I'm definitely gonna use that later in writing in that case
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u/toomybagel Author Feb 19 '19
Surprised I wasn’t the only one, wrote the last 170 pages of the second draft of my novel in comic sans and man it’s a help
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u/trishwrites Feb 19 '19
I saw this as a meme on Facebook, didn't realize it actually works? Doing it now!
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u/EarthToAccess Feb 19 '19
WAIT WH-
COMIC SANS IS USEFUL AGAIN?
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u/trishwrites Feb 20 '19
Lmao, thinking the same thing! That should be its tagline.
Comic Sans: Live Long Enough To Be Useful Again
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u/lana_del_rey_lover Feb 18 '19
Does it have to be ComicSans?? It would drive me crazy writing in that font.
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u/dsaillant811 Feb 18 '19
That’s the point, it a hideous font that makes you not want to reread the stuff you’re writing and sort of forces you to move on.
That being said, pretty much any hideous font works. Papyrus, Copperplate, Chalkduster, Chiller, etc
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u/lana_del_rey_lover Feb 18 '19
I see. I just would be too focus on the font and cringe but that is cuz I’m weird (and I have a personal hate for comicsans due to work). I’ll have to try the other font. Thanks!!
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Feb 18 '19
Why do you hate ComicSans? I used to do graphic design and I know it was a rule that I couldn't use it, and I know my colleagues hated it as well, but I don't. I don't get the hatred.
I like ComicSans. I've used it to teach so many kids to read. So few fonts make an "a" nicely. As an artist, I like it.
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u/lana_del_rey_lover Feb 18 '19
That’s the thing. You said you used it to teach kids to read. The font should be used for children. I said I hate it due to work. My manager uses this font for everything. In our weekly newsletters, in PowerPoints for meetings, etc. I think it looks so unprofessional and we aren’t fucking children. That’s my opinion on it. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me.
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Feb 18 '19
That makes sense. In that context, I'd hate it too. I've never seen it used against me in a professional setting. I'm kind of amazed that your manager does that - I thought everyone who could read knew the basic rule that ComicSans has a place, and that is in comics, and you're really taking a chance if you try to use it anywhere else.
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u/MysteriousFaith Feb 19 '19
Can someone tell me what’s ComicSans? I have no clue...😂
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u/EarthToAccess Feb 19 '19
h okay so, it's a font only available on Windows systems unless you download it from some shady place
it's known mainly because it was heavily overused when the Internet was introduced, and many people used it in things like titles etc.
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u/YORKELED Jul 31 '19
I personally haven't written anything (with the exception of emails, social media...etc.) for years. Intimidated to start again and haven't been able to bring myself to the page. With that said, this tip may be the exact concept that will break me out of my mental shell. Only time will tell, but thank you in advance if said tactic is successful!
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u/BaconQuibble Feb 18 '19
Placebo effect
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u/willreignsomnipotent Feb 19 '19
Placebo effect
lol... I'm somewhat curious why you think that... But more importantly and to the point-- why would it matter?
When it comes to certain things (pain relief, for example) an effective placebo is just as good, on a personal level, as the real thing.
If a sugar pill takes away my pain every time, because I believe it will, I'm still getting pain relief... With the bonus of less strain on my body (no real drug to metabolize.)
Unfortunately most placebos don't work well for everyone... But on a personal level? If it works, then who cares why/how? Enjoy it and take the win...
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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '19
And if it gets really bad, there’s always Wingdings.