Keeping the desire

[twoup]

After posting 20 stories I find its getting harder and harder to write. Like most authors I feed off public comments, votes and feedback. I have received a lot of comments and feedback in the past and have had some amazing online chats with fans of my writing. Some of it has been truly sensational. I guess the problem is that when the comments and feedback doesn't come its a bit of a downer and a demotivator to continue writing. I'd be keen to hear any thoughts on this and how you have over come this. If anyone has read my work I'd be keen to hear what you think of it.

 

[Guest]

Here's a link to your bio page -

http://english.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=449518&page=submissions

I haven't had a chance to read a few but I will.

I'm the worst person to answer your question, however, because my own output has been next to nothing for a long time. I suppose you could say I'm in the same situation as you - just lost the desire.

 

[carsonshepherd]

After posting 20 stories I find its getting harder and harder to write. Like most authors I feed off public comments, votes and feedback. I have received a lot of comments and feedback in the past and have had some amazing online chats with fans of my writing. Some of it has been truly sensational. I guess the problem is that when the comments and feedback doesn't come its a bit of a downer and a demotivator to continue writing. I'd be keen to hear any thoughts on this and how you have over come this. If anyone has read my work I'd be keen to hear what you think of it.

I wrote over 30 stories for Lit, including a short novel, which is being published in a few months. When something similar happened to me, I realized it was time to move on to something other than short erotic fiction.The Lit-story format got too limiting to me and the feedback just not as important - in short I think I outgrew Lit. It's been a little over a year since I posted on Lit. In that time I've written one full-length novel and worked on two others. I don't know if you write for a hobby or want to make a living at it, but for me, it was time to move on.

Regarding feedback: most of the Lit feedback is either "this sux" or "You're so wonderful, etc etc." While sincere praise is nice for boosting the confidence of a beginning writer, its usefulness in actually helping you become a better writer is pretty limited. From what I've found, the authors I've met here are the ones who give me useful feedback, not the readers. There are exceptions of course, but useful feedback is worth its weight in gold and I just wasn't getting it here. Praise isn't enough.

That's my ramble, don't know if that helps any, and I'm not caffeinated yet either

 

[impressive]

Shit! I thought we were gonna be talking about sex.

Writing? Pffft!

 

[carsonshepherd]

Shit! I thought we were gonna be talking about sex.

Writing? Pffft!

yeah, what's that?

 

[rgraham666]

I still find the comments heartening.

Of course I've received more positive feedback on Lit than I pretty much have my whole life, so it's still new to me.

I am having some trouble writing these days, but that has more to do with stuff outside of Lit than because of any loss of interest in writing.

So I'm using this as a reason to practice discipline. Something I really need if I want to continue writing.

 

[Kev H]

Carson has good but limited advice (limited to those with a specific goal for their writing). In general, I'd point to the much-used advice of "write for yourself." Does your writing turn you on? Does it give you that glow of satisfaction when you complete/post? Often, just remembering the near-euphoric sense you get from completing a good story can be motivation. Otherwise, I'd urge you to just be patient - your muse will strike you with an idea you cannot put aside when the time comes for you to write again. (Or if you are like me, you have several projects with stifling amounts of work to be done and are waiting for the push that will commit you to finishing them.)

It might help to use an upcoming contest as motivation or to go reread some of your favorite old ones (or just the ones you can say "wow, look how far I have come"). Those tricks may or may not work based on your state of mind.

Good luck with it, and try not to get impatient if at all possible.

 

[Aurora Black]

I write for myself and myself only, and that's why I'm still going strong after 65 (Yikes!) submissions.

 

[carsonshepherd]

Carson has good but limited advice (limited to those with a specific goal for their writing). In general, I'd point to the much-used advice of "write for yourself."

That was the underlying message but I warned you I wasn't caffeinated.

 

[Softouch911]

Carson's advice was still good, lol, caffeine or not. If you write for feedback -- outrage, praise, whatever -- you'll tire quickly. After all, this ain't stand-up comedy! And while comments are important to the mood of the moment, they won't take you very far.

Rilke, "the" German Romantic poet, is supposed to have written this advice to a young poet who approached him with the question -- "How do I know whether to devote myself to writing poetry?"

"Put it all away," Rilke is supposed to have said. "Do not write."

"If you are able to do that for a day, try another day without writing. If you are able to keep from writing for a week, stay away forever."

It's not bad advice. Writing is an obsession and, like all obsessions, has little to do with how people respond to what you do.

I'm sure someone will point out that audience is important in the decisions you make, and in the craft, but that's not what we're talking about, is it?

Good luck. I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but I take your question seriously.

ST

 

[twoup]

Thanks

Just wanted to say thanks for the advice. Hopefully its just a stage I'm going through. I have written some stories specifically for readers who request them. As you probably know this is a huge effort and at times the effort seems to go unrewarded.

I think having written all 20 stories with the one main male character is part of the problem so I need to find a way to move onto something different. One reader suggested I need to "step it up" a bit so I'm working on something with that in mind.

Thanks again

 

[BarondeSade]

Up to 180...

Have 180 published stories and still going...
No real secret, except thinking out of the box...
Take same story and put a new slant on it...
What would have happened if the guy (or girl) turned left instead of right - or visa versa...
I have one story about a guy who meets woman on train that is same to certain point, then ends up with four different conclusions...
Just gotta think, think, think...

Luck and cheers!

 

[BarondeSade]

Oh, yeah, I forgot...

Write to turn yourself on...
If your work can't turn yourself on, you ain't gonna turn nobody else on either; }

 

[MechaBlade]

I write for myself and myself only, and that's why I'm still going strong after 65 (Yikes!) submissions.

Exactly. 37 submissions for me, but I currently have dozens more story ideas that I'll get to when I get the time.