Have I lost my (limited) ability to write?

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction' started by Lazarus, Sep 15, 2010.

  1. Lazarus

    Lazarus Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2003
    Hi all, bit of a random thought for a rainy Wednesday afternoon (at least where I live).

    How come I've lost my ability to write? :)

    In my teens I was able to write reams of fanfiction that I'd like to think is reasonably good even looking back at it today. No real planning or anything just sit there and do it! And it would all mesh into a (reasonably) cohesive story.

    Nowadays, nothing!

    All I can do is create extremely detailed story outlines in my head but even putting those down on paper* is a struggle, and actually writing any sort of scene with dialogue is nigh on impossible for me!

    I'd like to think I have a little bit of talent, but I also seem to have writer's block that is lasting years! As I've said, I can plot a story in my head and am constantly refining one in particular all the time, but only in my imagination! :lol:

    What's wrong with me!? :guffaw:

    *for paper read computer!
     
  2. ares93

    ares93 Commodore Commodore

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    May 5, 2010
    Location:
    ares93
    rain here to my friend. :)
    and i know the feeling. the constant editing. but i can at least get it down on paper or a word document. but in the end, i edit it so much that i loose the energy to continue. for me its the language. although by swedish or hungarian standards my english is perfect, i read the fanfics here on TBBS and all i end up doing afterward is try to rewrite the entire thing. just as a example, one of my fanfics, Starship Kir'Shara. one of the three stories currently in progress, Momento Mori, i have completely redone three times. i'm constantly trying to get it up to a standard i deem good enough but then i keep raising the bar. it like a freaking OCD.

    so you're not the one with writing issues. :)
     
  3. Admiral2

    Admiral2 Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2004
    Location:
    Langley

    Not a thing.

    The fact that you're still thinking of ideas means you're not, strictly speaking, blocked. You're just a little hesitant to start hitting keys. But since you've written before, you'll eventually miss it enough that the hesitation will disappear, and you'll start up again. Always happens with me.
     
  4. BrotherBenny

    BrotherBenny Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    BrotherBenny
    I got rejected eleven times (give or take) for a novel I wrote back in college and it has taken me five years to actually finish another piece of fiction.

    Don't think about what to write, just do some free writing and see what comes out.
     
  5. Mistral

    Mistral Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Dec 5, 2007
    Location:
    Between the candle and the flame
    You just need to up your coffee intake! :)
     
  6. TerokNor

    TerokNor Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2010
    Hmm...I had it that a very stressful time thought off stole away my ability to write a story...(and even to develop ideas for a story, which you have no problems with). Now that the stress fades and I feel not constantly emotional exausted anylonger the creativity slowly comes back...but really very very slowly and while by now I can work a story out in my head again, it still is a struggle to put it into written words.
    Are you or were you recently very stressed maybe?

    TerokNor
     
  7. SeerSGB

    SeerSGB Admiral Admiral

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    Oct 13, 2003
    Location:
    RIP Leonard Nimoy
    A few years back, I gave up writing. Anything, everything, quit freelancing for the papers, quit working on my original novels, fanfiction, the whole 9 yards. Thought it was time to "grow up" and "be an adult". A good two or three years went by, and I was in absolute misery. I had no outlet for my stress, no world to "escape" to and hang out in when I need to get away from people. Started writing again, bit by bit, little scraps on napkins and back of receipts-- ideals mostly. Slowly, I came back into writing. And as I stretched my legs again, I found I was a better writer for having "suffered" for the craft; I had more appreciation for it.

    Still not back to where I was, but I'm getting there and I'm enjoying myself in the process.

    Maybe it isn't so much a loss of talent, as it is you needing to step back and look at the big picture.
     
  8. Gul Re'jal

    Gul Re'jal Commodore Commodore

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    Jun 28, 2010
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    Gul Re'jal is suspecting she's on the wrong space
    I had a block for a few years. Not even any ideas in my head. But then... something was born and a few months ago I wrote first sentenced and after that it was an avalanche :lol:

    You just need to make yourself write first words. Hopefully then it would unblock you and go on on its own ;)
     
  9. SeerSGB

    SeerSGB Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2003
    Location:
    RIP Leonard Nimoy
    Trick I use that seems to work: Write in a different genre. If you write sci-fi, write crime drama, etc. You're not looking to churn out "marketable" content, you're just looking to give your mind something else to focus on other than the fact you've got writer's block. It seems, from my POV at least, the more you focus on the block the stronger the block is.