I lost my writing juices again.

Sometimes, you just have to write anyway, despite your lack of motivation or juice. Then, it's like once you get rolling down a hill - you pick up speed. Good luck - just force yourself to write through the down times. The up times will come back. You're a writer - the up times always come back.

When I hate my own writing, I do not write. I'm more prone to destruction then so I stay away.

After a long writing session, I'm usually not capable of any writing the next day. Even if I wanted to, my brain insists on a break.

Take a break. Relax. Bug your betas. Say you really need to get that feedback. If they're not able to provide it to you by (insert date two weeks from now), but they are still willing and able to beta, they should let you know when they'll have that feedback to you. If they're not able to beta now, they need to tell you that too.

BlueLucario said:

Do you guys have any idea how I can get my juices back?

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Unplug the computer and go out and live your life.

What I mean is, that when the creativity stops, it's probably a sign you've been TOO focused on your writing and not focused enough on living. I'm a firm believer that the creativity within writers stems from their life. The motivation and inspiration to put words on the page are a direct result from the life you lead.

Go take a long walk, go swimming, go hiking...go DO something and take your mind away from your writing for a day or a couple of days.

You need beta readers...what's your story about?

James81 said:

Unplug the computer and go out and live your life.

What I mean is, that when the creativity stops, it's probably a sign you've been TOO focused on your writing and not focused enough on living. I'm a firm believer that the creativity within writers stems from their life. The motivation and inspiration to put words on the page are a direct result from the life you lead.

Go take a long walk, go swimming, go hiking...go DO something and take your mind away from your writing for a day or a couple of days.

You need beta readers...what's your story about?

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I agree with this. I've just finished taking a month off from writing. I sit and try, but it's not coming. So, instead of forcing it, I'm just calling it a vacation.
With me it's not writer's block, or lack of creativity...instead, it's just writer's fatigue. I'm tired, and my body and brain are telling me to take a break.

As soon as I start up again, I'll feel like I'm SO far behind because of this vacation, that I'll write like crazy.

BlueLucario said:

I already took a *vacation* I havent written anything for days. But now when I have my juices up it's suddenly gone.

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In that case, then, just start typing something. Sometimes, you gotta write badly for a bit before you can get going.

My art teacher told me: "The wonderful thing about painting is this: when you make a mistake, you can paint on top of it, and cover it."

Same thing with your writing. Write some crap for some time and DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT, because if it turns out to be crap, you hit delete and it is gone. On the other hand, if by some glorious stroke of luck, the writing turned out to be wonderful....

Just days, is it? Take a month. Then your muses will start twitching and run back to your computer. Go outside, get some fresh air, then find someplace and people watch. Watch how people interact with each other and do the mental game of "What if". Go to the library and do some research for another story. Just get away from the computer because you associate the computer with writing. Spending time on the computer will only frustrate you because of that.

Or learn how to knit or crochet. That's very meditative and relaxing and will drive your muses crazy 'cause you're ignoring them.

Blue, if you're dependent on feedback but criticism makes you cry, you might want to either 1. wean yourself off your feedback addiction 2. ask for only positive or very gentle criticism where the critiquer explains everything you need to know.

Blue, you say you need a reader, but you've also indicated that any feedback you get from a reader that is not positive stops you from writing. That should tell you something right there. Are you certain you need a beta? Maybe you just need a friend to send your writing to who does not offer feedback. Maybe you don't need a reader at all; maybe you just think you do.

BlueLucario said:

Number two would just scare them away. And do you know how to do #1?

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Yes. Increase your confidence in your own skills. This can be done by reading and writing extensively, doing writing exercises, analyzing your own work and that of others, and basically thinking about writing until your brain bleeds.

I thought you had an actual problem, like you were leaking writer-juice all over!

Well, you know the problem. You are looking for approval, not a beta crit. A beta crit is done after the story (or part) is finished. At least at the verge of being finished, after several drafts. You do a Beta when your chick is ready to fly, not right after you hatch it.

Stroking egos is not what Beta readers are for. I think a lot of the problem is with the modern school system letting kids believe that everyone is a winner, and all work is equally good. This is a total fabrication. 99% of the writing that goes to publishers is garbage. This is a tough business, supposedly. Even getting published in non-paying mags is not easy.

When most people write first drafts (the draft that comes out of your computer right after you think about it) they are much in need of repair. Very few writers are good enough to show their work right after composing it.

You need to be able to write without other people reading it or giving it their stamp of approval. You also should be a good enough editor that you can spot your own mistakes, like making flat characters. A lot of people write for fun, but those who write to be read and make money need to be skilled craftspeople. Lots of people think that writing is a matter of sitting down and magically creating stories. These people get discouraged when they find It's a lot of hard work. You gotta get tough with yourself, and put your nose to the grindstone.

You can actually "do" something with a crit like "your characters are forced and flat." Many times this means they say only the things they need to say to get through the scene. There's a lot of good advice around here for making stiff dialog read "naturally."

Things I can recite off the top of my head are things like: make the character "evasive,"
and, don't say what you are trying to say. Also make the characters less wooden by giving them conflicting details. There are lots of other tricks. You need to study them to get away from flat characters.

I can't help if you think your writing is garbage. But I can say first: it is a real privilege to have anyone take time to read your "awful stuff" and make a probably painful comment possibly knowing that you would feel bad. I have been in this situation before to my embarrassment.

Second: anyone who does something that they put out in the public eye needs to have a thick skin. You need to be able to take criticism with dry eyes, and act on the criticism, if it is correct.

Third: You need to be aware of your own shortcomings, and know the mistakes you always make, and correct that stuff before sending it out for an audience to see (even Beta Readers).

So my advice is "work on it." Read a few books on character building. It couldn't hurt.

Queen of Swords said:

Yes. Increase your confidence in your own skills. This can be done by reading and writing extensively, doing writing exercises, analyzing your own work and that of others, and basically thinking about writing until your brain bleeds.

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and by writing. and NOT giving up.

*hugs*

Poor Blue.

I think books are kind of like cookies. When we start off, all we have is a pile of flour, a pile of sugar, a pile of eggs, and a pile of butter. We show these piles of ingredients to people and they say, "That's not a cookie." It isn't their fault--the cookies just aren't ready yet. So we cobble together our first drafts, mixing the flour, sugar, eggs, and butter together and then show our dough to people. This time they say, "Well, that is sort of like a cookie, but I can't eat it yet. How do I know I'll like the cookie if I can't taste it?." And again, it isn't quite their fault. Our cookies still aren't done, and most of the fun of a cookie is in the eating. So we bake our cookies (aka, revise and edit the heck out of our first draft) until it is perfectly crisp or chewy or however we wanted the cookie to turn out. And then we share our cookies with people and some of them say, "What a yummy cookie!" and others say, "You should have made a different kind of cookie," and others say, "This cookie is okay, but I bet it would be better if you changed the regular sugar to brown sugar." But at least they can taste it at that point and offer a real opinion on the cookie.

Do your best to finish baking your cookies, Blue, so your readers can better judge how they taste. Your feedback at that point will be far more useful.

*hugs*




-Michelle

I’m going to expand on my previous comment and be blunt here (the bad cop to Michelle’s good cop ).

Blue, you have Asperger’s syndrome. That means you’ll need to make more of an effort than other people do when you try to understand characters, when you try to figure out what “neurotypical” people do and when you tackle the range of emotional interaction. I can’t tell you exactly how to do this because I have no experience with Asperger’s. What I can tell you is that there are hundreds of people who have succeeded in a sport or activity where they had some kind of problem or disability. And they have done so by working extremely hard to overcome their limitations.

How hard are you willing to work?

ACEnders said:

Sometimes, you just have to write anyway, despite your lack of motivation or juice. Then, it's like once you get rolling down a hill - you pick up speed. Good luck - just force yourself to write through the down times. The up times will come back. You're a writer - the up times always come back.

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Well said. Writers who write boatloads of words when The Muse takes them are a dime a dozen. Real writers write even when The Muse has pulled a disappearing act. It's what distinguishes the real writers from the wannabees.

Don't just say it. Do it.

BlueLucario said:

And do you know how to do #1?

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I used to send all of my work to one particular beta. I'd send and send and send. I'd get loads of good feedback, but I could never just sit on stuff. Had to send it. Then one day it started to click. For me, the problem was: I knew there was a problem, but I didn't know what it was. The answer turned out to be the tone of the story. Once that fell into place and I started rewriting, I felt no need for the feedback. I knew I was on the right path.

This won't necessarily help you if it's not your problem. Instead of seeking feedback from others, try letting a new scene or chapter sit for a few days, then return to it and try to assess it critically. Does the dialogue sound real? Does the story progress? Are adverbs dropped like stray cats from the sky? Looking at your work with a more technical eye can help you feel more confident about the words you're wielding.

Ernest Hemingway said, "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit at a typewriter and bleed."

he also said, "When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature."

He also said, " My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way."

and, "For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can."

"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master."

from his Nobel Prize acceptance speech:
"For a true writer each book should be a new beginning where he tries again for something that is beyond attainment. He should always try for something that has never been done or that others have tried and failed. Then sometimes, with great luck, he will succeed."

There are simply too many wonderful, inspirational and wise quotes that suit the occasion but just one more.


"They can't yank a novelist like they can a pitcher. A novelist has to go the full nine, even if it kills him."


eta:
one more I just couldn't resist

"The first draft of anything is shit."

BlueLucario said:

I know I shouldn't be asking for feedback, but I just can't write without someone reading it.

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YOU HAVE TO.

Seriously, you have to. That's so essential to writing. You have to have faith in your own story, or you'll never finish anything.

Writing isn't a conversation. It's a message in a bottle.

I have more quotes!

“The first draft—the All-Story Draft—should be written with no help (or interference) from anyone else.” Stephen King

“You’ve finished your first draft. . . . If you have someone who has been impatiently waiting to read your novel . . . then this is the time to give up the goods.” Stephen King

I think you should take to heart the advice of IceCreamPrincess. If you really want to be a writer, you simply have to write. From time to time we all need a break from writing, we all experience lulls, we all encounter frustrations, and more -- but the bottom line is that we must write.