Writing Memes

This happened to me last winter. Honestly, I saw a therapist, but there was also other crap going on. I mention the therapist right away because there's no way for me to truly diagnose what's going on with you, especially if you're cutting off your friends--this is a red flag for depression, and to me, signals that you should talk to someone more qualified than I am.

Anyway, though, my therapist noted that, as an English major, my homework involves reading and writing. And then I came to her wondering why I didn't want to read or write anymore in my free time. It freaked me out, because my old hobbies were suddenly just feeling like work, like homework. I felt like my passions were slipping away from me.

It turned out that what I needed was to get out of my head. My therapist suggested I find something physical to do in my free time, something with immediate results (the opposite of reading/writing). So, like, knitting or painting or something. I crochet sometimes.

I also needed to get my head out of my ass and get on with my life. Maybe it sounds harsh, but I desperately needed to stop feeling sorry for myself and just do  things. Tell yourself that it's just a rough patch, because that's exactly what it is.

Hey, sorry for taking so long to get back to you (and for being absent lately in general)!  If you’re looking to rediscover that motivation that you started with, try making a list of why you started that particular story in the first place.  What caused the initial spark?  What about it made you excited?  Do some troubleshooting–maybe it’s lost that spark.  Maybe it’s gone off track, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed.  If you do some general troubleshooting, you might discover why your motivation is gone.  It’s possible that you just keep hitting slow points or walls in character development and lose interest that way, so if you can fix these issues, you can get yourself over these bumps.

If you’re having trouble finishing anything at all, try setting writing goals for yourself.  Set a goal to finish Story X by next week.  Or next month, or however long it takes you to write.  Be realistic–pushing yourself harder than you’re willing to go will only kill your motivation.  Then again, do push yourself, since a too-easy goal isn’t worthwhile.  Set yourself up with a little reward, too.  I will occasionally hold off on downloading an album I’m excited about until I reach a certain goal, which gives me even more motivation to reach that goal.  Do whatever works for you.  You might find that having a system of challenges and rewards in place keeps your motivation at a higher level.