Sign In

Close
Forgot your password? No account yet?

The Writing Doldrums by Levi

I’ve hit that part of the writing process that every author* fears: the doldrums.

This is not a matter of not knowing where the story should go. For the past several weeks, I’ve had the basics of the story outlined. I don’t just know more or less where the story is going; I know exactly where it’s headed and it’s something I’ve been anticipating for months. It’s a very good direction for the novel and all the major storylines are resolved (minus a few that I like to leave open-ended because I’m annoying that way).

But I can’t write it.

For that matter, I can’t write anything. I’ve been trying to keep up the craft with some short stories, but those aren’t working out, either. Sure, I can put words on the page. That’s an easy task. And these words can say something, advance the plot in some way or another, but 150 words in, and I realize they are so vile that there is no point in continuing and I delete the whole thing, so no one else can see and I can forget they ever existed in the first place.

THAT is bad. And oh look, double-emphasis. I’m sure that’s some sort of sin that I should repent of later, but for now, I’ll leave it be. It’s certainly not the worst thing I’ve ever done.

But no, nothing is coming. This applies to other creative pursuits, too. The podcast takes up a lot of time, and even that has been sort of autopilot lately. Yes, I enjoy it, and I don’t want to stop any time in the next, oh, five years or so. But it’s become sort of an automatic thing.

And other creative projects I have? Forget it. They’re not happening. I don’t have the energy to do them in the end.

That’s one of the reasons the blog has been silent despite wanting to post something to it.

For the past six to eight weeks, whenever I get back from work, my creative energy is spent. I’ve not been good for a whole lot more than staring blankly at the wall or tablet or the dog or whatever happens to be right in front of my eyes, and I just don’t really want to think.

And right now, I’m not sure how to escape it. A career change is definitely in my future, but it is not in the immediate future for reasons I don’t want to go into right now. It could be the environment here, which as you are undoubtedly aware I am not a fan of. It could be any number of things.

What’s your advice on how to break it? I ask other writers, especially. How have you escaped it?

What can I do? My solution so far has been to force myself to write every day (except for the past three weeks where I can’t bring myself to do anything at all), but usually all that happens is I pull off a few hundred words and can’t keep a consistent tone or style. How might I break out of this?

*I have not spoken with every author, but I have confidence what I say is true.

Original here: http://leviwolstrom.me/blog/2015/06/13/the-writing-doldrums/

The Writing Doldrums

Levi

Journal Information

Views:
388
Comments:
10
Favorites:
0
Rating:
General

Comments

  • Link

    Yeah, I feel you. All I can really suggest is to keep trying to work on your projects. With me, some days it will start to click after a few paragraphs even when I thought I had no will to work on anything. Shifting to some other aspect of the job can help too: go back and do editing, or work on plot outlines for some other project.

    Neither approach works very well though. I've spent a lot of nights staring at a blank screen. =/

    • Link

      I think part of the difficulty is that I haven't had much interest in doing anything lately. I'm not in the best work environment and it's begun to wear on me.

      Of course, as it happens, last night ended up being one of my better writing nights in a while after getting that off my chest.

  • Link

    I understand where you are coming from on that all too well. There have been many times where I will write like crazy for a brief bit, followed by long periods of "........."
    Most of the time, it's a lack of motivation or energy, like you described.

    One thing that can help is setting aside a bit of time each day, just for brainstorming ideas. Seeing if something decides to take root and make something happen. Sometimes, all it takes is one little seed to make magic happen. ^.^

    • Link

      I go for a walk or run with my dog every day (the speed depends on what he's interested in at the time) and use that for a lot of reflection or brainstorming.

  • Link

    First, are you getting enough sleep? Maybe too much sleep? When I get into the writing groove, it's like an unstoppable train; only the early morning sun and the job's calling can interrupt it.

    How about food you eat? Maybe you eat too much sugar, maybe too little. Maybe you need some dietary supplements? The brain is a part of the body, not a separate entity. It shares the same blood supply, has the same lymph system connected to it, and also takes a third of your basal metabolism. I could say that it's your body which writes stories, not just your brain. Also, there's the other brain in your tummy, which handles the complicated process of digestion has a really big influence on the top one. Sometimes the top one just disconnects, sometimes the bottom one turns off letting the top one wander. Try to be quiet and listen to what the other brain is telling you.

    I was in a similar situation; I had rough times on my job, was working non-stop, too much responsibilities, too much projects. For almost a year and a half I haven't touched the (digital) pen. How I got over it? By learning how to relax. Your muse is a nocturnal, easily frightened animal. You can't write if you've been thinking about not writing all week. There should be no pressure. If you can write, okay, and if you can't then it's okay nevertheless.

    Another technique is to just type whatever comes to your mind, and don't stop until you fill a quota. Even if the story text turns into a bunch of sorry paragraphs bragging about your life. Don't stop typing. That's one way to lure your muse out in the daylight.

    Next, try to read as many different books as you can find! That always worked for me. I find a good book or a story on the Net, start reading it, then halfway through I get angry at myself for not being able to write as good as the author, and that unsettling mixture of shame/guilt/envy works on my muse as a laxative. She comes out running out of her hiding, and before she reaches the outhouse I catch and interrogate a couple of excellent paragraphs from her.

    Last thing, you can try finding a writing wingman: someone to keep an eye on your writing progress, help with the story, and encourage/slap you every time you falter behind the schedule.

    • Link

      Thanks for your comment. No, I'm getting the right amount of sleep, and my diet is good. No problems there as far as I can see. At any rate, I've not changed anything that would have caused this to happen. Otherwise, yes, I'm aware of how the brain and the rest of the body are connected, since anxiety and depression are frequent problems for me.

      You might have hit part of the solution with your anecdote. I'm bad at relaxing. I can try, and I will go and do things that are fun, but I can't stop and slow down for long without wanting to do something else, even if it's a fun something. A lot of it though is stress at work and the general environment I'm in. About 18 months ago I moved here to start anew, with a new job and all that, but as it turns out the job is a bad fit for me and the area nearly intolerable. It didn't seem that bad at first.

      Reading is something I do a lot of. Rather than be discouraged when I read something that seems so much better than anything I can do, though, it's seen as something to aim for. It isn't out of reach with the right practice.

      Writing to a quota is what I've been doing to force myself into the writing routine, but lately even that is suffering. My hope is things calm down on this front once I start working 40 hours max again.

      Again, thanks for your words.

      • Link

        Overworking yourself is the good-intentional road to hell. I've been there several times, recovered, but I keep jumping back into the same rabbit hole...

        Until you can get your work schedule in order, I suggest you just lay low with the literary works, and let the impressions settle down. Another thing to try is to eliminate distractions while you're at writing: shut off all means of communication, and disengage internet link for a few hours. A cornered writer is a productive writer.

        Glad to be of some help! :)

        • Link

          Oh, trust me, I wouldn't be working overtime if I felt I didn't have to. There's a lot of deadlines right now. Which wouldn't be so bad, except we were all working overtime a month ago to get something finished by two weeks ago, which did not happen so overtime has been steady and (worst for me) entirely unpredictable.

          The no distractions while writing thing is good advice! That's usually how I write, in fact.

          • Link

            Ha, sounds pretty much like some of my own business associates... I wonder if it's always been like this in the engineering departments throughout the world.

            I went from distraction-free text editors (e.g. Darkroom, Writemonkey, etc.) to using a mechanical typewriter. After 50+ pages I said to myself: okay, you either learn how to write without distraction on an Internet-connected computer, or you will stay chained for 50 more pages with that well oiled Olympia Portable.

            • Link

              I tried distraction-free text editors and discovered gedit, Notepad, and Word do best. The things that label themselves distraction-free were, somehow, distracting! When I really want to work, I will close out all internet-related things and do nothing but write until I get tired (realistically, about an hour). My netbook is good for this too, since it's old and slow, and it can't handle more than one task at a time.

              I fear most if not all engineering departments are like this. Maybe it's time for a career shift.

              I haven't been writing stories, but this week I have written three blog posts and been brainstorming one other, and I've been getting a lot more reading in.