Harsh Reality- What To Do When The Drive Is Gone

After days of meditating, I was startled by a realization- I am no longer quite as obsessed with Star Wars as I used to be.

I was determined to lock that secret in the Closet of Things to Be Forgotten when... lo and behold, a friend of mine shared similar sentiments- most of the stories we write anymore could be with, a few changes including names and such, original fic.

Just as I was dispairing, yet another author declared a dwindling interest in writing fanfiction.

What is happening to us? It seems that everyone is simultaneously losing their interest in what had once been an intense passion- giving our own views of what could have been in the Star Wars universe. Is it because the hype of ROTS is over that we are all becoming bored? With George Lucas' future pet projects, will we be able to regain our interest?

With that said, I'd like to donate this thread to all of us authors who are struggling to retain our interest in not only the written word but also the genre which had once been inspiring for us.

To get us started, here are a few questions...

When did your interest start to dwindle? Was it sudden or a long process?

Do you think it's temporary- meaning, could it be solved by merely reading a good piece of fanfiction? If not, what could be done to solve it?

As writers, what can we do to relive the glory days when we lived to read and write fanfiction?

Naturally, any other discussions pertaining to this subject are welcome

AnakinsFavorite

 

Good topic, AF. I think this kind of ebb and flow or peaks and valleys are consistent for most writers of any kind of fiction. Back in October, after a years of intense interest and writing, I hit wall. Have I lost the love for Star Wars? No. I just reached a point where I needed to step away to maintain sanity and renew my strength, as it were.

Sometimes I hit walls regarding character, plot, originality, and mechanics. I seek challenges and inspiration from other board users and hope that it will spark something. It either will or it won't. At that point, it may be time to step away for a few weeks. Refresh, renew, and reenergize.

Good luck, AF. I'm pretty sure you haven't lost the love. You just need a break.

 

I understand the burnout. I took a hiatus for a few months to take care of some RL things. I still have this passion for the story of Star Wars--the real themes and messages behind it--but I'm not as passionate all around for all things Star Wars. My love of it is shifting, a bit. I think we all will become that way without something new to refresh our love for it.

But I do have one more story in me. That I know. I've come back into the writing circuit recently to at least get that story out. I don't know what will become of me, or fanfiction in general, by the time I've finished that epic. I hope that it is still here, and I hope that something has sparked everyone back to life. I love this place and I don't have any intentions of leaving it until it leaves me.

That being said, once my life calms down, I'm going to dive back into the EU. I'm almost done with the NJO and love it. If all else fails, I think our Beyond the Saga section will be quite feisty for some time to come.

But trust me... I will never lose my passion for the written word. It has been my lifeblood since I was three years old. That, at least, will never go away. I'll always be a writer. I've devoted my entire life to it in one way or another.

EDIT: Geez, you even have questions. And I just went right to talking...

When did your interest start to dwindle? Was it sudden or a long process?

Blame it on DRL. DRL has taken over my life and sucked much of my passion for everything away. I just didn't have the time for quite awhile, and I hate it. I know that should DRL let up I'd be back with some kind of fervor, but I'm never going to be able to renew my newbie passion. Those are just a few months that I don't think anyone can get back.

Do you think it's temporary- meaning, could it be solved by merely reading a good piece of fanfiction? If not, what could be done to solve it?

Definitely temporary, as long as I keep realistic expectations. I'm never going to be that fanatic I was when I walked out of RotS in May, 2005. That day has passed. However, certain stories on the boards do stun me back to Star Wars love. In particular, I reread one of my favorites last night in preparation to write my own, and it all came back.

As writers, what can we do to relive the glory days when we lived to read and write fanfiction?

Well, I think it starts with not having too many stories going at once. No one can keep that passion for that long, especially with real life as well. I think it comes down to realizing what it is specifically that you loved--the real theme that caught you by surprise--and cling to that. Oh, and bookmark those stories that you couldn't get enough of. I know that there are 2 stories in particular here, which shall not be named, that are like jumper cables to my Star Wars passion. They're out there if you go looking.

 

Sometimes it's just helpful to take a break.


If Star Wars fanfiction sticks with you, you'll come back to it. If it doesn't draw you back in, then you'll save the bother of agonizing over it.


My suggestion would be to get away for a while to clear your head. Then, on some weekend, watch the entire saga or re-read some of your favorite SW books. Let that remind you why you came here in the first place.

 

Excellent questions and discussion, AF. The headline of this thread hit just what has been worrying me lately.

It was mostly Anakin's fall and the events that it chained that left me awake at night, musing about the movies and what could have been done IF... I didn't know anything about fandom back then. I was so depressed after watching all episodes that even my mother noticed that something wasn't right with me. Then there were plot bunnies in my head - plot bunnies that revolved about the resolution of the points mentioned above - and I started writing fanfic just for myself. Then, one day, I bumped into these boards, just by accident - and started posting after a long battle with myself. As stupid and mental as it sounds, I started healing piece by piece as I was writing... and now that I'm 'healed', my obsession with SW isn't that intense anymore. I still LOVE those movies and the main themes of it, and I always will. But, maybe, not enough to write another dozen of epics - which is the best for all of us.

When did your interest start to dwindle? Was it sudden or a long process?

Hmm... my interest started to dwindle a couple of months ago, and it happened literally overnight. I've started two RotS AU stories nearly simultaneously, and now when one of them is nearly completed - which means that I'm 'healed' now - my interest started fading. But I will finish my WIPs nonetheless... it might just take me very, very long to do it.

Do you think it's temporary- meaning, could it be solved by merely reading a good piece of fanfiction? If not, what could be done to solve it?

In my case, I really don't think that it's temporary... Maybe, taking a break will help me, somewhat, but it won't return the burning passion for the SW universe. Reading a really good piece of fanfiction might help, to some degree, but, lyrically spoken, how can you ignite the fire that it's not there without matches?

As writers, what can we do to relive the glory days when we lived to read and write fanfiction?

Make Lucas shoot Episode 7, slice and dice Writer's Block, hit DRL in the nose till it disappears, keep your Inspiration chained by your leg...

On the serious note, we just have to support each other through the crisis times. There are some incredulously talented writers on these boards who write amazing and gripping stories. As long as they are with us, I don't think that fanfiction will die out quickly. And, of course, the older authors should encourage newbies - without them, we all will be just a bunch of fossils in a couple of years.

 

I was just in this boat myself. Dur to RL issues, I cut back severely on my writing until just a few weeks ago. It wasn't that I didn't want to write, I just didn't have the energy or desire to for a while.

When did your interest start to dwindle? Was it sudden or a long process?

For me, the onset was gradual. I just found I didn't have the energy to keep writing, or the time, or whatever other excuse I could think up. At that point, I just thought, "If it's this much of a hassle to write, then I should probably take a breather."

Do you think it's temporary- meaning, could it be solved by merely reading a good piece of fanfiction? If not, what could be done to solve it?

In all honesty, I think it depends on the person. As with any other interest, there is the chance that you will simply outgrow it and not revisit it. For others, there's just a temporary hiccup in their interest, for a variety of reasons, but all they need is the right motivation and they'll be back.

As writers, what can we do to relive the glory days when we lived to read and write fanfiction?

I would say to keep learning and growing in our writing. No one likes to read the same kind of story over and over again, it gets dull. A good writer is able to shape a story in whatever way s/he chooses.

Truth is, no one is a perfect writer from birth onward, and even the Stephen Kings and R.A. Salvatores of the world are constantly learning and re-learning how to write. It's a constant growing and learning process.

 

Okay, so I'm not the only other person out here who's frustrated

When did your interest start to dwindle? Was it sudden or a long process?

I must confess that I haven't watched any of the Star Wars movies in the past year... nor really want to. It feels like the spark is gone.

It suddenly occured to me one day that I was starting down this road- I kept starting and then abruptly dropping my fics. At first, I just thought it was my changing writing styles- it's hard to continue something which is painful to go back and re-read yourself Then, even some of my more favorite fics are becoming painful... why??!

Do you think it's temporary- meaning, could it be solved by merely reading a good piece of fanfiction? If not, what could be done to solve it?

I know that even the worst of writer's blocks/lack of enthusiasm can be changed by reading something inspiration- for example, I was struggling today with a post when I read a vig by one of my favorite authors... I was suddenly able to write albiet for a short time.

Perhaps a hiatus would be nice- spring break is coming soon

As writers, what can we do to relive the glory days when we lived to read and write fanfiction?

I think we should all push for more anti-cannon/more original fics that get our minds working... but that's just me. I'm personally getting tired of writing/reading the same stuff. It was all fun back when all of the stories here were new and exciting- covering subjects that were foreign and thrilling. Now... it's just a buch of ruminations and angst. What happened to the fun twists?

 

This is a really great topic, AF!

When did your interest start to dwindle? Was it sudden or a long process?

I'm in a bit of a down-phase right now, actually. It's more of a gradual thing, I guess...my interest goes up and down depending on real life, my mood, whatever. And at this time of year, when it feels like winter will NEVER END!!1! , I'm always a little less-than-enthusiastic about life in general.

Do you think it's temporary- meaning, could it be solved by merely reading a good piece of fanfiction? If not, what could be done to solve it?

For me, it's always temporary. And I can never really predict what'll bring back the passion. It could be a fanfic I really like, a profic novel, something completely unrelated to Star Wars...whatever.

As writers, what can we do to relive the glory days when we lived to read and write fanfiction?

As others have said, take a break. Just do something different. When I really like something (a song, for instance) I pretty much eat, sleep, and breathe it. Then, no matter how much I liked it, I get sick of it and move on to something else. But eventually, maybe even a couple of years later, I'll hear the song and fall in love with it all over again.

 

Hmm. I have to admit, "taking a break" for me does not seem to be very good advice. It's usually what leads to the feeling that it's all pointless. Granted, too much obsession and I can burn out, but if I wander off from a fandom or a story or even a forum for a while -- busy-ness, sudden interest in someone else, whatever -- it always seems harder to get back into it. I lose touch, or feel I've lost touch, with the participatory community... and then I find myself convinced on some level that I won't be able to finish a story well and nobody will want to read it anyway... sometimes in direct contradiction of all apparent evidence, since in other fandoms this has happened when I took a break from a story that was being pretty well received.

Obviously, this is not to suggest that it's necessarily bad advice for anybody else, especially if it's someone who has been actively participating and started to feel "bleah."

 

When did your interest start to dwindle? Was it sudden or a long process?

I think it happened even before RotS came out, some time when I was reading the NJO books I started to get really upset with the idea that everything I loved in the Star Wars Universe, the adventure and humor, seemed to be disappearing into extreme angst.

I hated it, and I think I still hate certain books in that series to this day, my childhood fondness when every second word was to do with Star Wars just dried up, I couldn't even look at the OT videos.

I started to get back into it as the hype for RotS built up, I realized as I stepped out of the cinema at nearly three in the morning, that there were so many possibilities out there despite what the EU authors were doing.

Do you think it's temporary- meaning, could it be solved by merely reading a good piece of fanfiction? If not, what could be done to solve it?

I think it's only temporary, I've found that taking it slowly is a great way to get rid of DWB, rather then rattle off an entire chapter or short story in two days, I only push myself as far as my mind wants to go without pushing the creativity juices to the extreme.

If that means a page of really good action as opposed to two or three pages of discussion, it's worth the two days I spend with my family over the weekend, or the over two hours I spend watching RotJ to try to imagine what Vader's expression under his mask could be.

As writers, what can we do to relive the glory days when we lived to read and write fanfiction?

I agree with AnakinsFavourite, I am all for trying to delve into the mind of the characters as they appear in the movies, but the A/P angst can only be pushed too far when it starts to loose it's touch. But by using our own creativity to create and imagine new possibilities beyond the movies, it keeps the concept of Star Wars fresh and interesting.

I know myself that I'm always looking for new twists and turns, not particularly OC, but something that I can see the author has really pushed the norm into alternative view.

 

I'm in a situation that makes me think, "Which came first - the chicken or the egg?" I'm still involved in Star Wars, and still occasionally writing fic, but I finished my last epic three months ago and haven't had any new inspiration, other than a few one-shots, since then. About that time, in November, I started getting into the Supernatural fandom. However, I'm not sure if Supernatural is taking up my fan energy and making less available for Star Wars, or if I simply was burned out on Star Wars in the first place and the timing was right to find something new.

However, I've had some dry spells before, where there's no inspiration for a few months and then BLAM! something comes to me, from a seemingly random place, and then I have an idea that will sustain me for a long time. So it could simply be another dry spell. I haven't come up with much for Supernatural since December, either - again, just scattered one-shots.

I'm not sure if it's waning interest or just a low point. Time will tell. I think that for me it's the natural burnout that happens after cranking out 125,000 words (that's an eighth of a million, folks) in less than two months, and it's starting to lift. I've had more quick-fic ideas in the last couple of weeks than January and the first half of February combined.

I rarely get inspired to write by other fic, at least not directly, but I'm hoping that there will be something in Exile that inspires me to write. I didn't get much out of the other novels of LotF thus far, but I do remember a few things from NJO being extremely inspirational, and if my fic tastes hadn't changed a bit, I could still go back to the original scene that made me want to get back into writing and re-read it. Hey, it might still help.

To bring back the days of high interest - I'm just waiting it out to see if it will come back. Will re-read some of my old fic, too, and some of the older canon if needed.

 

For me, interest has not waned. Not yet anyway. And really, why do you HAVE to revive interest? If the "itch" to write fan fiction strikes again, then great. Go with it. But if it doesn't, consider it a gift whose time has passed and move on. Our interests change as we age and mature, or at least they should. New things strike our fancy and we should follow our new interests.

When I no longer find satisfaction in writing fan fiction then I'll stop. How involved I would stay in these boards at that point, I cannot say. Probably I would still be a semi-frequent visitor, reading at my leisure.

 

When did your interest start to dwindle? Was it sudden or a long process?

1985.

It was a couple of years past the release of ROTJ and there wasn't much going on in the EU front back then and there were fewer SW zines coming out. I moved on to Doctor Who and Man from U.N.C.L.E. fanfics and a few years after that ST:TNG. I sampled some SW EU books in the 1990's when I saw some author names that I like. While I was pleased that the SW book line was going for good writers I didn't read anything I couldn't live without. Even the first Timothy Zahn trilogy didn't interest me much. The writing was good, and the characterization the movie personalities was just right, but I was totally uninterested in the OCs. I also didn't care for the perpetual-war scenario going on with the EU stories. Sure things weren't going to be all happy sunshine after Palpatine died, but going from one galaxy-threatening crisis to another dulls the impact pretty quick. Any Beyond fics I might write will be completely AU.

Do you think it's temporary- meaning, could it be solved by merely reading a good piece of fanfiction? If not, what could be done to solve it?

Obviously for me it was. Or it just morphed into something else. When the prequels came out I liked them. I got all my SW costumes in shape for Ep III and the last movie came out I started writing SW fanfics, mostly Before. What changed? New SW material that I really liked. So, reading a really good fanfic or pro-fic or comic might change your outlook, or the upcoming animated or live action TV series.

I don't think that losing interest in SW is something that needs to be solved, unless you lose interest in everything, SW or not. That is a problem. And it is a problem if bad RL things degrade your interest in SW. But if SW just gets displaced by other things that you like, that's not a problem. Things like that happen.

As writers, what can we do to relive the glory days when we lived to read and write fanfiction?

Since I didn't start writing fanfics here until the end of 2005, I think I missed the glory days entirely, but I still have a need to write SW fanfics, so I'll keep going. Just write what you want to read. But just remember, you can never go home. Some things, when they're done, they're done.

My interest in fanfic writing is extremely character driven. I want more from those copy-righted characters, so I write more. If I ever find myself writing all OCs in my own settings, that don't have to be in the SW universe, that's my cue to write original fics.

 

I'm not sure, and I'm not sure today how much I love Star Wars vs. how much I love TF.N. However, I still read the books and I still love the fanfic.

About a year ago I started to really notice a decline in my writing and my interest in putting a lot of effort into it. Last June I took a break (though I didn't intend to, but my on-the-boards life got busy). I can probably count on one hand the things I've written since then. However, I've really missed in, and things are looking up, so hopefully I'll have more time soon The break really helped me renew my interest.

What I'd really like to do is take a whole day one day (a day that likely won't come until summer) and sit down and just read a few epics, maybe go back and reread some of the stuff on the Classic board that I fell in love with years ago. I can't think of anything more relaxing

 

My interest has really gone up and down, ever since I got into it when I was three. I'll find my love for SW dwindling breifly, only to flare back up again after I read a good novel or fanfic. I do know though, that some might find threir interest begining to dwindle, as they grow older, especially now that ROTS is on DVD, and there's no new movies to be excited about. I actually don't just watch the movies very often; I mostly read novels and fics nowadays.

But, that's just me. Cool topic BTW

 

Man, would I love to be able to devote a day to just reading fanfic. I just don't have time for anything anymore.



But on to the present discussion.

What is happening to us? It seems that everyone is simultaneously losing their interest in what had once been an intense passion- giving our own views of what could have been in the Star Wars universe. Is it because the hype of ROTS is over that we are all becoming bored? With George Lucas' future pet projects, will we be able to regain our interest?

What's happening is real life. Not "Darth Real Life," but the reality that people grow and change. Sadly, just about everybody I started out in the fandom with in 1999 has left SW fandom, moved off into other fandoms, then completely lost interest and is doing other things now. Seriously.

I guess whether the fandom picks up again with the TV show depends on one thing: How good it is. And how long GL tries to milk the heck out of it. I mean, look what happened to ST. They just beat that horse to death.

With that said, I'd like to donate this thread to all of us authors who are struggling to retain our interest in not only the written word but also the genre which had once been inspiring for us.

I guess I should say, if you're outgrowing SW not to feel bad about it or try to force yourself to do something that really doesn't interest you any more. I think it's natural to look back with nostalgia at something that once made you really happy, and feel weird that it doesn't any more. But there's no need to force yourself. If you've moved on, you've moved on.

I think a lot of times SW or other fandoms get people through tough times. I don't know if anyone's been around long enough to remember the "Darth Maul Estrogen Brigade" website that sprung up in 1999 after TPM. It was run by Darth Cleo who used to be a manager here. When that website closed up, all the many many many people who posted there came in and posted on a goodbye thread about what they had gotten from their participation there. It was amazing the sad stories about stuff people were going through when they found their way to that website. People posted that they were going through a major depression, a divorce, major job troubles, mental illness ... you name it, and their participation in fandom had been the only bright spot in an otherwise awful time in their lives.

Not that that's necessarily so for everybody, but if that does describe you, a lot of people don't feel the pull of fandom once they start feeling better in general and other things in their lives are good again.

Um, was that an unwanted trip through Psychology 101? Sorry.



When did your interest start to dwindle? Was it sudden or a long process?

For me, I get too many road blocks thrown in my face. I can't get where I want to go with my fan fic, and then get frustrated and give up. I once got mad and gave away just about everything SW I owned, and gave up fandom for the longest time. But then ROTS came out and I started getting huge ideas I couldn't ignore.

And then my bf moved in, and we got married, and life got to be such a whirlwind of too many car breakdowns and wedding expenses and too little money and too much work that even though I had ideas for things I wanted to do, it just wasn't possible to even think about writing. After you haven't been able to even think about an idea for a number of months, it just kind of loses its oomph, you know?

Do you think it's temporary- meaning, could it be solved by merely reading a good piece of fanfiction? If not, what could be done to solve it?

In some cases it is. I got sucked back in, after all!

As writers, what can we do to relive the glory days when we lived to read and write fanfiction?

Two things that did it for me: New inspiration from the latest SW installment that had come out, and learning to write fan fic for a different purpose. I began to see the many topics

 

LLL, I'd quote you but I'd end up quoting the whole thing and resorting to the dreaded QFT.

When your entire life has been intensely focused on other things, even though you don't like it, it is really hard to get back into things you do enjoy. I've been reading my favorite things and watching some of my favorite movies a lot recently, and the drive is coming back to life. I consider it... buried under other life issues. Haven't grown out of it... just have to throw off some of the garbage to find out where I packed it away for the winter.

EDIT: QFT = Quoted For Truth.

 

(Umm ... what is "QFT"?)

 

When did your interest start to dwindle? Was it sudden or a long process?

My interest in fan fiction hasn't declined, though there have been periods when I was unable to write due to RL. However, my interest in writing non-SW fanfic came to a halt when I posted a story here at the JC Fanfic forums. What can I say, I'm addicted to the feedback.

Do you think it's temporary - meaning, could it be solved by merely reading a good piece of fanfiction? If not, what could be done to solve it?

I still have ideas for other genres, both left over from my pre-JC days and a few I get from time to time. I haven't given up on writing them, or so I keep telling myself. I think I'll probably work on them if the JC disappears from the Internet.

As writers, what can we do to relive the glory days when we lived to read and write fanfiction?

Um . . . write? I don't think there's anything wrong with not being interested in fanfic any more, unless you have absolutely nothing else as a hobby.

- lazy

 

I wouldn't say my interest has dwindled, it has just evolved. I haven't watched the Star Wars films in about 6 months, and the only reason I watched them then was I felt it was criminal not to break in my brand new HDTV without the GFFA. I enjoy watching Star Wars, but I'm not driven to watch it right now. Its probably because I've watched it so many times it ends up being backgroun noise because I know what is going to happen, and I got more important things going on. My issue is real life has come in the way. When the choice is paying the bills, or playing in the GFFA, the choice is pretty easy. The bills win. However, that does not mean I am no longer interested in Star Wars.

That being said, I don't think my interest will ever completely dwindle for Star Wars like it has for some fandoms. It has been a part of my life for a long time. I was born 3 months after Return of the Jedi was released, so I never saw the Original Trilogy when it first came to theaters, but my mother did and they were some of her favorite movies. My mother is a big movie fan and encouraged both myself and my brother to go to the theater or watch movies at home. To this day I don't watch that much TV, but I have a huge movie collection.

I first saw Star Wars when I was 5 years old. My mother rented the Original Trilogy for us to watch because she said everyone had to see these films at least once. My younger brother and I enjoyed the films very much and that Christmas we received our own copy of the Original Trilogy that was played over and over again. Star Wars was a favorite movie at my house and was watched frequently. However, my tastes did evolve over time. When I was 5, my favorite film was Episode IV, I liked the happy ending. I was too young to appreciate the darker Empire Strikes Back, and not fully ready to handle the emotionality of Return of the Jedi. As I got older, I learned to love The Empire Strikes back, and today it is still my favorite within the Original Trilogy.

I remember when the Special Editions were released to theaters, and my brother and I begged my mother to take us to see them on the "Big Screen." I didn't realize how much of a fan I was then. I was definitely obsessed at that point, but I didn't know I was. I just considered it a movie I enjoyed.

I still watched Star Wars frequently through the years between the release of the Special Editions to the release of Episode I, but I was not an active member of the fandom. I was getting older, so I became a James Bond fan. I still very much am a James Bond fan (as evident by my screenname), but not a fan like I am to Star Wars. Although I have seen every James Bond film countless times, I know I have seen the Star Wars films even more. For me James Bond is one of those things I have to be in the mood for, but I can watch Star Wars anytime. So, there was a point where I was obsessed with knowing every infintessimal detail of James Bond, but I did lose interest. For me, James Bond is nice, but he doesn't capture my imagination like the Galaxy Far Far Away. I'll still watch the films, but its not with the same enthusiasm I had years ago.

Anyways, fast forward to 1999 and the release of Episode I. As the hype began to build on this movie, my brother and I got really excited that we would finally get to see what made Darth Vader who he was. It definitely wasn't my favorite movie, but if I'm honest with myself, it is Star Wars and I don't really care. I'll watch it no matter what. I wasn't a fanfiction writer at this point, but the first film did get me thinking of what would come next. At this point we had the beginning of Vader's story and we knew the end of it, so in my mind I was piecing together the rest of the story and anticpating the next movie to see what would happen next.

When Episode II came out, I still did not consider myself obsessed, but I rushed out of a final exam at college to make sure I saw the film (I was in denial). I loved the film and again anticipated the release of Episode III. While I waited for

 

Quoted for Truth. I had to go look it up in the YJCC glossery though

I really don't watch the films very much. I don't really feel driven to anymore, so I suppose that that's a slight dwindle in interest. RL really doesn't allow it either, so I suppose it could be that as well. It's really up and down for me. One day I'll be dying to get out of classes so that I can come home and read a bunch of fanfic, and some days I really don't care. But I never have had a real decline in interest in SW. It's always been something that I've liked, so really I can't imagine not being crazy about it.

 

I think that part of my wavering interest might have something to do with the fact that I've had DWB for the past few years. Yes, I've had a few spurts where it left- and felt so good! It's hard to like writing when it frustrates you so

Has anyone found a cure for DWB, by any chance?

 

I hate DWB! It has picked on me on several occasions. The cure for me has been to go write something else for a bit. Which is why I have a tendency to write a series of vignettes around writing my epic. I've found that by taking a step away from my longer story, I can come back with a fresh look at it and write what is needed. I also try to write a different set of characters than what my epic involves. So if my epic is an Obi-Wan story (which it is ), I will write a series of Anakin and Padme stories.

When that hasn't worked, or the DWB has been so bad that I couldn't write something else, I didn't look at fanfiction at all for a few days. I'd usually go watch a movie or read a book that had absolutely nothing to do with Star Wars and I've found that helped me generate new Star Wars plot bunnies and eventually I'd get the inspiration or will to write on my epic. Not to mention, a bunch of plot bunnies waiting to be written.

I know that my DWB has usually been due to story fatigue. Because my story is so long, I have gotten in those places where it isn't the most exciting to write and the story drags (for me because I know what is going on). However, the information is necessary, for the reader, for events that will unfold later. So even though I'd rather be moving on with the story, I know that I have to address certain issues or they will come back to haunt me later. Besides my "cures," for DWB, there have been days where I have just forced myself to write to finish a section of story so I can move onto the next. So for me, there is no real good way to get around DWB, I just hope it doesn't linger for too long.

 

Very interesting thread! I must agree with the many who have said that the interest can?t be forced. Personally, I found this fandom shortly after the release of ROTS. After seeing the movie 5 times in the theatre, I realized that my pocketbook just couldn?t afford a daily showing and I searched on-line for all the info I could get about SW. I have been a fan since the first movie was released and had seen all the previous movies, but became obsessed after Episode three. It was a time in my life when I needed a happy obsession, something to bring me back to life after the break-up of my marriage. It certainly served that need and I met some great people here. I had never read nor considered writing fanfic prior to these boards but when I found it, I was hooked and thought I?d try my hand at it. My writing has never been prolific as I agonize over every word but it was a great way to jump start my love for writing which had also been lost with the above mentioned personal crisis. I got dragged away into the Harry Potter fandom and that distracted me for some time but I never totally deserted this place. But the HP stories, while I love them, never captured me as much as SW did or still does. Yes, the initial ?romance? phase when the love was fresh and new has waned, but SW will always be a story I love and will return to time and time again.


When did your interest start to dwindle? Was it sudden or a long process?

As I said above, I don?t think my interest has dwindle, just the fiery passion I had before.

Do you think it's temporary- meaning, could it be solved by merely reading a good piece of fanfiction? If not, what could be done to solve it?

If you are looking for the same passion, you may find that is gone but certainly reading or rereading some of the wonderful fanfics here could help with some of the spark.

As writers, what can we do to relive the glory days when we lived to read and write fanfiction?

Taking a breather, backing off from the feeling like you are required to write fan fics would be a suggestion to rekindle the fire you had. Sometimes, like someone previously said, it starts to get tired, forced and all you need is to give yourself a break.