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| Jim McDougal may not be stopped, but I sure am. |
I recently gt invited to (and joined) a group aimed at getting aspiring writers into writing. The group posts work on a shared drive, and then folks make comments on each other's work.
I put up an older piece, just to get a sense of what the group thought of my skill and ability level. So far, I've found that the criticism of my work is fair, but there's a lot of it.
I'm ok with that for the most part. I don't have too much of an ego; and getting better at writing is something I am interested in doing- whether now or over time. But that's my problem. I can't get better because I can't seem to write.
I have been blocked or stalled for ideas for months. I simply have no idea what to write about. I'm not currently gaming and haven't been for over a year. I'm only casually "arting". However, that process is slow moving and the most baby stepped place I have been in for a long time and I don't think it's of interest to gaming people. (I might be wrong- it does happen.)
I asked a friend to challenge me to write a story hook, and he gave me a lyric to use as inspiration. So far, I haven't had a lot of luck coming up with anything more than a hair of an idea for "putting out fires with gasoline". I'm still sketching out the thought I do have because I think it could be cool. Putting words to paper /typing on the computer has been a lot harder than I ever imagined it might be several years ago when I started this blog, and I haven't been able to figure out what I want to do; or even if I want to do anything at all with it.
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| I can't use yarn because I can't knit. Is this blog my mental yarn? |
I reviewed some of my archives and I remember loving writing and having a lot to say. I have stuff in drafts from months (almost a year) ago, but none of it inspires me or causes me to want to write. Very little is motivating to me at this point, which is causing me a lot of concern.
Even the alliterations I know and love are beyond me at this point. It seems I'm spinning my wheels and I have nothing to get me out of the mud.
But a dear friend sent me a nice email, and asked me what was going on here. It was kind of nice to know someone out there liked what I was doing when I was writing. I don't know that I have any real answers for my pal, but I'm writing something; anything- just to be writing again.
There you are! I took a long break from gaming..14 months! I just came back into the fold and have also been trying to write a bit more as well. I think it's okay to go through slumps, to allow yourself those times of inactivity and activity. Either way, it's nice to see your blog pop up in my feed. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks again for your note. If nothing else, it brought my mind back to the blog. That made me consider what I had been avoiding for a while, which was that I wasn't writing.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
It happens, your ladyship.
ReplyDeleteThere was a period of three or four years when I didn't write a single word of fiction or poetry, and a period of two or so where I couldn't muster the guster to get an RPG squadron together.
Don't sweat it. Something'll happen to set your wheels turning again...
I'll be glad when it does. I *DO* miss writing pretty seriously.
DeleteThanks for the kind words.
This may sound simple, but could you be trying too hard? Now I don't do much writing but I know when I get deep in a funk painting the more I try to force the creative juices the more problems I have.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you shouldn't think as much about writing and just keep a note pad handy. if something strikes you interesting, make a note. It could be anything from the shape of a coffee spill or the smell of the rain. Try to add a bit of detail but keep the note to a sentence or two. Hopefully one of those notes will spark something, and once it does I am sure you will be off and running.
I know that for a while, that was indeed my problem. I wanted so badly to get ANYTHING going I just cramped up. That led to discouragement and then apathy.
DeleteI'm trying to break out of it, but it hasn't happened yet.
Thanks so much for stopping by and giving the encouraging words.
I have to write every day. Now they are just 30 sec tv promos like: On the next Grey's Anatomy blah, blah blah, but there can be tons of pressure to deliver and to just get it done even if you are uninspired. Sometimes, the only way to get writing is to, well... write. Write about anything, a journal, free form, train of thought, write about how you hate writing. Sometimes you just have to write your shitty, half formed, mangled ideas down and come back at them later. Oh! And use a pen and paper because a keyboard and blank screen is just a canvas for bad F***ing ideas ;) Hey, look at that! You wrote post AND replied to comments?! It's a start...
ReplyDeleteLOL I did! Thanks for pointing that out.
DeleteI've always wondered what it was like to write those TV promos- I tend to watch a lot of CW and ****MAN*** are the promos cheesy/overly drama laden. ABC Family has the same affliction. FX's promos are usually pretty good, at least for the shows I watch/ed. (SOA being a prime example). USA seems to vary dependent on the show (Psych's are funny, but Royal Pains's are universally terrible.)
Uh... I just noticed I don't watch any ABC, NBC, CBS, and very little FOX. Am I dooming television?
Nah, that's the trend. The big nets are getting slaughtered by the quality that the cable channels can crank out. I don't think the big boys have realized that it's the writing and the actors, not the budget that makes good tv.
DeleteCould be stress. I haven't been doing anything either useful or creative due to stress. You are under a lot of stress. *hug*
ReplyDeleteyes, a LOT of stress. I *am* being useful, just not creative =(
DeleteSame problem here. Lately I've taken to 'automatic writing'-- just writing anything that comes into my head without stopping, whenever I hit a pause just starting the next sentence with a letter (randomly predetermined before the session.) It's led to a couple interesting seeds, but nothing too inspiring yet. Here's hoping!
ReplyDeleteMy old CW professor said something encouraging once: "A lot of people say that to be a real writer you need to write at least 2,000 words a day, but that can be intimidating. I think it's best to write at least 10 minutes a day. It is less stressful, and you can always write more.
Best of luck!
When I was seriously starting out as a writer, I did the exercises in "The Artist's Way", which is essentially just what you proposed: writing for so much time/so many pages per day, no matter what the subject, how terrible, etc.
DeleteAt the time it helped, but right now; the idea is just torture. I just keep stalling every time I try to write anything for "pleasure".
UGH.