It has been a long time since I’ve been properly active on here, and I haven’t really written much of anything in the last 2 years as much as there have been moments I have tried to get back into some kind of story, but I have been reading!
Just for fun, I’m wondering what anyone else does to inspire themselves or get back into their groove?
I’m also intrigued if a different place to write or format might help, if anyone has any free places they like to write aside from pen and paper
I just really want to escape into fiction of my own again but despite having a couple of ideas, I’m struggling to have a clear mind and just enjoy the process of starting.
Anyway, any ideas or advice welcome! And thanks in advance
No, seriously. My writer’s block is caused mainly by perfectionism. so therefore it went away when i forbid myself to cross anything out on pen and paper. It worked the point right now I’m sitting at 26,000 words.
I think that’s one of the hardest things I’m going against right now, is wanting a project to be perfect. I always feel like my initial inspiration dims quickly once I’ve written the first chapter or so and then I struggle to remember the purpose of the plot to keep me going—and it’s even worse when I’m writing on paper, it’s much harder to keep my writing momentum.
I think you’re right though, I need to just go for it but I don’t know how to keep on track.
I usually get perfectionist blues when I’m trying to track too many things at a time. So I just completely scrap the chapter I’m writing and a blank page and continue writing whatever I feel like on that new page. Works perfectly. I don’t even force must have to be coherent, I just write. Somehow it ends up working.
That is a good idea. I just always want to edit as I go which I know is an AWFUL habit I have picked up along the line of writing somewhere way back lol.
For me unless it’s a typo or the sentence makes no sense, I don’t touch my writing until it’s editing time. I used to edit along the way and it was horrible.
The other thing that helps me is putting periods everywhere. I deal with dysgraphia, so it’s very hard for me to actually make sentences coherent first try. Therefore I actually have to force myself to split the one sentence I’m writing into three because it makes more sense.
This makes me think maybe it would be an idea to try writing the story in its most basic form. Short chapters, simple sentences, just plot heavy without the fluff to get the story out and then edit it and flesh it out once I have the bare bones for it?
The way I do it is write something silly. It’s not for anyone’s eyes and it can be messy. Will it become anything more? Maybe, but maybe not. It’s just to get back into writing
A week ago, I finished three months of editing, so I wrote a short short story about a giraffe dragon alien coming into a town called Predictability where everything is predictable because the mayor hates surprises
That actually sounds really fun as a writing exercise. Maybe it’s worth having a side project just to be chaotic and unserious with to take off the pressure of my perfectionism, that seems really liberating maybe I could even start it with a funny plot or character generator to build from
It is really liberating! Also good to do when you get tired of editing
I once had this long-term side project that had one goal: to be as silly and chaotic as I could make it. Forget world building. Go on a billion tangents. So what if nothing makes sense? Oh sure, it has a gazillion plot holes, but I had so much fun
It also helped to try genres I’ve read but never tried to write. Why not try sci-fi and a tad bit of teen romance in the most chaotic way possible? So what if it shifts to a familiar genre halfway through?
I’d say go for it. Don’t take it seriously. The only person stopping you is yourself
Personal update: I made an Ellipsus account where I will only work on ONE draft because I feel like if I start a bunch of drafts and projects there it gets hard to stay focused on one thing! Let’s see how this goes…
All I have on the draft so far is the start I made to a chapter for a story earlier this year. It’ll give me a starting point so I don’t have fear of the blank page at least LOL.
Welcome back! I haven’t written anything traditionally in a while. I’ve been buried in real life work and writing roleplay story stuff for something I’m working on online, but that’s about it. It comes and goes, I’m waiting for the inspo bug to bite. If you catch it, smuggle it this way PLEASE!
Yeah, the last writing run I was on was primarily fanfiction which I loved and had a lot of fun with especially in the community of friends I made there but my ideas always felt bigger than the universe because I loved an AU or building on the crevices and what-ifs of a fictional world in my own way. I feel like the trouble with writing using established characters is that I feel lost when coming back to my own worlds because I suddenly have to build the characters up from scratch myself and by not using that muscle is gets weak so easily for me. None of my characters feel as interesting as the ones I’ve been role playing with but I would love to share the inspiration!!
yay! an Ellipsus convert jk, i barely use it myself but i’m glad it turned out useful
about a month ago, after a long period of feeling stuck and before a series of crazy weeks at work, i had started writing in a notebook. for me, it was book 3 of a series i’m working on, while i have yet to finish editing book 2…but i just wrote whatever i felt excited about, without much regard for logic or plot.
i also kind of tried to free myself from the pressure of having to write by rewatching The Gilded Age (which is a huge inspiration for my historical series) and i got about 70 (notebook) pages in before work got crazy. and i was inspired! scenes kept popping up in my head during dog walks or at random (inconvenient) times during the day.
now i have to get back into it again BUT, i have been reading, and i feel like that also helps.
I remember seeing it mentioned here before so I did some digging to remember what it was called. I just thought it was worth trying it out right now, something to play around with and keep getting back into writing fresh? Not that I have loads of time, but hopefully on my day off in a few days I can have another crack at writing on there.
I really wish I could do that and mute the inner critic in my head lol. But I’m hoping I can do better at being more relaxed and playing and having fun with the plot and the characters.
Yes, I really need to find stuff that fits the theme or has some kind of similarities to inspire me for what I’m working on. I’m actually reading a book right now that has the kind of setting and vibe I want to emulate in my writing with it’s narrative voice, though I’m not trying to make it a suspense. It’s The Cove by LJ Ross and I’m almost halfway with it, it’s a nice easy read to pick up compared to some harder books like when I was reading Moby Dick or my plans to try to pick up Shogun by James Clavell at some point in the future lmao.
I agree though, the biggest thing that has killed my spark for writing over the past 2 years has been work (and technically dating but that’s a nice thing to get in the way )
Also good to do when you get tired of editing
jk, i barely use it myself but i’m glad it turned out useful