posted
Does anyone else find themselves in so-called 'writing slumps' from time to time? I'm not talking about having a bad day or writer's block for an afternoon, but a prolonged period of time during which your work seems to be outright trash? I do.
I write every day. Some of this writing is work (usually school-related), some 'play.' In any case, I've noticed a disturbing trend with my writing. At times, it seems dead-on. Everything flows...everything works. It just sounds right.
Then, two weeks later, I can't pull it off. It's like I lose focus, or slip out of the groove I had been rocketing along only days before. This can last for a week or even a few months. It's very discouraging, to say the least.
I'm not sure if this is all in my head. That could very well be. But I'm convinced that it is not, and that I've got a bit of a problem on my hands concerning consistency. That, I think, is the proper word for this phenomenon.
I guess I just wanted to know if any of you have experienced a similar situation. A little advice would be helpful.
I'm not panicking here. Puzzled? Yes. I am merely trying to discover the cause of this perceived 'condition'...be it real or imagined.
Inkwell ----------------- "The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp." -Anonymous
[This message has been edited by Inkwell (edited November 09, 2005).]
posted
Writing is like a baseball game. Long periods of tedium interrupted by moments of furious activity. You can't let it get to you, one way or another.
I've been in a lengthy slump for a couple of years now, but I've still gotten some things produced. Just this spring I tried the page-a-day method. I dug out my old manual typewriter and rolled up one page in it, typed until the end of the page, and then stopped for the day. I finished a couple of stories that way before slumping back into my slump...but I have confidence that I can do it again if I want to.
posted
I have no advice. If I knew how to fix this, I'd apply it to myself.
In other words, oh yeah, I've experienced this.
Sometimes, though, it also takes the form of being completely and totally unable to write. The creativity is dead. It doesn't matter that I have dozens of stories waiting to be told, or even one or more plotted out, I still can't do it.
I dunno. The tsunami last December wrecked me for more than six months, but then, I'm also in an affected country surrounded by affected people and I'm oversensitive. I finally broke through it in July, and it felt good.
posted
I'm also in a slump, but I feel I have something back now since I went to the library and borrowed a couple of books on grammar and writing. Suffice to say I think my inspiration is somewhat back.
Posts: 384 | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
I don't think you have anything to worry about. It's fairly normal to find yourself unable to write at times, whether it's from life going on around you, or just something inside. I think all writers experience it to differing degrees.
On the other hand, I think it is something you should try to overcome if you want to write proifessionally and make a living at it. To do that, you have to think of it as a job. A commitment to your art, and find a way to be productive because you'll be under deadlines, whther from publishers or your bank account.
If all you want to do is publish now and again, and don't mean for it as a career or have a need or desire to make money from it, then it won't matter too much what your production level is. You'll be writing for yourself.
I believe it is easier to be productive and overcome this by setting a consistent goal for your writing and stick to it. Most writers suggest writing every day, whether for a set time or a set word count, but that doesn't have to be your goal. Some writers set a goal to write so much a week, or month, or even for a year, then don't worry about daily production. You may be one of those writers.
The point is, that you need to come up with your own measure of productivity. No one else can determine what works for you, or what is going to satisfy you but yourself. So my advice is to set your goals and feel satisfied when you reach them, and get on yourself when you don't and get back to reaching them as soon as you can.
posted
Keep in mind that what YOU perceive as 'trash' may not, in fact, BE trash. I've had plenty of times I hit a snag and just muscled my way through it. I had a lovely scene in mind and it wouldn't flow, so I just coughed up the minimal crap that I could to fill the space. When I went back to look at it later, I realized it was not only sufficient, but probably better than the idea I had in the first place.
Let it ferment. Keep writing. Sometimes it's enough simply to keep the spiggot open and the words flowing. You'll hit your stride again soon.
posted
I second what Elan said. I sometimes feel like I'm walking through six feet of mud. But I just keep walking, and lots of the time I surprise myself. My WIP is like this right now. I only seem to be able to get five or six hundred words a day on it (yes, I know, pathetic), and when I write I cringe at what comes out. But you know, most of the time when I go back to read, it sounds surprisingly good. I just fill in the holes later and am usually quite satisfied.
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posted
If it's one of those "I can't seem to write anything but garbage" slumps, it may be as Elan suggests, that your critical sensitivities have out-paced your writing skills.
That happens every so often if you are growing and improving as a writer, and it's a good thing.
The best cure for it is to keep writing, even if you think it's garbage, because if you do, your writing skills will eventually catch up to your critical sensibilities and you'll feel better about your work.
The really time to worry is when your critical sensibilities are less than your writing skills and your writing skills are not that great either. That's when you think you're writing gold, but you're the only one who thinks that.
(Yes, I know, just what someone "on a roll" needs to hear--another way to second-guess themselves and feel even more insecure. Sorry about that.)
posted
Inkwell, you stole what would've been my first post I'm a newbie.
I'm in a slump as well. It's my ehh...third slump this year (I wonder if I'll get anything for free when I reach a thousand slumps...)
Reading one of your favorite books might help. It certainly helped me the last time I lost my writing mojo. Other than that, we're in the same boat: H.M.S Slump
What gets me going is reading a how-to-write book, though. I start thinking about how I could use this or that principle in one of my stories, and I end up putting the book down and going to the keyboard.
Makes it a bit of a challenge to finish a how-to-write book, though.
posted
I currently have a how-to-write book. I've read some of it, and what it said was just write what comes to your head, no matter what it is even its nothing to do with your idea for a imaginative story, just write it down. I did that, I ended up with my original idea, and about 20 things to add to the story, now i feel like writing again.
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