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Blocked by the State of Things

Broadswordbabe

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Hi, folks.
Been lurking for a long time, sorry to reappear by asking for help, but I'm struggling.
Does anyone else feel as though with the world in this state, writing is futile and trivial and like fiddling while Rome burns? That within the next few decades, if not sooner, things will be so bad that books will be among the least of our concerns, so there's no point?
I don't think this is depression/anxiety as such, I'm not even sure whether to call it writer's block: it just sometimes seems like a perfectly logical response to the world as it is.
But not writing makes me miserable, and even if it is futile, I'd rather be doing it than not. It's just really hard right now.
So. Anyone have thoughts on how to deal with this?
 

MadAlice

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Maybe write about a future in which things are so bad that books are among the least of our concerns?
 

MacAllister

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I completely hear you.

However, I try to dig in and remember that humans are creatures who will build stories for ourselves out of anything and everything, as a part of how we simply move through the world.

Writers craft stories that can actually shape culture and thought.

We can only do our level best to imagine a better world, better culture, with an outcome worth writing.
 

Chris P

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I wish I had answers for you! I lost the umph for writing coming up on five years ago now, with only short-lived spurts of activity. I've gone through challenges in life that I dealt with by producing some of my favorite work, while other times the challenges changed my worldview to the point I couldn't connect to the world as I used to know it. Although losing the spark five years ago wasn't due to a tragedy or challenge, it was a life change that distracted me long enough that before I knew it all this time has passed.

My only solution so far has been to not shame myself about not writing, or should be writing, but to let myself grow and build experiences through whatever life I'm experiencing. The writing will be back; I can feel it incubating and sometimes it comes out in bits. Some time it will come out in full force like it once was.

On the pep talk side, can you use writing to process the world? To say something you need to say, that only you can say? Tell your truth. You will have listeners.
 

Kat M

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I read and reread Jane Eyre cover-to-cover during the worst period of my life. I had a copy that fit in the pocket of my favorite dress. I took it outside in monsoon season and now the book is a bit moldy. The story swept me away and gave me solace when I was hurting. It helped me understand some of what was happening to me.

Ten years later one of my students spent his days glued in a book. He wouldn't hardly put it down to do anything but hug me and cry for his mother, who had abandoned him. The books were his escape.

All that is to say, writing—whether it's fluffy and escapist or a clarion call to action or anything in-between—serves a real purpose. I promise.
 

Ari Meermans

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I read and reread Jane Eyre cover-to-cover during the worst period of my life. I had a copy that fit in the pocket of my favorite dress. I took it outside in monsoon season and now the book is a bit moldy. The story swept me away and gave me solace when I was hurting. It helped me understand some of what was happening to me.

Ten years later one of my students spent his days glued in a book. He wouldn't hardly put it down to do anything but hug me and cry for his mother, who had abandoned him. The books were his escape.

All that is to say, writing—whether it's fluffy and escapist or a clarion call to action or anything in-between—serves a real purpose. I promise.
[Bolding mine]

^So very definitely this. If your writing eases someone else's way or strengthens them or simply gives them breathing space for a while, you've made a difference. Without books and stories to help us re-center ourselves, many of us would be crushed by the weight of what's happening. I know books and AW help me in my fight to keep my perspective and remind me of what is good and what is possible.
 

VeryBigBeard

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When things get bad, books are our record. They're what's left. Our voices when we're gone.

How's that for nihilism?

But more practically, I know where you're coming from and feel it myself quite a bit these days. I've been less active here partly as a result. I find one of the hardest things to do is maintain a laser focus on what matters to me, and what matters to me is not, in truth, the latest political scandal or doomsday forecast. These things have their place, and I've been a news junkie since I was 12, so it's a hard habit to kick, but the news is going to be there no matter what I do, and usually I find sitting down a writing a lot more rewarding than scrolling through Twitter or watching some anchor vamp.

It's the discipline, is the tough thing. Especially when the writing's not going well. Especially when your faith in the human race is on the low ebb. Upshot is you have the power to create a whole new one, if you should desire.

Just write like it's the last thing you'll ever do. :greenie
 
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BlackKnight1974

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Don't discount writing as a distraction when things are bad. The poetry from WWI being a great example of something beautiful coming from something terrible.

Sure, times can be bad - however as bad as they currently seem, at least we are not in the midst of a world wide war (yet) and there is no epidemic killing millions. Yes there are problems currently - however the human race as seen darker days, and will again.

When times are bad, either globally or personally, it's sometimes nice to look back at things that you've written previously and enjoy them.

I use writing as a distraction from the noise of life - the work, bills, family issues, worries etc etc. In the world that I write, I set the rules and I determine the fate of everyone in it. I have the kind of control that I do not have anywhere else in the world. Treasure it.
 

Broadswordbabe

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Thanks, folks. This helps. I think I may need to come back and reread your replies next time I'm in a funk. (I have also realised I was coming down with something, which is another reason I was feeling lower than usual and had the concentration of a flea, so...) But seriously, it does help. Thank you.
 

Paul Lamb

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The famous passive-aggressive wish/curse is "May you live in interesting times!" Perhaps that's where we are now.

Whenever I hear young couples say how they wouldn't want to bring a child into a world like this, I chuckle on the inside because their parents' generation said the same thing, yet they had children.

When my kids were preparing to go to college, they were full of anxiety, especially about living in the dorms, because of all of the horror stories they heard about students getting wasted and worse. I pointed out to them that those were the stories they heard. No one recounts the stories of going to the library and studying or hanging out and just listening to music or discussing things or the epiphanies they experienced when some arcane matter suddenly became clear or the lifelong friendships they developed. And when my kids came home from college, they said I was right.

Yes, the world is a mess, but it's always been thus. We just get the privilege of seeing the mess of our times.

Writing, for me, is part escape. It's part of a self indulgence, a separation from society and obligations. It's something I do for myself. (And getting a story published is an added benefit.)

Maybe you should write because the world is in such a state!
 

VVoltairx

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Who cares if our writing won't live on? Write for the sake of writing itself. Screw the world and do what makes you happy. I'm trying to get published so I can make a living at it (I know it's not a very pratical field), but if I don't make it, that won't stop me from writing. It's a passion, it's a calling. It makes me happy. It's not for the world, it's for me.
 

Woollybear

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(Compared to pre-internet, pre-widespread-literacy and pre-printing press, I think books are solid for a little while yet...)
 

aggieamy

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I do have anxiety. But here's the deal. Can we fix what's going on? Sure ... to some small degree. Recycle. Vote responsibly. Buy locally sourced goods. Stand up for what you believe in. Raise your children to be good people. Overall ... that's about it.

Step away from the news. Step away from social media. And write. Write a ton.

People wrote while Rome burned. People wrote when the Nazi's marched across Europe. People wrote when JFK was shot. People wrote when the twin towers came down. People wrote when their friends were being thrown in the back of tumbrils and taken to the guillotine.

Life can be sad and messy and things swing from good to bad to good to bad all the time politically.

This isn't the END TIMES and if it is my cozy mystery is still getting written. Perhaps it can bring someone joy in post-apocalyptic times.
 

aggieamy

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Who cares if our writing won't live on? Write for the sake of writing itself. Screw the world and do what makes you happy. I'm trying to get published so I can make a living at it (I know it's not a very pratical field), but if I don't make it, that won't stop me from writing. It's a passion, it's a calling. It makes me happy. It's not for the world, it's for me.

So true. Sometimes when I'm discouraged because all the words on the page are crappy I tell my DH my only goal is to write MY NEW FAVORITE book. If I'm the only one who reads it then fine. It will be a book I'm proud of and I love. As soon as I tell him that usually I realize that maybe some of my dialog is witty. And my descriptions aren't that bad. And okay so I just got this great idea for a plot twist and ...
 

frimble3

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Boccaccio wrote what would become 'The Decameron' while the Black Plague was ravaging Europe. Lots of people at the time thought that was the end of the world.
What if he had said "No sense bothering, we're all going to die anyway"? And yet, he wrote!
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was sickly most of her life. And yet she wrote!
Anne Frank must have suspected that she wasn't going to live to adulthood - and yet she wrote!

If writing is in you, write on!
 
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LucindaLynx

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[
QUOTE=VVoltairx
;10590859]Who cares if our writing won't live on? Write for the sake of writing itself. Do what makes you happy. It's a
passion, it's a calling. It makes me happy. It's not for the world, it's for me.
[/QUOTE]

You think just like me.
 

DanielSTJ

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I also agree that it's a passion, a calling, rather than a hobby. You do it because you have to.

I've also been reading a lot of history lately. The world has always been chaotic and a mess. Things have always been challenging and strenuous. This has never stopped writers and it should not stop you. Your writing is meaningful and, if you work hard enough at it, will make an impact in the world. That is a purpose in itself, isn't it? Besides, the end is not nigh yet, I don't think. The world may very well one day end, but that should not stop you in the meantime. Who knows when it might be and where we, the human race, might be?

Keep on writing. You can put your thoughts, feelings, emotions, anxieties, fears, and everything else into it. Writing can become your outlet for dealing with this. It can be a solution, not a problem. You can do this!