How do you return?

SKara · Mar 30, 2018

For the past few days I haven't really focused on my writing (I was supposed to edit the first draft of my latest WIP) because I was busy taking care of something else that required a lot of attention (and was very frustrating and disappointing and just left me hopeless). The "something else" is over now, but there's still a lot of disappointment I'm going through. To distract myself I've been reading novels all day (the ones I thought would help me in my writing) for the past couple of days but I know I have to return to writing. Otherwise life just feels boring. (And of course the disappointment has made me question everything, including my writing skills).

How do I return to writing/editing (I sort of know what to do, but I need to plan and bring myself into the state that I used to be in before the "something else" crisis hit - or I invited it

).

Any advice? Someone in a similar situation to mine? How do you overcome a disappointment/loss and start to come home to writing and actually regain your confidence? (The "regain confidence" part is the key, because that's I'm lacking right now.)

Shawna Doersch · Mar 30, 2018

My situation is a little different to yours in that I'm returning to writing after years of feeling like I just didn't have the creativity in me anymore. It was heart wrenching to think about and so I just didn't. I moved on and tried to find other fulfillment. It took a LOT to pull myself up by the bootstraps and decide that I was in fact still creative and I could still write. Part of it was due to my husband supporting my verbalized goals (external support) as well as the decision that I needed a creative outlet to simply be a better mother and a better person (internal support).

What I did to move past all my internal roadblocks was to make the process into a series of appealing opportunities. Little exercises that flexed the creative muscles and allowed myself to feel like this was really fun again. Plot worksheets, novella concepts, research into external material for my little work in progress, even just sitting and talking at my husband about whatever it was that I'd done that day to work toward my goals. I'll admit my husband isn't the best at positive feedback and he's not a reader of fantasy at all (my current and preferred genre) but having told him what I need for positive reinforcement, he really tries.

For myself, having both internal and external support is really really important. If I don't have both, it just takes a lot longer to regain that measure of confidence I remember having once upon a time. I know it doesn't work the same for everyone but if you can identify what methods work best to support your own psyche (verbal, internal, physical) than I think you can find your own little steps that will take you in the right direction.

Curlz · Mar 30, 2018

Writing forums can be a lot of fun, just socializing with people and sharing, and even bouncing ideas off each other and finding answers to things like "how should I edit" or "what would I make this scene better" etc. It's a great distraction to get your mind off the doom and gloom and put yourself into a better mood, and maybe find a few clues of how to fix various writers blocks etc. Hearing how people overcome their own obstacles and keep writing manuscript after manuscript is very inspiring to go on with your own work. If all those people can do it, surely you can convince yourself that you can, too.

SKara · Mar 30, 2018

Shawna Doersch said:
It took a LOT to pull myself up by the bootstraps and decide that I was in fact still creative and I could still write.

Everyone has creativity and it never goes away. It's one of the things that sets us apart and played a role in the survival of the human species (being able to create tools, etc. or ways to save ourselves, it all required us to be creative and come up with new ideas).

I get the idea of internal and external support. I guess external support is what I'm lacking right now. I really know I want to write, and I'm still passionate about my story, but one can only do so much with sheer will. Sometimes you do need to get into an environment that supports you, where you can actually be inspired to pursue your goals.

Like Curlz said, it's helpful to hang out at writing forums. I actually went back to my MS today after I realized it's not that scary after all.

Best of luck with your return to writing. It's hard, but always worth it

MythMonger · Mar 30, 2018

SKara said:
(I was supposed to edit the first draft of my latest WIP)

I couldn't help but notice you're shifting gears from writing to editing.

How do you normally feel about the process of editing?

As far as boosting your confidence, that's a tough call. I, for one, don't get much of a confidence boost from editing my own work. I don't find it creative, for example. There is a sense of pride when I find an error/problem, but there's another part of me that wonders how many other problems there are that I've missed, even during editing.

I guess what I would do in your case is skip the editing and churn out another draft. But I do multiple drafts per manuscript, so YMMV.

Hopefully WLCT · Mar 30, 2018

Don't beat yourself up. It happens to everybody. I'm pretty sure Stephen King and Hemingway took a day off. Life goes on, as much as we want to just continue in our own world, you can't sometimes. The worse thing would be is to give up, get beyond it.

SKara · Mar 30, 2018

MythMonger said:
I couldn't help but notice you're shifting gears from writing to editing.

How do you normally feel about the process of editing?

Not a fan of editing. I know I have to do it to make the story make better sense. I started editing a few weeks ago but I was already having problems (perfectionism - it's a serial killer, like Elizabeth Gilbert says). Besides, the draft was a mess and there were lots of decisions to make, and when it comes to making decisions, it really exhausts me. I'm trying to come up with a decent plan, get a new deadline, decide on a method, and then just take the first step. It's the first step that feels the most painful. But I'll get to it.

I agree about the lack of creative feeling in editing (unless you're adding something new - that feels great. That's kind of how I got through the editing of my last MS). I need to be more creative with the editing, give myself more space. I know I need to, but somehow my mind seems bent on doing it right, the way it was planned and supposed to be, without looking at how things stand now.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll pick up where I left off. Start with a fresh mind and a new vision.

indianroads · Mar 30, 2018

Maybe reading your novel - just reading - will get you back into the story? You love that story, you were compelled - driven to write it. What changed?

As the character Yoda said (paraphrasing here), there is no try - just do. You return by returning. You stop making excuses, and you sit down and do it. Editing, like writing, can - at the start - seem like climbing Everest. You can stand there and look at the mountain and be intimidated, or you can start out. Every journey starts out with a single step (paraphrasing either Lao Tsu or Chuang Tzu - I forget which). Take that step.

The Black Prince · Mar 31, 2018

But sometimes you do simply need to take a break. Nothing wrong with that and if you try to force it when you really need a break you'll produce bollocks and hate yourself for doing so.

I took the best part of a year off once and then suddenly had the idea one day that became my first accepted novel. I was completely refreshed and recharged and the book just seemed to write itself. Was accepted by the first publisher I showed it to.

maggiee19 · Mar 31, 2018

As long as I'm not depressed, all I have to do is read my latest manuscript from the very beginning up to where I left off and I can easily get back into it, like I never stopped writing. This past December 4, I finished a manuscript that I'd been working on since March of 2016. I stopped working on it on May 2016 and I got back into it in August 2017 and I finished it in December. It's the biggest manuscript I've ever written, 2,000 pages written by hand, but yeah, as long as I'm feeling normal and not depressed, I can easily return to a manuscript.

mccardey · Mar 31, 2018

I do the tough love thing. At my desk at a certain time for two hours, internet off. Timer to stand up and stretch after one hour. Especially when it's a new book, I always think I'll never write anything again, but just showing up, taking that two hour commitment, remembering to stretch - for me those are positive reminders that writing is a thing I take seriously. And the creativity follows.

Try not to hate editing - it's actually the best part of the process, where you get the chance to shine that writing up and make it zing. Approach it kindly, rather than with dread - think about it as a chance to help, to give the final little bit of love to the process. That way you'll feel good about doing it, and value the fact that you can do it.

Also - long walks, every opportunity. Because thinking is good when the feet are moving

Good luck! I'm glad the bad thing (whatever it was) is behind you know. Onwards and upwards!

SKara · Apr 1, 2018

maggiee19 said:
As long as I'm not depressed, all I have to do is read my latest manuscript from the very beginning up to where I left off and I can easily get back into it, like I never stopped writing.

Me too! It works most of the time. The real thing is bringing yourself to read it, which, in my case, is difficult sometimes. I did manage a little break-through yesterday after I reconnected with my vision and made a brand new plan and decided to get back into the habits that had been sustaining my progress before I stopped. I picked up where I'd left off in terms of editing, read a little snippet, and started fixing things at random. It worked.

Today was difficult (I kept getting distracted by recent events even though I knew the most important thing in my life was working on my story), but I spent the last few hours successfully editing the remaining part of the chapter I was working on last night, so I'm very happy with today. I think I'm picking up momentum and will be back to normal in no time.

The Black Prince, I've had those moments too where you force yourself to work and then the words appear mechanical and clumsy. I refrain from doing that - it not only feels bad but also shows in the end result. Your story seems inspiring, though

I think you wrote that book in flow and it was spontaneous, and those are really the best kind of stories, where you're engaged with the process, it's happening naturally and it's effortless. And a reader can sense that.

A similar thing happened with the first draft of my latest WIP (I gave up on an older project that I'd been working on for years, and started the latest one, and it felt amazing. I'm trying to bring that charge into the editing as well, and I think it's working, as long as I don't put too much pressure on myself. I know I need to approach the process with openness, like mccardey suggested, and I didn't really do that for a long time in my writing life, but this time I think it's a chance to try a little compassion, a fresh start for me. I hope to use it well. Thanks everyone for the suggestions

maggiee19 · Apr 3, 2018

SKara said:
Me too! It works most of the time. The real thing is bringing yourself to read it, which, in my case, is difficult sometimes. I did manage a little break-through yesterday after I reconnected with my vision and made a brand new plan and decided to get back into the habits that had been sustaining my progress before I stopped. I picked up where I'd left off in terms of editing, read a little snippet, and started fixing things at random. It worked.

Today was difficult (I kept getting distracted by recent events even though I knew the most important thing in my life was working on my story), but I spent the last few hours successfully editing the remaining part of the chapter I was working on last night, so I'm very happy with today. I think I'm picking up momentum and will be back to normal in no time.

The Black Prince, I've had those moments too where you force yourself to work and then the words appear mechanical and clumsy. I refrain from doing that - it not only feels bad but also shows in the end result. Your story seems inspiring, though I think you wrote that book in flow and it was spontaneous, and those are really the best kind of stories, where you're engaged with the process, it's happening naturally and it's effortless. And a reader can sense that.

A similar thing happened with the first draft of my latest WIP (I gave up on an older project that I'd been working on for years, and started the latest one, and it felt amazing. I'm trying to bring that charge into the editing as well, and I think it's working, as long as I don't put too much pressure on myself. I know I need to approach the process with openness, like mccardey suggested, and I didn't really do that for a long time in my writing life, but this time I think it's a chance to try a little compassion, a fresh start for me. I hope to use it well. Thanks everyone for the suggestions

How do you return?

SKara

Shawna Doersch

Curlz

cutsie-pie

SKara

MythMonger

Willing to Learn

Hopefully WLCT

SKara

indianroads

Wherever I go, there I am.

The Black Prince

maggiee19

mccardey

SKara

maggiee19