Hatrack River Writers Workshop: How do you wake from a Slumber?

This is topic How do you wake from a Slumber? in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by TheoPhileo (Member # 1914) on :

Hey all, I'm back

And I have a terrible confession: I haven't written a thing since my trip down south a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina. (How long is that? Two, three months?) Either it was the trip or just elements of life surrounding it, but it brought about the dissolution of a certain writing schedule (the weak semblance it was).

Have any of you gone a spell without writing? How did you get back in the groove after that? I'm not so excited now about all the story ideas I was juggling, and bringing myself back to that place seems kind of overwhelming at this point. Maybe I should just pick up a flash challenge or something and go from there?

[This message has been edited by TheoPhileo (edited November 23, 2005).]

Posted by rcorporon (Member # 2879) on :

I think that the best advice is to just sit down and write. You'll slip back into the groove eventually.

Posted by sojoyful (Member # 2997) on :

We always have ideas in our brains, even if they're not stories. Just start writing down your idea, not in publishable form, just notes to yourself. As if you were trying to write it down because you knew you were going to forget it, so you were trying to include as much detail as possible in case you couldn't remember later. That usually gets me going.

Posted by Leigh (Member # 2901) on :

I just write. I dont care what I'm writing, I just write. whether its sick sex stories, which totally don't come out in a good way :P, or incredible epic fantasies I just write to get into the groove of it

Posted by Minister (Member # 2213) on :

The flash challenges are probably as good a way to get going again as any. This week's is open early, I think.

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

Well, in one sense I've been in a slump since about 1985---about the time I left home and had to concentrate on making a living from something other than writing. However there have been bursts of intense activity all through this time.

Outside events also affect me. The last big burst of writing (my "Internet Fan Fiction" period) went on for about a year and a half---and was brought to a distinct halt by the events of 9 / 11. After that (and to right now, actually), things have been slow, attributable partly to world events but also a shift in writing interests.

Another burst will probably come, sooner or later---but I can't predict when, or what will set it off, any more than I can predict what will turn it off. Meanwhile I continue in low-key work...

Posted by MG (Member # 2938) on :

I'm in one right now and I have no idea how to get out of this one. Or 'if' I'm going to.

I had one before, lasted a month before I grabbed a pen and paper and jotted down a few things. End of Slump One.

So, you could "Change your tools", in other words: if you usually use a keyboard, switch to pen. Jot down an idea and then start adding things to it. It worked for me.

I've said this before so I'm going to repeat myself here (just for people to know I'm not senile, just short of useful info ). Pick up your favorite novel/story and read it.

Or, this has worked for me as well, watch a movie. Right now I'm thinking about renting 'Blade Runner'.

If you have a writing journal, you could write the reasons why you think you're not writing. It might sound stupid, especially since most of the times you can't pinpoint the reason why, but sometimes you find yourself writing things you didn't know about. A bit schizophrenic yes, but it's true. Have you written down the things you saw during your trip? How did they make you feel?

Another one I read about is wordplaying. Grab your dictionary, pick words you find interesting and see what images your mind creates.

The key is, like Leigh said: write *something*.

Posted by TheoPhileo (Member # 1914) on :

It's funny that you mention that, "write *something*" because I suddenly realize that I have written a ton, all of it non-fiction. Since the trip I have done several, well, articles, I guess they are, on American culture or faith or politics. I just wrote one this morning on another forum. Interesting, though, that I've never counted this stuff before as "real" writing. Maybe it just doesn't feel productive in the realm of getting myself publishable.

Posted by MG (Member # 2938) on :

I would definitely say articles count as writing

I doubt the ‘write every day’ rule means: write PUBLISHABLE stuff day after day.

I envy the writer who can pull that one off, though.

My guess is, you’ll be back in the fiction saddle in no time.

Posted by pantros (Member # 3237) on :

Join one of the websites with flash contests, write a short story every week that way

Posted by Calligrapher (Member # 2985) on :

Theo,

Were you down south to help with the Katrina disaster? Or, did you witness any of the devastation up close? It must have impacted you at some deep level that you haven't tapped into yet. Go deep into your feelings and find something to write about.

Posted by Leigh (Member # 2901) on :

I just had a three day slump, but I just sat there and forced something to come out. 6000 words later and I find myself with Chapter 1 of a new fantasy story

Posted by TheoPhileo (Member # 1914) on :

quote:
Were you down south to help with the Katrina disaster? Or, did you witness any of the devastation up close? It must have impacted you at some deep level that you haven't tapped into yet. Go deep into your feelings and find something to write about.

I was down there 2 or 3 weeks after Katrina, doing clean up in Pascagoula, MS (demolition, actually, of houses to be rebuilt. If you're interested, here are some photos). I'm sure you're right about it's impact on me. I'm still not really sure what I think/feel about it all. I hope it will surface in my writing, though.

Posted by samhaine3 (Member # 3023) on :

I have kept away from writing for a year now. What I did was read what I had last written. Then I read what I wrote before that one, until I was reading really, really bad writing. And so I had to rewrite it. And suddenly, I was back. cya, Sam

Posted by TheoPhileo (Member # 1914) on :

quote:
I have kept away from writing for a year now. What I did was read what I had last written. Then I read what I wrote before that one, until I was reading really, really bad writing. And so I had to rewrite it. And suddenly, I was back. cya, Sam

Good idea...

Though my laptop was stolen right before the trip. lol. The only stuff I have left are the things that passed through my email: stories listed on F&F here, or my Liberty Hall flash challenges. I had a flag up in the back of my mind that I was due for another backup, but, of course, I kept putting it off til "next week." Maybe this is an element of the whole freeze-up, too. *shrug*