[ SECRET POST #4463 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4463 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 42 secrets from Secret Submission Post #639.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

04. https://i.imgur.com/qMGeyPt.png

[fishnchips]

I feel a bit similar. I used to write quite a bit some years ago and only doodled a bit on the side. I always considered myself much more of a writer than an artist and I continued to do so until not too long ago, when I noticed that actually, I hadn't really written a lot during the last few years but produced a fair number of artworks. That was a weird realisation and I also wish I could get back into writing again.

[(Anonymous)]

I completely understand. I used to be a pretty active blogger (LJ days and then private site) with a pretty healthy circle of friends/readers and I loved writing. I'd write about fandom, life, just whatever. It was like a passion within that I just needed to do daily, and enjoyed the hell out of it. That stopped several years ago (probably close to 10, now that I think about it. depressing.) and I've never been able to rediscover that passion. I've tried, but it's just not there anymore.

[11thmirror]

I used to draw constantly
I don't think I've finished an artwork in like, two years

[(Anonymous)]

I really like the photo you used in your secret, very warm and cozy. :) Is there perhaps a specific reason why you feel as though the magic is gone? Would writing in a different genre or form of prose help? Or is there something about fandom itself that you no longer feel attached to in the same way you did years ago? I don't know if this would help but for me personally, when I am feeling bored with my writing, sometimes I'll simply change the background color and font type of the text document I'm writing in. I'll then put on music I wouldn't normally listen to, maybe something I've never even heard before. A different aesthetic and ambiance can get the creative juices flowing in surprising ways. Sometimes journaling about your day while writing fanfic can help too, flip flopping back and forth between reality and fiction so you don't have to think too hard about either one.

OP

[(Anonymous)]

It's complicated. I guess it's that I used to feel more inspired by what I consumed and when it came time to write it felt like my brain was bursting with ideas and stories that needed to come out... and it DID come out. Not effortlessly, but with little coaxing. I felt more able to lose myself in the stories I told.

I had some health issues and family issues that took me away from writing for a while, and I suppose it's that I'm not really the same person. The old approaches don't work as well. I used to listen to music for the mood all the time, but can't do so now because it's too distracting. Background color/font changes don't do anything for me, sorry. I've attempted experimenting in other genres and it sounds exciting but in practice... meh. And I got away from journaling because it was too damn depressing when nothing about my day to day life changed.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, I just daydream or write the fun parts and kind of leave it at that. Writing's hard, and there's not much incentive to write postable fic.

[(Anonymous)]

Aw, I wish I could give you a hug, OP. I feel just like you. I used to write a bunch when I was younger. I'd write fic, original stories, journal entries, and I was in a bunch of RPs. Then I got to college and I had to stop writing so much because I was busy with my studies and working to pay my tuition. I thought I'd be able to write once I got less busy, but it's been about ten years for me too and I feel terribly about it. It's like a part of me died. My imagination isn't even as active as it used to be. I tried writing some fic earlier this year because I had some time off work and I had a lot of fun with it, but then work picked up again and I lost the spark. It fucking sucks.

Me too OP

[(Anonymous)]

I know exactly where you are coming from OP.

I had been a two decade long fanfic author with a pretty regular schedule and following, but in 2015 my father in law passed away and with all the issues around it (he had cancer so we kinda knew it was coming, and we spent weeks out of state helping with family matters) I just stopped and never felt the drive to bring me back. I still read other people's fanfic and consume media that I enjoy and might be tempted to make me write again, but I don't.

I just have accepted that that part of my life has come to a close.

Re: Me too OP

[(Anonymous)]

I'm sorry, anon. I hope you're mistaken and that part of your life isn't over for good.

[(Anonymous)]

I feel you OP. I haven't written regularily in a decade or so as well and I do feel "strange" with this shift, because writing used to be an important part of my life.

I don't have any good advice. I can only say that I have figured out what happened in my case? (In the sense of "where did it all go/why am I not writing anymore?"). There is no great secret, just irregular working hours and much less of free time. I have recently attended a short series of creative workshops (4 meetings) with a friend (she really wanted to do it and I though it might be a good way of checking if I really still even can write anything). We had to write a short story every week. So I did write 3 stories. They were okay. It's still there, I still have ideas. But I also had to shorten my sleeping time by 1/3, cancel gym classes and refuse some extra work to fit the writing into my schedule. I had problems with meeting deadlines at work, anyway. So there's that for me. I haven't changed. My life and work schedule has, and I am not a quick writer. I'm not sure what to do with that.

[ladyguinevere83]

I totally understand this. I used to be fairly prolific in a couple of fandoms. Then I moved away from it in favour of original fic and general life, though I would still have all these ideas in my head (some old, some new). I'm talking 12-15 years sort of time. And until recently I wasn't excited enough to write anything. And I'm still more of an original fic person, but a few fanfics are now starting to slip though again :)