Yeah. The title pretty much sums up writing at the moment. I realised yesterday as I was brainstorming post ideas - which, by the way, always come to me fully formed whenever I am away from paper, and then by the time I have paper brain has decided that no, post was written, did not need to remember it, and I procrastinate for hours/days/weeks from blogging trying to recall The Great Post That Was - hang on, I started a sentence way back up there.
*ahem*
Right. I realised yesterday that writing hasn't felt like fun - at all, not the tiniest bit - since I finished Sanctuary waaay back at Easter. This, ladies, gentlemen and alternatives, is Not a Good Thing. Not At All. In fact, it is So Bad, it makes me Resort To Capitals for Unimportant Things. See? Bad.
There's an easy solution, though: write something for the fun of it! Because we all know it's important to have fun! Only, problem. The brain, she has been 'working' at writing for so long, the Muse is literally curled up asleep on a train to Mexico, bored out of my brain. Ah ha.
How do I know this? She left a postcard for me on her bed.
Yes, my Muse has a bed. Her name is Sarah, she likes pink and has brown pigtails, and mostly appears as a six year old girl. When she's pissed off at me, she's a 32-year-old woman in an emerald green evening gown with glossy, dark brown curls.
Yeah. Me, weird. But we knew that.
ANYway. Problem = muse gone. Something is lacking. I can't kickstart myself into doing something for fun. It seems... pointless. And hey, I know it isn't - but try telling the empty bedroom Sarah usually occupies that.
So I need to have fun with writing again. But I don't know how.
Anyone out there able to remind me??
PS This post by Natalie Whipple strikes me as relevant.
4 comments:
I have been in your current set of shoes. I've thought the exact thing, "Let's write something fun." Usually something short and airy with a comedic edge (to practice humor that appears in my novels all too rarely). But I agree with you. The "fun" project ultimately seems pointless to me.
The route I found out of this hole? I found a new story cooking in my brain that I care about as much as my old project.
When we come right down to it, writing is really an emotional art. If we don't really care about what we're writing (i.e. a "fun" project) it doesn't seem worth doing.
This has been my experience anyway.
Maybe take a break? Or brainstorm for ideas until one that really jumps out at you comes along? Let me know how it goes!
Anette
Read a book. Not just any book, go out and treat yourself to THE book, the one you've been dying to read, but have been putting off because you want to work on your WiP.
Usually right about the time that I'm hitting the climax of the book, I'm thinking about my characters and how they'd react in this book's situations.
That's when I know I'm ready to start writing again.
Good luck!
I'm with both Anette and Tere. Usually reading a really good book helps kick start the creative juices, but sometimes a nice break helps too. Like just veg out. On the other hand, I also find I'm itching to write when I have OTHER pressing matters - deadlines, chores, studying, etc. So maybe concentrate your efforts elsewhere?
As for fun-ness, you could start a really random, seat-of-your-pants story with a fellow writer where you switch off. I feel like Merc and Spartezda have done this, and I certainly have with Alz. It's fun! :)
Good luck!
Anette - my gosh, so TRUE. How many times have I heard before that if you don't care about what you're working on, no one else will either? And yet I always. seem. to forget! Urgh! *pokes brain* Thanks for the reminder. I think I figured out why I didn't care about current WIP, so hopefully things will be better now.
Tere - I had definitely been reading a lot. A lot a lot, much more than I usually do. It was great! I was worried at the time that it was dragging on for too long, but now that I'm coming out of the funk again, I can recognise how the huge reading stint refueled the creativity. Thanks so much for your advice :o) *hugs*
Krispy - Tried doing a collab story and it didn't work (the only person I've ever collab'ed well with isn't writing at the moment, grumblegrumble), but the procrastination method worked eventually. It's like a bolshy horse: ignore it for long enough and it can't HELP but come take a look at you, even if it was afraid at first >:) Bwa ha ha.
Thanks, all of you. You guys are awesome :o) *cookies*
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