Not writer's block but something else?

patricia51

Really Really Experienced
Joined
Mar 23, 2003
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Anyone else have this sensation? Now that I have the finale up for my novella "Bridget's Nights", I find that I just am not interested in writing for right now. I have a couple of almost completed stories, I have scenes in mind and new ideas I should at least outline, but every time I start to open notepad and write I decide not to do it. NOT because I can't think of anything to write, but because I just don't feel like it. Am I alone or do some of the rest of you get that way too?

http://english.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=204232
 
I feel like that form time to time too. I think it's natural really -everyone needs a break now and then :)
 
Sometimes you just need to take a little break from things...relax and have a nice cup of tea, do some reading or watch a good movie. Then go back when you're refreshed and give it a shot.
 
Patricia,

I have the same problem. Occasionally, I even get it for short stories (how's that for a minimal attention span?), but nearly always for novels. I like to think of it as "creative fatigue" but it's probably a combination (in my case) of laziness and the attention span of someone with 900 channels on his TV.

My advice is to have more than one piece in progress at the same time, preferably with a different style/theme/voice for each. That way, you can refresh your enthusiasm by picking up an entirely different thread to the one that produces your apathy at present.

Failing that, try reading an author you truly love and admire, just to fire you with the will to write as well as they do.

Good luck.
 
You're not alone. I've gone through a considerable period of let-down after finishing such a large body of work. I think some of it was my inability to immediately let the characters go or get out of the mindset of writing them. The other thing was my amazement that I'd been able to write something so complete.

My guess is that you're in transition from long (heavily invested) to short (moderately invested). Whatever you decide, at least you're still having ideas. They'll nag you enough before too long.

Could it be that you really prefer the novel length and shorts don't hold the same appeal now?
 
I have that feeling after EVERY story I post. It's almost like a period of grieving -- or separation anxiety. I can get attached to characters.
 
For me it's like a creative post-partum blues, especially after a long work. There are exceptions but writers aren't meant to work nine-to-five, Mon-Fri, with only intermittent holidays. When I write seriously I might sleep four hours a night and use all my time after my 'day job' to write. I did that once for several months straight, no let up. Got depressed when I was finished. Go easy on yourself.

Best, Perdita
 
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