/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.11767758]

Writers of /lit/, I ask you:

What do you do when you hit that slump and don't feel like writing? What methods do you use to motivate yourself again?

[Anonymous No.11767759]

>>11767758
That usually means I've spent the last month or so writing several thousand words every single day. I could use the break, and I take it gladly.

[Anonymous No.11767801]

try to push through with what you can. I split my work into bursts through the day so I'll do some reading, then i'll do some writing, then go back to reading and go back to some more writing. I try at the very least to get 5 pages done a day but I'd prefer to do 10 pages a day if I can (on my early drafts).

sometimes though your brain just feels fried and that's fine, what i'll do then is some light reading and spend the day for myself going for a walk or watching a movie. the day afterwards I get back into the swing of things.

Make sure that if you're in a slump, it's not due to poor planning of your work. I'm sure you know this already but the amount of writers I know who only have half an outline when they start or they just begin without anything like that just seems chaotic to me. I need everything planned before I start and it usually keeps me going comfortably until my brain begins to fizz out.

If it helps, get rid of distractions like the internet or your phone, turn off the wi-fi or take out the battery, etc etc. You'll find writing is a lot easier when you can't check 4chan.

[Anonymous No.11767914]

>>11767758
do something else until i get an idea. I might watch some neighborhood kittens eat the cat food i leave out until i get an idea. If that doesn't work then force yourself to type and delete what you wrote if it is shit

[Anonymous No.11767927]

>>11767759
How do you achieve that anon-sama? I can't write more than 500 words a day anymore and I feel tired and drained

[Anonymous No.11767933]

>>11767758
I wait. I don't write if I don't feel driven to; it takes away the magic of what makes writing fun for me. Sometimes I do force myself to write, plink out a sentence at a time, and sometimes I get into the zone. Sometimes I stop and wait again. It's sort of ineffective, but it works. As such, it's been almost 2 years since my last book came out.

[Anonymous No.11767935]

I remind myself that on the other side of having written, I can't really tell the difference between the stuff I made when I "felt like writing" and the stuff I made through gritted teeth and force of will

[Anonymous No.11767949]

I remember that some people get paid to do what I'm doing and that motivates me even more in the hope that one day I'll find a job getting paid for what I'm doing.

[Anonymous No.11767962]

>>11767927
Cultivated obsession.

I get focused in one thing at a time, and I roll with it. I spend a month taking down notes for the story and feeding it with related subjects, films and literature and shit, both fiction and non-fiction. Once that month has passed, I've got a lot of bottled-up writing desire as well as a pretty good idea on the shape of the story, and I can just jump in and write that shit.

[Anonymous No.11767990]

>>11767962
thanks anon, I might try something like that. it sounds like a really good way not to feel too burnt out in your writing and also maintain quality whilst actually writing

[Anonymous No.11768108]

>>11767758
Drink whiskey like Hemingway

[Anonymous No.11769322]

>>11767927
500 words a day every day is better than 2000 words a day a few times a month.

>>11768108
I unironically tried the "drink to write" meme but I always ended up getting overly sentimental and laying in bed listening to music instead of writing

[Anonymous No.11770650]

>>11767758
it's only about a year or two since i've started putting more effort into my writing so here what i learned:

don't be hard on yourself. Setting goals is good but don't beat yourself up if you don't manage to accomplish them

writing less but more often is way better than writing a lot every now and then

dont feel bad about your word count. i used to struggle with 300 words per day, moved on to a steady 500-1000

when i seriously feel like avoiding it, i post here. lol. it's best to try to squeeze out even one or two sentences even at your worst, since it helps with the habit

be kind to yourself, grab some coffee or tea if you're feeling tired

contemplating your own mortality and impending doom helps too sometimes.

[Anonymous No.11770667]

i just stop until it comes back by tself. forced writing is aways gonna suck, and might even damage the good one.

[Anonymous No.11770702]

>>11769322
What are you a teenage girl?

[Anonymous No.11771803]

>>11770702
>mocking people for having feelings
>in a thread about writers
l m a o

[Anonymous No.11771995]

When I have trouble writing I trying and draw something. Usually whatever I was writing out.

That helps.

[Anonymous No.11772081]

How do you deal with the crushing dread that every word you write is utterly worthless and that the only thing more pointless than life itself is the facsimile of life presented through your writing?

[Anonymous No.11772084]

>>11772081
Who hurt you anon?

[Anonymous No.11772092]

>>11767758
I post cute Lain pictures on /c/!