It's been a few weeks since I've written anything I like, and I don't know how to get out of this self-imposed slump; the longer I put it off, the harder it became, and now...well, I'm writing, but I don't much like what I've written.

How do you get out of such a slump? I say slump because this isn't writer's block...I don't think. The ideas come as easily and as freely as they every have (which sounds a lot easier that it truly is, I'll admit) but any attempt to record said ideas ends in a disasterous tornado of crumpled paper shed tears. Okay, not so much the tears, but the other stuff is true.

Any advice?

It sounds like you've got a crisis of confidence. It's natural to criticize your own work and revise it. But you're criticizing your work so heavily that you destroy it rather than revise it. You have become impatient.

If you are ever going to be a serious writer, you need to learn patience. It is easy to become a master of the English language. But to become a great writer you must become the master of your own mind. That task is much more difficult.

If there's anything I picked up from my brief stint with NaNoWriMo, it's that I'll tend to write more, and better, if I just keep going, and don't look back. Focus on telling the story as clearly as you can, and don't worry if the first draft isn't pretty. Assuming that your original ideas are sound, you ought to be able to hit some flow of good writing eventually, and reach the point where things "click".

I just read the toher day about someone - whose name absolutely escapes me - who would sit at his take every day for 8 hours, write about three lines, and erase three lines during the course of those 8 hours, however, in the end great books came from that author.

This "slump" (and that's really not a bad name for it--as good a name as any) is an important stage that writers go through as they improve and learn and grow.

What is happening is that as you improve and learn and grow, your critical abilities have outpaced your writing abilities. You just don't improve and learn and grow everything at the same speed.

The thing that is crucial about this time is that many potentially great writers are probably lost to the world because they let their hatred for their work stop them from continuing on. And they never get to the greatness that is in them.

While I've never been much of a runner, I understand that there is a point in a long race where something happens that runners call "hitting the wall." This is the point where they have run hard and long and they feel that they've used up everything that they have to give. It's the point when they think they just can't go any further. There seems to be a "wall" of fatique, pain, stress that they just can't get past.

Runners have found, however, that if they just keep going, if they just hang in there, they will break through that wall and be able to run as they had never believed they could.

This writer's "slump" is analoguous to the runner's "wall."

Right now, you hate what you write because you have learned to be more critical and discerning about what is good writing. You are also learning how to get closer to writing what is good, but you aren't learning that as fast as you are learning how to see what is good.

If you keep writing, keep improving (even though you can't see it), your writing abilities will catch up with your critical abilities, and you won't hate your work any more.

Just hang in there. It will get better if you do.

You will see that you are improving.

Just don't give up.

(One little warning about all of this: this kind of thing can happen more than once as a writer improves and grows and learns, so be prepared. It's part of the process, and it will be worth it if you keep at it.)

Another thing that I do is what I affectionally call "writing crap." Not that the writing is bad, but I'll just craft a scene that is completely detached from EVERYTHING that I'm working on or have on the back burner. Sometimes the freedom of just creating-- without the burden of it having to flow into something else, ie story or novel-- "frees" me from my slump.

Hope that helps. If nothing else, know that we've all been in the same boat at one time or another.

The first is I just don't feel like I have anything worthwhile to write about. I've got so much on my brain lately, weighty stuff, like politi-social issues in the US and the world. I'm very interested, very concerned, and I spend a lot of time reading, thinking, talking, and generally feeling helpless and frustrated because I want to do something that makes a difference. So when I try to write about little Isabele Marrie Pinkerton (my latest character) and her lucky pennies, it just doesn't really seem all that significant and important. It's not going to "make a difference", so why should I put energy into it? Or something like that.

The other is that I like to compose long hand, writing with pen in my notebook. Then going to computer. At least that's how I've done it in the past. Thing is, though, that right now the length of the process, the pace at which I'm getting anything done (or not done) is frustrating me. I think I need to try to start composing directly on the computer, to just get things down and the ideas out. What I fear, though, is two things: One, that I'll start editing as I write, which is easier to do on the PC and was why I liked composing longhand - it slowed me down, but also made the first draft more "permanant" and would save the editing for the second round. Two, that without that leap from the notebook (draft one) to the PC (draft two and three and final), I'll just feel like I'm rewriting and editing all the time. Not sure, but that's how it seems sometimes.

So, they say the first step towards resolution is knowing you have a problem. Well, I think I know what my problems are, I just need to set out to tackle them.

JP

Now on to your post. You said, "The first is I just don't feel like I have anything worthwhile to write about. I've got so much on my brain lately, weighty stuff, like politi-social issues in the US and the world. I'm very interested, very concerned, and I spend a lot of time reading, thinking, talking, and generally feeling helpless and frustrated because I want to do something that makes a difference. So when I try to write about little Isabele Marrie Pinkerton (my latest character) and her lucky pennies, it just doesn't really seem all that significant and important. It's not going to "make a difference", so why should I put energy into it? Or something like that."

I have 2 comments. The easiest being who cares if a piece of writing isn't all that significant and important? Just because the world may be facing serious times right now doesn't mean that people don't want something lighter... We still need to laugh, to reach out to something that perhaps speaks of better times, regardless of what may be going on around us. There is ALWAYS a place for something less than the great American novel or maximum opus. For myself, that's pretty much why I only read fantasy. I want a complete break from anything that smacks of reality.

Secondly, perhaps if you're so focused on what's going on in the world-- you mention that you're reading a lot about it, talking about it, thinking about it-- why not turn that into something to write about? For example, one of the stories that I have on the back burner is basically an alternate history novel that sets Nazi Germany and the Holocaust into a fantasy setting (Turtledove did something similar with the Civil War, I think it's called Sentry's Peak or something like that). We had been watching several WW2 movies and documentaries (gotta love the Discovery CHannel) that made me really stop to think about the Holocaust and how it ever could have happened (how could anyone do such heinous things to another person?), and I started thinking that perhaps I could write a book that explored those questions for me. Maybe I'd find answers in the process, and maybe others who read it would find new questions and answers for themselves.

Anyway, hope that helps some...

PS: On behalf of my fellow military personnel, if you wanted to do something that made a difference, then support your military! I can't speak for the other branches so much as the USAF, but I would assume that all have agencies designed to help families deal with deployment. Thousands of us are being given deployment orders, and facing not only leaving family behind, but also living in a harsh environment. As to the homefront, there are agencies that can help. For the USAF, for instance, you could contact your nearest base's Air Force Aid Society. I guarantee you that they'll find something that you could do-- be it volunteer or donate-- that will help families. As to helping deploying troops, they are leaving a world of comforts behind, not the least of which is reading. You could contact your nearest base's public affairs office for help in starting a donations drive-- I've heard of people donating books (surely there's something in your library you could donate?), foot powder, deoderant, etc to help make deployment easier.

Just having a book to read, a good pair of Gor-Tex socks, or fleece lined gloves can make all the difference to our deployed troops' morale.

JOHN!

quote:

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Go ahead and write articles on the things you've been talking about and send them to places that take op-ed stuff.

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Are there op-ed places that actually pay for op-eds? Or do only celebrities qualify for payment? Or do they even get paid for them? My experience is newpapers want freebies, and from what I understand, you can't use unpaid work as writing samples with queries.

Who would've thought that this funk i've been in lately (correction: WAS. I've been writing, and I'm kinda proud to say it doesn't suck ) was normal! 'Cause I certainly didn't. It's good to know that my paranoid delusions about this being the end of my writing...hobby, because it's not really a career, were just that: delusions.

Thanks, guys. You've all really helped, and I've once again been reminded of why I'm priveleged to know the lot of you.

Cheers to you all (Don't know why I said that...I'm neither British nor Austrailian),

Chris.

PS: Siligurl, you're in the USAF? (A stupid question, perhaps.) If it isn't too big of a bother, could you tell me some of the qualifications in joining? I realize I could search online, but this is the first time I've been online in weeks, and have been mulling it over AFTER losing my connection. Also, this is the first site I went to, and I'm taking an opportunity.

Thanks again,

As for officers, it's highly competitive. You have to have a college degree (the more technical, the better, ie computers, math, science). You have to be of an age that you would be commissioned before the age of 33 (I think). You have to exemplify our core values of integrity, service before self, and excellence in all you do, and you'll need to be able to demonstrate this through your interview, application, and letters of recommendation.

If you want any more info-- such as what Officer Training School is like, USAF specialities, more info about the application process, or about military life-- email me and I'll be happy to share. I love being in the Air Force and am grateful to be able to serve. I'm happy to share what insights I have!

TTFN & lol