What now?

[iwatchus]

I find myself feeling empty now. I just finished an incredible run through writing my first series. The final chapter went live this morning. 315K words in a little less than three months. I was very emotionally involved in several of the characters, riding their highs and lows. And getting very aroused with them, to get to another recent thread here.

As an aside, I would love feedback on the series from anyone here. I know it would have been better at about 250K. But it was the first time I had written any fiction in 50 years. The first story, stylistically different (and shorter) than the rest of the series, is The Final Bet

I pushed submit for the last story Tuesday evening. Wednesday morning I was still mentally go-go, I wrote another story from an earlier few paragraph stub to about 5K by lunch, submitting it a few hitsrs later. That afternoon, I finished editing my submission for the Geek Pride event -- I wrote it as a break between chapters a month or so ago -- and submitted that after dinner. And then I cried myself to sleep on my SO's chest that night.

Yesterday, I forced myself to plow through most of the grading I was behind on. I tried to start another story this morning, but it was fighting back.

Oh well, I have one more stack of grading to tackle before they yell at me. Then it is officially summer.

Thanks for being a virtual shoulder for me to cry on this morning.

 

[HordHolm]

GO OUTSIDE!!! Seriously, go outside, smell the spring (sorry, on balance I'm going to presume you're in the northern hemisphere), meet up with friends. And watch people, then let your imagination roam, come back with fresh inspiration for 400K words in less than TWO months...

 

[TheLobster]

GO OUTSIDE!!!

Seriously. OP is in a dire need of prolonged tactile contact with patches of short-grown, green foliage.

 

[iwatchus]

Thanks for the sentiment. Unfortunately, I have severely limited mobility right now -- I tore up my meniscus in October. I had been in rehab that was going pretty well, but it all went south again in April. Cooking is one of my passions but most days I cannot stand long enough to do it. That is certainly part of my mood and my obsession. My spouse would also tell you that I have always been more than a bit obsessive about anything I do.

I do have a nice screen porch, which overlooks thick woods. I have been working out there the last few days in the nicer weather we are having. With two cats to keep me company.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

I feel your pain, my friend. I am almost a third of the way through the third part of my trilogy series, and big things are happening that tie together a lot of the loose ends, and as I write I am starting to see the light at the end of this tunnel I've been in since last October. The trilogy will probably net out at around 1 million words, which is pretty good considering I've never written a page of fiction that has seen the light of day in my life.

I've tried to break things up - took a month off after my last series ended, did the On the Job and Valentine's Day contests with stuff that was pretty well received an outside my genre, but I am staring at the end of this beginning and I have no idea what to do or where to go next.

The Big Bad Guy in my series just went through this existential crisis as well, as she's nearing the end of her life's work and isn't sure what's left to do or if everything she's done has been worth it. I channeled a bit of my own angst here into that.

Here's what I'd suggest - now that you've finished the story, you've got a blank slate. There's nothing hovering over you, no deadlines to hit, no nagging in the back of your mind that there are people out there desperately waiting for the next chapter, no concerns about whether the next one will do as well as the previous. You can start fresh.

Since I started this journey, I have to admit that there is very little in my life that is as exciting to me as a blank page. There are so many ways to fill it, so many things I could say - having the chance to start fresh and write something different sounds both scary and exhilarating at the same time.

Embrace it - check out some of the other genres and see if there's something in there you'd like to try. And know you aren't the only one out there with these thoughts, lol.

 

[Actingup]

Thanks for sharing your pain! I do think that it’s important to let the well refill before you start drawing from it again so deeply. Do what you can with your physical fitness (I understand that’s a challenge). Read some regular, non erotic books, and discover some more authors here. Play board games with your Significant Other. Shave interesting patterns into the fur of your cats.

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

Take a break, you deserve it! Recharge and come back stronger.

 

[sinfantasy]

Its time to sharpen your blade. Spend time with your friends, get drunk if you are allowed. Get physically active (You just need to be creative with what you can do right now.)

Watch movies, listen to music, play games. Just do absolutely anything but stay away from your quill (or the keyboard)

You need to drain out the previous story and characters from your mind. This is critical for new creation, or you will see their shadows creeping in on your new story. And trust me, its not pleasant.

Personally, I love to listen to music. Preferably something new and different.

 

[BlazonG]

It’s time to write a really dirty 5k word romp just for fun

 

[iwatchus]

It’s time to write a really dirty 5k word romp just for fun

I actually decided to write a cheery romance. A slow burn, as being discussed in another thread. And I went to a nice celebration with a bunch of my students yesterday evening.

Thank you to everyone for your support. That was a real low point for me.

 

[NotWise]

I actually decided to write a cheery romance. A slow burn, as being discussed in another thread. And I went to a nice celebration with a bunch of my students yesterday evening.

Thank you to everyone for your support. That was a real low point for me.

That sounds almost like a sort of post-partum depression (probably without the hormonal fluctuations).

 

[PapaRomantic]

Lather, rinse, repeat.

 

[Nynah]

Thanks for the sentiment. Unfortunately, I have severely limited mobility right now -- I tore up my meniscus in October. I had been in rehab that was going pretty well, but it all went south again in April.

My condolences, meniscus tears are terrible. Part of why I was away from Literotica from so long was because I tore my rotator cuff just before the pandemic lockdown. That first year was really rough. I hope your road to recovery is smoother from here on out!

If you're the kind of person who draws energy from reading books and talking with others about it in person, participating in a book club or going to book festivals might be fun! I attended one of the latter today and got to meet some of my favorite authors (however briefly) and it was a really wonderful experience. I'm very introverted so now all my spoons are drained and I'm going to take a 18-hour nap, but it was worth it and I feel inspired to write (when I finally recharge).

 

[ronde]

Yesterday, I forced myself to plow through most of the grading I was behind on. I tried to start another story this morning, but it was fighting back.

Forcing a story will only result in a story reading like it was forced. it's like trying to do pushups with a sprained wrist. You can do a few, but it's going to hurt worse afterwards.

As others have said, stop writing and take a look at the world around you. I guarantee that within a week, you'll have found a new story lurking amongst the people and situations you see.