# Can't Write



## OurJud (Jul 17, 2013)

I haven't touched my sci-fi short story for over a fortnight now, and I still can't see the day when I'll be ready to go back to it. In fact, I haven't written _anything_ creative in that time.

I'm just not in that bubble and it's so disheartening and frustrating to be in a state, day after day, where I'm just not 'feeling' it.

I could force myself to write, but I've tried this and it doesn't work. I just end up writing terrible stuff that only frustrates me further and makes me want to stay away from it for even longer.

It's a measly short story that means nothing to anyone but me, but I just feel as though I can't finish it. It's like a fear; a fear of failure and it's getting me down.

Does anyone else go through this? If so, how do you handle it, please?


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## popsprocket (Jul 17, 2013)

It's only a rare thing for me since I usually have several things on the go. It helps to have those several things at different stages of writing. Currently I have 3 things at various stages of development, so on days where I feel like actually writing there's plenty to do, but I also allow my thoughts to wander off and do some planning for another story.

But if I get really stuck then I like to cave in to my lowest desires and write those trope-laden stories that would make any reader cringe. I don't have to make it very far through them - maybe only write a scene or two - but it's fun and it steers me back onto the path of wanting to keep writing.


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## Terry D (Jul 17, 2013)

What you are describing sounds like the difference between wanting to have written a story, and wanting to write one. For me, it is a love of the process of writing that puts my tush in the chair at my desk five days each week to work on my next project. Not all of those days are equally productive, but each gets me a few steps closer, and each makes me a better writer. I know right where that "bubble" is, it's in my den surrounding my chair. It's there because I put it there, I don't wait for it to descend upon me, or to be delivered by that inconsistent harpy some call a muse. If what I write on any given day is garbage, I throw it out and am thankful I got that junk out of my system--like flushing sediment out of a pipe before the clear water flows. It is worth the effort and the discipline to hold a completed work in your hands even if it never gets published.


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## shadowwalker (Jul 17, 2013)

I would suggest one of two things:

1) Force yourself to write. I know you said you've tried that, but maybe try a different way. Don't try to write anything 'serious'. Look out your window and describe what you see, in all the purple detail you can. If there's a person out there, fantastic - a new character! Write a story about what that person might be doing - even if it's one paragraph. Mind you, it has to be a piece of fiction, not just a blow-by-blow of their actual motions. If no person is there, watch a bird and write a kid's story - again, even if it's just a paragraph. But play with the scene before you - and I do mean _play _with it.

2) If that just absolutely, positively doesn't work, mark a date on your calendar. A week, two weeks - no longer than that though. During the time between now and that date, you cannot write. Nada. Zip. You're on holiday. But only until that date on your calendar. Remember that - it's your deadline for down time. Now, either you'll get so frenzied at not being _allowed _to write that you'll break out early and get at it, or you'll be prepared mentally for that deadline and ready to start writing (and undoubtedly there will be new ideas just waiting to be written about).


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## OurJud (Jul 17, 2013)

Thanks for the replies, each.



Terry D said:


> What you are describing sounds like the difference between wanting to have written a story, and wanting to write one.



Terry, don't misunderstand me. It is the process of writing that I enjoy too, far more than the finished product.

I dunno, maybe it's just a simple lack of discipline on my part. All I know is that I have nothing else to do all day long, I'm bored stiff, and yet even when taking those factors into consideration, I still can't bring myself to open my story and continue.


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## Fred (Jul 17, 2013)

Hi Jud,

I'd bet you're not the only one who gets frustrated and blocked like this. I'm about 60,000 words into my baby, but hit a sticky patch last week and took time off to work it out. I don't feel I needed to write anything down, as I was still able to mull things over and mix the ingredients in my head when I was nowhere near the laptop. I went for days without getting a spark and then something clicked and I solved a plot problem whilst I was walking the dog. Sometimes it can help to take a break from the physical act of typing and try and address the problems by just going for a walk, for example, and juggle ideas in your head.

One thing that helped me when I lost faith altogether with my novel and practically gave up after about 20,000 words, was to realise that I shouldn't be trying to make it perfect on the first run, that I was editing and re-writing everything every step of the way and I should instead just get the first draft finished, acknowledge the fact that it'll stink like a teenager's bedroom, and look forward to editing and re-writing later. I find I can chop through the problematic portions these days because I don't care if they're crap now; I'll clean them up later. Otherwise, I'd have the problem of never finishing - I have lost faith in many, many previously attempted projects, and dumped all their stinking, half-formed corpses along the highway of the years. I wish I hadn't. I wish now that I'd finished the damned things, because the ideas weren't all bad, and I think they'd benefit from my rewriting and fresh edits.

Maybe you can try lowering for a while the bar that you've set yourself; perhaps getting something - anything - written down now that will move your story along will put you in a clearer place a little further into the narrative, help you remember why you like that character so much, or light up the shiny little jewel of the concept that made you excited about the story in the first place? Maybe even skip the difficult sequence and start again a little further into the narrative where the territory is little greener, coming back when the mojo allows.

Perhaps you might recharge your creative battery a little if you put the short story away for a while, turning it over in your head now and again to keep it breathing, and in the meantime start playing with one of those other ideas in the back of your brain. Write something else for a little while, and come back later, when you're ready. But keep writing. Just keep writing. Write the terrible stuff. Don't be frustrated, just write it. We all write terrible stuff. Everyone. I don't care who you are, if you've written anything, you've written some foul crap at one time or another. Write lots of terrible stuff. Try and work out why you think it's terrible, and if it is, re-write it. Don't just look at it in a vacuum - get a second opinion (not your wife's, by the way, or your mother's, your best friend's, your hamster's or your neighbour - find someone objective - these forums are as good a place as any to start). If it's still terrible, find the problem and re-write it again. Writing is, as they say, re-writing. And who would re-write good stuff?

EDIT: I realise I might have echoed prior suggestions from wiser heads, but this post took so long to write I was automatically logged off… I guess that's procrastination for you!


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## OurJud (Jul 17, 2013)

Thanks again for the comments. You really are a very knowledgeable and helpful bunch. Just these few replies have helped restore my enthusiasm and belief - only marginally because the rest is up to me, but still a very helpful boost!


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## Jeko (Jul 17, 2013)

If you can't write something good, write something bad, understanding that by adhering to the longevity of the process of writing you are, in fact, writing something good, though it looks bad at this stage.


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## FleshEater (Jul 17, 2013)

Something that works for me is reading a novel or watching a film that doesn't take itself too seriously. Sometimes just reading the work of someone who wrote a novel because they love the genre, the story, whatever, is enough to make me want to just write whatever, and love it, too. 

Had I never read Jonathan Janz's House of Skin, I probably never would have started on my own novel. Janz's novel isn't ground breaking, but it's written by a guy that just let it all hangout, not caring what anyone thought. I commend him for that, because it's hard.


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## Angelicpersona (Jul 17, 2013)

I'm experiencing this right now too. I'm getting very VERY close to the end of my novel, but the ideas seem to have stopped flowing. Granted, I've been sick for a little while too, but I realized yesterday that characters from my other stories are closing in, so I decided to put down my nearly finished novel for a little bit and work on another story, in the hopes that by working on that I'll be able to work through things to work on the first one again.


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## OurJud (Jul 17, 2013)

Angelicpersona said:


> [...] so I decided to put down my nearly finished novel for a little bit and work on another story, in the hopes that by working on that I'll be able to work through things to work on the first one again.



And therein lies the difference. I don't want to write, full stop.


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## Jeko (Jul 18, 2013)

> I don't want to write, full stop.



Then write. Whenever I really feel like writing (often halfway through a session of working on my WIP) I stop. Whenever I really don't feel like writing, I make myself write until I do, then I stop. This way, the first draft of my WIP will get finished, even if it is against my will.


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## OurJud (Jul 18, 2013)

You must have more drive than me, Cadence, that's all I can say.

I almost feel as though I will do myself more harm than good by forcing myself to write, as the process at times like this is so utterly frustrating and feels so pointless than I fear I'll just drive myself further away from writing.


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## Kyle R (Jul 18, 2013)

How about reading?

Often, if I feel I'm in a creative slump, reading the kind of literature that I'm trying to write can bring about motivation and inspiration. Seeing another writer's imagination come to life on the page is liberating to me. It reminds me that, "Hey! I can do this, too!"


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## Jeko (Jul 18, 2013)

> I almost feel as though I will do myself more harm than good by forcing myself to write



Exactly. That's the evil force within you trying to lull you into a false perspective about the process.

Only by writing can you understand why writing frustrates you and begin to improve your outlook on it. The more persistent you are with getting words down onto a page, regardless of feeling, the more confident, assured and motivated you will get. It will always continue to be frustrating in some respect, I suppose, but as they say: no pain, no gain!

Reading is also good. I take a book of a similar genre to my WIP wherever I write.


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## Shadoe (Jul 18, 2013)

OurJud said:


> I haven't touched my sci-fi short story for over a fortnight now, and I still can't see the day when I'll be ready to go back to it. In fact, I haven't written _anything_ creative in that time.
> 
> I'm just not in that bubble and it's so disheartening and frustrating to be in a state, day after day, where I'm just not 'feeling' it.
> 
> ...


Have you examined where you're going with the story itself? Sometimes when I stall on a story it's because some part of me knows that the plot just isn't working.


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## patskywriter (Jul 18, 2013)

OurJud, have you considered taking your characters out for a spin?

Put your characters into a situation—going out for ice cream, dismembering the postman (I don't know what type of story you're working on)—and write a little scene. Don't put any pressure on yourself, and just write it for a laugh. You might find yourself getting back into the groove. It's worth a try, at least.


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## OurJud (Jul 18, 2013)

KyleColorado said:


> How about reading?
> 
> Often, if I feel I'm in a creative slump, reading the kind of literature that I'm trying to write can bring about motivation and inspiration. Seeing another writer's imagination come to life on the page is liberating to me. It reminds me that, "Hey! I can do this, too!"





Cadence said:


> Exactly. That's the evil force within you trying to lull you into a false perspective about the process.





Shadoe said:


> Have you examined where you're going with the  story itself? Sometimes when I stall on a story it's because some part  of me knows that the plot just isn't working.



Kyle, I'm afraid I don't feel much like reading, either, but I know what you say is true. Nothing inspires me more to write than reading something in the genre I'm working on.

Cadence, I can't say I've ever looked at it that way.

Shadoe, the only bit of my story I'm unsure about is the ending, but I know where I'm going up to that point so have plenty to go at and can't really use plot problems as an excuse for my not wanting to write.

Anyway, I started this thread asking for help and advice with my slump, and I've had it in droves. I'm not about to throw all this advice back in your faces so will make the promise that I will do my best to force myself to write at least something, as painful as I might find it.

Failing that I will pick up a sci-fi book and start reading.


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## OurJud (Jul 20, 2013)

Forced myself to write on my story today. I spent about three hours and managed to get down precisely 229 words.

Better than nothing, I suppose, but I can't say I feel any better for doing it.


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## Jeko (Jul 20, 2013)

> but I can't say I feel any better for doing it.



Good. Keep at it. The evil force inside you wants you to give in!


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## midnightpoet (Jul 20, 2013)

I quite understand this.  I have several projects in the works and sometimes i get to a certain point and just get stuck - on all of them.  Sometimes just walking away helps.  Vacuum the carpet.  Go jogging.  Many times ideas have come to me during a simple walk.  who knows, it might even inspire you to do a new project.

good luck and keep writing

midnite poet


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## OurJud (Jul 20, 2013)

Thanks 

And hey, even the greats struggled. Fast forward this clip of a classic UK sitcom from the 70s (re-made in the States as Sanford & Son) to 18:40 and listen to what he says about flaubert on 18:59 

[video=youtube;PFxVBS7gFSs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFxVBS7gFSs[/video]


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## Greimour (Jul 20, 2013)

Wow, I just wrote a huge blog as response to this.

When I get stuck where you are describing, I tend to do the absurd.

Step One: Beat up the keyboard

iuwfebhisavbobyunaesvf

Step Two: Write something silly with those letters;

*I* was a wandering fisherman
*U*nder a sky of stars
*W*hen at last I met the one
the *F*ish that fell from mars

*E*scape it tried for sure
*B*ut I did not let go
*H*e would make me rich
*I*f I could land him in my bow

(and on I continue)

This is just a creative stimulous... after I have messed around like that, I leave the computer and make a drink or something. I come back and visit a writers forum. After a little reading (usually poetry) and often with a reply... I return to my story and read that. I know everything that happens, but I am now reading it with a fresh eye. I correct grammar, spelling and change sentences here and there.
Finally, I open a blank document and continue the story in a separate document. This helps me get closer to the end product.

I copy the edited document, paste it to a third blank one, then copy and paste the continued document onto it too. 
I check that the flow was maintained and I save all 3 files before leaving the computer. 
With all those 3 documents - where I was stuck, what I continued with and the pair combined... I have a choice to continue on, go back to where I was originally stuck. If I go back to where I was originally stuck, the other two documents with continuations on are good for notes. One for quick notes, as I dont have to scroll where I was up to, and the other for overall review.
This process has worked for me with multiple projects... though its not the only method I use.


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## OurJud (Jul 21, 2013)

657 words in the last four hours or so. VERY slow progress, but the writing felt much better today.


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## Mr mitchell (Jul 21, 2013)

I am glad the writing is getting better.


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## Jeko (Jul 21, 2013)

> VERY slow progress, but the writing felt much better today.



Great to hear, OurJud. Keep fighting the good fight!

Speed is never equivalent to success in the field of writing. Neil Gaiman, I recall, was only able to do 50 words a night in the latter stage of writing Coraline. At the moment I only manage somewhere between 100 and 500 words a day. I spend between an hour and three hours writing a day. Usually two.


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## Origen (Jul 24, 2013)

I just read something Neil Gaiman said, that, 'inspiration is for poets.  Novel writers must write every day.'  Which is another way of saying that you'll write if you have a deadline to meet, but if you're not getting paid it's totally up to you.


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## Brock (Jul 27, 2013)

I just started kind of a similar thread before seeing this one.  I should have just put it here.

Getting frustrated won't do you any good.  In fact, it may make things worse.  Relax, try not to think about it, and it will eventually come to you.  Ideas are never good when forced.

I just spent a month unable to write due to some family problems.  I just didn't have it in me.  When I finally opened my laptop last night the words flowed more than ever.  Try to view this block your dealing with as having a purpose.  Maybe it's happened for a reason and maybe it will all work out for the better.  In the meantime, attempt to take your mind off of it.

Good luck!

P.S.  I just glanced up in the posts above and see that you're making progress.  Never mind me! :joyous:


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## Shadoe (Jul 28, 2013)

I started filling in a scene in my outline, tinkering with some points here and there. Next thing I knew, 1300 words, and my ending totally changed.


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## justanothernickname (Jul 28, 2013)

sleep is the number one ingredient in great story writing.............its true people


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## Jeko (Jul 28, 2013)

> sleep is the number one ingredient in great story writing



I couldn't imagine doing anything in life without it.

Out of interest though, how many hours a night, OurJud?


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## OurJud (Jul 30, 2013)

Cadence said:


> I couldn't imagine doing anything in life without it.
> 
> Out of interest though, how many hours a night, OurJud?



Sleep, you mean? I'd say about 10.

Alas, I can feel the end of my current surge of enthusiasm growing ever  closer. I haven't touched my story in days so forced myself to open up  the document just now. I wrote about two sentences, edited some that I'd already written, then was overcome by a massive wave of negativity and thoughts of "Why the hell am I bothering?". After that I just closed the document.

Nothing was making sense and I no longer have the slightest interest in my character, his story, or writing in general.

I knew it would come, it always does.

So I'll just say a massive thank you to everyone who's tried to help. I can't imagine I'll be posting much here for the foreseeable, but maybe in a few years time when the bug strikes again I shall return.

I'm sorry, Cadence, I know you keep urging me to fight the evil part of me that wants to give up, but he's stronger than me.


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## Jeko (Jul 30, 2013)

> I'm sorry, Cadence, I know you keep urging me to fight the evil part of me that wants to give up, but he's stronger than me.



Non-existent forces don't have 'strength'.

I recently did exactly what you said you just did with my WIP. For a day, my life sucked. The next day, I wrote something else and read something new. Did the creative juices flow again? I don't know. But there is one thing I do know - I'm still writing. And I'm back on the WIP.

Don't center your writing around 'your story'. Just write stuff. If you can't write certain stuff then write other stuff. I find that if I try writing a romance between two refrigerators my mind just _freezes _up - hence why I don't write romances between household appliances. The same happens with my WIP some days - I just _can't _write about 'that'. 

I end up trying to write about it anyway, but I don't fool myself into thinking that the struggle I'm experiencing is because I've reached some kind of 'end' to the project, that my creativity has died. It's a bad day at the office. It happens. What I often do in times like that is rearrange the office. 

Writers don't write on enthusiasm - they write on paper. You have to keep at it. There's no magic to it - it's words. One word after another. Find the right word, put it down. Reading books will make you think that there is some kind of 'knack' to it, but there isn't. If you want to be a writer, you just write.

You don't think you can make a living from spontaneous creativity, do you?


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## Charlaux (Jul 30, 2013)

Have you tried joining an active RPG?

The story always changes without you having to do all of the work yourself, there will be other writers waiting to bounce ideas off and inspire you, it's good fun and great practice - and if you don't write, you'll have someone on your case until you do. I used to have the same problems you did (and still do sometimes) but RPGing trains you to just sit down, relax and move the story on without worrying yourself into a grump thinking your description, plan or sentences suck. For me it put the fun and adventure back when I really started to lose it with self-criticism.


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## bookmasta (Jul 30, 2013)

Why not just sit down and write. Don't write for the pressure of writing a story or having ideas but just the fun of it. I have never found myself at a loss for ideas but some of my best stories have came from this. I just sit down and write something, anything as silly as it may be. Ideas are like rabbits. They can grow from one and stem into multiple. So why not just sit down and write for the heck of it if you find yourself lost at sea so to speak?


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## OurJud (Jul 30, 2013)

Thanks very much, people. You're all being very patient with me, far more than I am with myself. After all the moaning I've done, it would be so easy for you to just ignore me or tell me that I might as well just quit if I feel that strongly about it. But you don't, and I'm very grateful.

I want writing to be easier than it is. I want my stories to flow. I want the creative juices oozing from me so strongly that I can't wait to open my WiP and continue the adventure.

But instead, the mere thought of writing creatively, now makes me feel nauseous. I want to do it, but I dread it. I hate the mood it puts me in. I'm down most days and tell myself that writing will make me feel better, but it doesn't, it just compounds my misery.

I've grown to hate the main character in my story, and I've only written the opening scene. The ideas and plot of the story seem ridiculous and childish. I read it back and think, "Who in their right mind is going to be interested in this load of far-fetched nonsense?"

I started in 3rd, then switched to 1st, then switched back to 3rd before deciding to try 1st again. Now I'm thinking I need to change back AGAIN, to 3rd.

I honestly can't string two words together at the moment, and it's getting on top of me.


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## Jeko (Jul 31, 2013)

You wrote that post, and quite well. So you're lying to yourself. You can write, you just find it hard to write about the thing you were writing about before.

So, why not try that romance between the fridges?

Take the thought that the story you're writing is going to be 'it'; your big breakthrough, the start of your new life, whatever. Take that thought and put it in the same place where you deal with all the fantasies you write about. It's a dream. Worse, it turns your life into a nightmare.

I would try doing what I do _all _my writing for - education. Write to get better at writing. Then you can take advantage of any idea you have and use it not for it to grow into something incredible, but for it to help gradually grow something incredible inside you. Write to learn.

By learning how to write, you will eventually enlighten or entertain a reader. By doing that, you will eventually make money from this crazy business. Start in the humble position of a student, and learn all you can. Dream of suddenly breaking out into the published world, but don't let those dreams define your work.

Writing is awfully hard. If it wasn't, everyone would be doing it. Even the aforementioned fridges would.


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## OurJud (Jul 31, 2013)

Cadence said:


> So, why not try that romance between the fridges?



But that wouldn't interest me, so how could I bring myself to write about it? If I can't write about something I _do_ find interesting, how could I write about two fridges falling in love?

It is not the subject, but the way in which having to think creatively drains me of life. And yes, I realise how much of a prima donna that makes me sound, but it's true.

The best analogy that I can offer, to explain what the writing process does to me, is to say that my brain is like a very cheap battery. As soon as I put it to use, the power begins to drain, steadily reducing the efficiency of the machine its powering, until it finally grinds to a halt and will do no more, regardless of how hard you shake and knock it.

But even that analogy is not wholly accurate as it suggest my brain simply needs more recharging than most, and that after a good night's sleep I'll be raring to go again. But the creative drain is accumulative, meaning that my 'battery' discharges more rapidly each time I sit down to write. By the end it barely lasts long enough to complete a sentence.


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## tepelus (Jul 31, 2013)

I have been in a non-writing funk myself since February when I had to move back in with the parents after my break up with my boyfriend of seven years. It hit me harder than I thought it would and though I was able to over the course of a few months work on editing my book, I haven't been able to write much of anything new. Maybe about 1000 to 1500 words at the very most. I want to write, I have an idea for a new story that I want to write, but something in my mind tells me I suck and all this writing will amount to nothing but a waste of time. I've been depressed for much of the year and that holds me back. So you're not alone in this. Usually summertime is when I am not in the writing mood anyway until autumn comes around, so maybe in another month or two I'll be back in the game. I hope, and hope sooner than that.


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## Jeko (Aug 1, 2013)

> But that wouldn't interest me, so how could I bring myself to write about it? If I can't write about something I _do find interesting, how could I write about two fridges falling in love?_



Writing isn't about finding something awesome within you and getting it out. It's more about discovering the awesomeness of what you're doing as you write it. 

You don't have to be 'interested' in something to write about it. You only have to interested in something to write about it if you have the delusion that it's the interest that powers your creativity. It's more about purpose, and that's likely what you need to look at. _Why _are (were) you writing? 

This whole idea of 'thinking creatively' being a draining procedure is also nonsense - we think creatively non-stop throughout the day. What I feel you're doing is trying to fulfill a certain image or feeling with your work, and that _will _drain you.

If you can't write something good, write something bad. Write because you want to work out why it's bad and how to make it better. When a painted first sits down to paint, does he go and reproduce the Mona Lisa? Does a Grade 3 flautist perform Mouquet's 'le flute de pan'? When starting out in artistry, your aim should be to learn. Naive fifteen year-olds will just write fanfiction about Twilight and never get anywhere because their aim isn't to get better - it's just to temporarily satisfy themselves. Don't be like them; if you can become interested in improvement - interested in getting better at the process of writing itself - then you'll find you can write about _anything.

_edit - and read. Regardless of how much you are reading right now, read more.


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## OurJud (Aug 1, 2013)

Cadence said:


> This whole idea of 'thinking creatively' being a draining procedure is also nonsense - we think creatively non-stop throughout the day. What I feel you're doing is trying to fulfill a certain image or feeling with your work, and that _will _drain you.



This really struck a chord as I'd never looked at my problem this way. But now that I'm forced to, I think you may well be right. I _do_ have expectations. I _do_ try to fulfill an image. I _do_ try to force a style. And I've never purposely written badly, just for the sake of writing.

One again, thanks, Cadence.



			
				tepelus said:
			
		

> I've been depressed for much of the year and that holds me back. So you're not alone in this. Usually summertime is when I am not in the writing mood anyway until autumn comes around, so maybe in another month or two I'll be back in the game. I hope, and hope sooner than that.



I was diagnosed as manic depressive when I was in my late teens (a loooong time ago) and as I'm sure you'll know, tepelus, the illness never really leaves you, it just subsides occasionally. It's rather silly of me to ignore the fact that this might be part of my problem, particularly when you consider that an inability to concentrate is one of the most common symptoms of depression.


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## Sam (Aug 1, 2013)

Whenever everyone else is sleeping, I'm writing, so I'd argue strongly that sleep is not the number-one ingredient in writing. In fact, I can name, off the top of my head, a dozen nonpareil storytellers who are insomniacs.


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## gmehl (Aug 1, 2013)

I've often thought that writing is really cruel business, calling, mistress, addiction, whatever you want to call it. We tend to have minds that go to creative and speculative places, we tend to be sensitive to people and sensations, and we conjure stories to share and we have reasonable skills with language.  But there's so many distractions, indifferent reactions, obstacles in building a story (of any length), a tendency to perfectionism, an army of experts eager to tell us what to do, a constant struggle between elation and despair -- not to mention rejection both by those in a position to reward us and those who take a certain pleasure in criticizing us.

To be sure, there are those whose commercial success insulates them from self-doubt, fluffs up already overloaded egos, ignites a chain reaction of fame and money.  But that's really just a very fortunate tiny minority.

And so many of us drag into the chair, glare at the keyboard and the blank screen above it, and can so easily fall into very gloomy places.  It's easy counsel to say, "Well, just write something," but to many, that's kind of like saying, "Well, just win the lottery."

About the only counsel I can offer is to pay a visit to a mirror.  There you stand, miserable, frustrated, worn down, exhausted, alone.  

You can say, "You know what?  This is nuts.  I've had enough.  There are better things to do."  It's okay.  Sometimes you have to pull the plug on a venture that just didn't work out.  No one will ever know, and probably wouldn't care anyway.  Lots and lots of happy and successful people are not writers and there is absolutely nothing wrong with being one of them.

Or you can say, "You know what?  As stupid as this is, I'm a writer.  I may be cursed, but it's what I do.  I probably have no chance to win fame, fortune, recognition, but I can't honestly think of anything else I'd rather do.  That crummy piece that has me stuck is just not going to beat me.  I could just dump it as a bad idea, and maybe say I tried something and got a bit better.  Or I could fix it up a bit, just so-so, and move on.  Or you know, maybe, if I did it this way, it just might work."

And then the person in the mirror is standing a bit straighter, shoulders squared up, maybe had a thin smile, looks a bit stronger -- well, at least determined -- and clearly is thinking about that keyboard again.

And so you sigh and go at it one more time, because that's what you do. That's what you are.


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## Jeko (Aug 1, 2013)

Whenever I get into a slump or fit about writing, I sit in front of a piece of paper - blank, quarter-full, half-full, as long as there's space - and stare at it until I get bored of the words I've already written and I either add to them or write them differently. Either way, I get back into writing. And I remember why I'm writing. To get better at writing, so I can someday get a readership, so that I can someday make money out of telling stories, which is what I will always love.



> Whenever everyone else is sleeping, I'm writing, so I'd argue strongly that sleep is not the number-one ingredient in writing.



I'd replace sleep with 'rest', then. All artists need rest of some kind - everyone does, whatever they do.


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## Shadoe (Aug 1, 2013)

You seem to have written a goodly amount of words right here. How are you feeling? Drained?

I often feel this way when I sit down to write. I sit down to write some scenes, then I stop after a tortuous line or two. But, when I sit down to plot out scenes, my fingers just fly across the keys. Eventually, my outlining style turns into prose style, and then I've got some usable words on the page.

Perhaps you might have the same issue. Try writing a scene as if you're just jotting it down so you can remember what to write about later. See if that at least sparks some interest.


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