Harsh Reality- What To Do When The Drive Is Gone

That's what I do.


Wawoot, sorry to hear that you aren't writing any more. Maybe someday you'll come back to it.

 

Sorry to hear that, wawoot

 

If I stick with something for too long without it ever changing in any way, not only do I get bored with it, but I also find myself easily distracted by other things. That's why my reading and writing preferences move around a lot within SW fanfic territory.

So I absolutely agree with those who suggest moving on to another hobby and stepping back from writing for a while, because sometimes you need that big a distance. But if it's only the fanfic writing that aggravates you and not the reading, spend more time reading. Jump into a genre you don't normally read - it'll be fresh and new. It might inspire you to write in that genre, or you'll get so sick of it that you'll be ready to go back to your usual haunts and finish your story.

My writing drive is affected solely by RL right now, which is both sad but maybe not a bad thing. If I had to write, I'd be cutting into studying time.

As for reader replies, they do affect my drive (when I have the time to write). As oqi said, I feed off of replies from humor stories more than replies from dramatic stories. I like entertaining people, and when I entertain people I'd rather make them laugh than cry. Scaring them is also fun. In general when I see that people are entertained, it inspires me to make them happy with more entertainment. And if I like to make them laugh more than cry, a story that's mostly drama will make me think, "Ugh, do I really have to write this?" - even if it's just one post. At that point it's like wringing water out of a rock.

 

In recent days, I have come to the conclusion that reality is harsh and can make your drive go.

But, the question is this- how can you get the drive back? When DRL gets bad, how can you see writing and fanfiction as a means to relax? Writing is meant to be a relaxing and fun activity, but sometimes we get all worked up and don't find it thus...

 

I use fanfiction -- or writing in general -- as a means to escape DRL. Whatever annoys me in real life I try to incorporate in my stories in a way that it would fit Star Wars. I've lost interest in the movies years ago and at the moment I'm not too fond of the EU either but I still love writing my own personal view of things.

There are certain days when I don't feel like typing away my thoughts but the drive always comes back with new ideas. Be it Star Wars or not -- I don't think I could ever give up writing.

It keeps me sane. To an extent.

 

Writing is my therapy. However, I don't think there's anything wrong with losing your drive and walking away. We changed. Or we should. Everything in our life has a season. It's all right to walk away, knowing that you enjoyed that season to its fullest but now it's time for a new one.

 

When did your interest start to dwindle? Was it sudden or a long process?
For me it started about a year ago. And it was actually a sudden thing; it was like I woke up one day and didn't have an interest in writing fanfiction anymore.
Do you think it is temporary - meaning, could it be solved by merely reading a good piece of fanfiction?
Yes it was temporary. And reading all of the wonderful fanfics everyone post's on the forums did trigger my writing obsession again.
As writers, what can we do to relive the glory days when we lived to read and write fanfiction?
I would love to see more plot bunnies!

 

After long dry periods of struggeling with your writing, what suddenly inspires you to take up the pen and begin feverishly writing?
Usually personal experiances inspire me a lot. Whether it is a small sentence a friend says to me or a huge experiance that changes my life to even the smallest things, I find that they help me a lot. Even to the point of me basing an entire story off of something that happened in my life. Music also helps inspire me. And not rock music, but classical music.
Does watching any of the Star Wars movies seem to help?
They help me make sure that I am staying true to what Gerorge Lucas created. And not going to far to where I am changing a character of his. But they don't seem to help inspire me to write fanfiction.
Would a support system on these Boards perhaps be of help to authors who are struggling in their ability to find meaning in their writing?
We should all have our own meaning for why we write. I write stories (And not just Star Wars stories) because it is a way of expressing my self and I like seeing how happy people are after they read my stories just like playing the clarinet is for me. I think that finding a meaning is something that we each personally have to do. But I would like to see more ideas for fanfiction being shared on the boards!