Lacking motivation to write

[_NaturalTalent_]

Hi all, this is a bit of a tricky thing to attempt I think but I'm going to give it a go.

So, I have a huge passion for writing, doesn't matter about what, for what, or how (computer, tablet, phone, pad & pen), If I start writing it can get hard for me to stop (I hate the 2500 limit here sometimes hahaha), but recently this site has held about 90% of my writing effort, last couple months I think.

Now, don't get me wrong this isn't the problem, my problem is I have unfinished works I procrastinate picking up.. Granted I'm not always procrastinating there are SOME legitimate causes lol. But I've never really sought help with working on my creations and I'm thinking I need to..

A big issue I have is I don't like talking about the work I've already done, bit paranoid when it comes to that area of my life... Referencing this site again, probably contains the largest record of my writing (next to the internet police's lol) I mean I even scrub my facebook every once in a while. Up until last year I still kept ALL my writing material on a floppy disk HAHAHAHA Because who still owns a floppy drive... Right??? Ive upgraded it to a usb with encryption software now lol, its a pain in the bum to get in and out of...

ANYWAY.... My whole idea....

Im thinking maybe some other people have a similar need for like.. A sounding board? A bit of background collaboration/creation...

And really... The poke we all need sometimes to pick up the notepad and jot down a few notes to a scene or verse or what have you, that ultimately turns into half hours writing or something (if your anything like me, your few notes become a story a few pages long that's really the notes to a whole chapter...)

Now the problem for me lies here in... Details... Ill say one of my stories is a fantasy, so magic dragons etc right, but details... What are the dragons like? How do people use magic or accomplish certain things? I wont tell.........

So this is a convo with me - You:"How did they do that, I might be able to think of something less complicated" Me: "Magic" You: "Yeah but, energy, spell, potion, how?" Me: "Magic...."    but I DO have it all written down......

My reasoning? I would NEVER take other peoples ideas, but others do. If someone got their hands on my work (Approximately 4 years over 3 novels and a multitude of short stories and poems... Like the potential I've created... Its PRICELE$$ lol

Just need help moving.. If the thread dies oh well at least I tried 😛

[Simona]

Well i'll have a bite  : )

I write from the heart and yes i do get carried away sometimes and forget where I'm posting.  I have made my work public on another forum which has since folded and that was under my pen name. 

I experience as much as I can and then I write about it only changing very minor details to guard other people's privacy.  I'm all for the grit and the stains.  I live for it  

 Interesting idea for a thread  : )

[Simona]

However my problem is not procrastination - rather the lack of focus.   

I can't write fiction and I admire those that can.   That kind of writing requires a certain depth of thought that I'm not capable of.   I can only write in the context of the " I".  The I am.  For me, it's all in the first hand experience.  Pleasant or not

[TragicDogma]

I love my writing but have a similar issue, in actually starting to work on things.

I procrastinate that I don't have time and that there are other things more important to be doing. Rarely taking any time for myself.

Sometimes I talk about my stories a bit but most of the time I am quite introverted about it too same as you.

I think having someone to help you work on things, like a little collab can be very helpful, but also difficult as we all work and get carried away with our work in different ways at different times.

I think the best solution is to find like minded people, that quite obviously wont plagiarise your work, build friendships and talk about the pieces of work consistently. Some people may make friends just for that, and only talk about that, others as you say might just need a sounding board to get some opinions on the ideas.

In saying that, where would we go to find these people? Especially somewhere where you can build a relationship of some sort before putting your work on the line..?

[TragicDogma]

Simona,

I find what you wrote quite interesting, I most often write about a perspective, unless I am writing about myself but that doesn't get turned into stories or anything its more an expressive therapy angle.

I write fiction and its always 3rd person, he/she not I/me. Honestly im not sure if ive tried that perspective before. In saying that I also use real life events to shape what I write but in a more inspiration/idea light than a direct light.

I guess it comes down to how your mind works or what your passions are that determine how you write.. My passion is spiritual/magic/dragon fantasy type stuff, I guess its technically an escape from reality for me? Or altering reality to be more pleasant or intriguing..

When I write anything first person, its so real and full on that it puts me off after awhile. I don't like what I write in that way. When it comes down to poems ive written, that is first person every time, using my own knowledge and feelings to shape it, the few people I do show always comment similar things, basically expressing how powerful or intense it is, I see a similar thing but because its real to me it has a certain feel of 'This guy needs some damage control' so to say, bringing it into the real world almost hurts in some weird way.

[Simona]

hey there : )  wow. thank-you for sharing with me.    so do you read fantasy/fiction too?       i don't read now but i used to

so you really don't like any of your poems? 

sometimes i like what i write other times i read back and feel something inside me recoil as if it were written by another's hand  

[TragicDogma]

Hey Simona,

Yes I read fantasy/fiction mostly, but like my music I have/do cross all genres. I haven't read anything in quite awhile either though, sometimes I have a feeling that's where my writing is falling down, im not in that world at the moment. Not even with tv. But all that has been a bit unavoidable for the last few months.

Ive been trying to re connect with all my passions recently but its a struggle for me at the moment. I am getting closer though. Going to unpack all my books and put them back on the shelf soon, Im looking for one in particular to start me off I just hope I still have it.

Honestly there is only a small handful of my poems I have liked in the past, like I know that most of them ARE really good, but its either what went into them or what they represent that I don't like. Just like what you said, you read back and feel something in you recoil, that's 80% of my poems id say. If I kept a journal which I have tried to do in the past, id never read back over them because of the amount of crap that happens too me.

I have thought of a novel I could make out of it though, if I changed names like you mentioned you do before, Ive even titled it. I might one day lol "Diary of the village idiot" The story of a guy who always did everything he could for others.

[Simona]

The last book I read was This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff and I really enjoyed it.  Prior to that Loon lake by E.L Doctorow but that took ages to finish.     The 16 or so books I have are all second hand.  One of the things I miss about living in the city - 2nd hand book stores and heaps of op shops to hunt through.

I have a library membership but don't go there often unless I'm really searching for something specific and /or I have no internet at home.

I can only write when I'm in between books otherwise I feel too distracted and i don't want to be influenced in any way.  I mean; i have 3 writing styles.  1 is borderline autistic, the other a slight  Mills/Boon flavour but without the heavy syrup (romance)  and stereo-typical flawless characters.   Well, because like i mentioned before: i like grit/imperfection/scars.  3rd style i can best describe as classic/artistic - the keystroke  becomes a paintstroke.   A blank page...a canvas : ) 

I have shared a few of my quotes and poems in the poetry thread but now understand the bulk of work submitted here is based upon emotional suffering.   Truth being, i don't write much about internal pains of the heart - rather i write to escape it.   

Yeah I have about 4 journals.  The oldest I started was in '92 .   I was very unstable back then and like yourself don't really like to look back in the rear view.  

Well for what's it's worth I don't think you're an idiot.  I too have felt taken advantage of in the past because of trusting too much but have always seen myself as the heroine in all my writings - and yes, i can out myself as a jackass in my writings AND still feel confident in my skin.  

Some say 'damaged goods' - I say  'a smorgasbord of experience'  : )

which by the way comes very handy when I'm in the mood to write.

[Music_Freak]

I so get the procrastination/lack of focus thing!

I write, or used to write, band fan fiction, which to me is fiction, but with ready made characters. I should get back into it, it's a great escape.

With me, when I had writer's block in the past, I've written a short story based on a song, or something I can keep short, so that it doesn't end up an unfinished piece of work.

I'm probably off topic, but just my two cents, and hey, maybe writing here will get me back into it 🙂