Catch 22

[hils]

I'm in a catch 22 situation with my writing at the moment and I'm not really sure what to do about it. I don't know why but I'm feeling really anxious about my stuff and worried that it's not going to be good. Then, because I'm worried about it, it winds up not being good because I'm not letting it flow like I normally would. It's obviously having an effect on my work because the comment numbers on my last couple of stories has dropped off massively. 20+ comments for my Persona snippet dropping to 8 comments for my Siren snippet. I'm not counting Fracture yet because it's only been up for about 12 hours.

Now I'm working on my mpreg and I've got this little voice in my head telling me it's crap so I've stopped again

*sigh*

Any advice or should I just stick to making icons. LOL

Comments

[jack4will.livejournal.com]

When you get a problem like that. Stop writing for several hours and do something else. That usually helps for me. Hope that helps girlfriend. *hugs*

[hils.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm gonna play some Sims for a bit I think

[jack4will.livejournal.com]

*hugs* That will be good. That way you don't have to many plot bunnies interfering for the one your working on now. They love to do that us.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, I never work on more than one fic at a time or I just wind up getting muddled

[jack4will.livejournal.com]

Yeah but then when your writing one a plot bunny will bite at times. *grins* Did that to me while I was writing Brothers In Arms. I'm still going to kill my muses or the bunnies since they haven't bitten me for a long time.

[hils.livejournal.com]

I just jot down the idea and carry on. Only one fic at a time for me, no matter what the bunnies do

[ellyfanfiction.livejournal.com]

My advice is to take a break, then go ahead, sit down, and just write out a whole chapter, without worrying about whether it sucks or not. Leave it alone for a day or so, then go back and edit it. That's how I get past the "everything I just wrote is crap!" thing. The awful truth is that some days, everything I write IS crap, at least until I edit it:-). The only solution I've found is to just crank it out and do rewrites later.

And BTW, I wouldn't assume that the number of comments is necessarily a reflection on the quality of your work. Sometimes LJ just goes quiet for no apparent reason. Doesn't mean it's you!

[hils.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't write in chapters and I write by hand so that makes it a bit difficult. LOL! I think the principle still applies though. I'll have to just keep writing and then edit when I type it all up at the end

Thanks

[ceci2176.livejournal.com]

Stepping away for a (little) while is good advise, but don't give up on it. If you enjoy it, that's what's important. Just keep on keeping on, one word at a time - because the more you write, the more likely it is that you write something really good. :-)

[hils.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think at least part of the problem is that I took a couple of months off from writing over Christmas and while I was in Texas. I'm just struggling to get back into it now

[ceci2176.livejournal.com]

Hey, it's the same for me...this year I've only written one story (an original), and it was very short. I really, really have to do more writing.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Compared to this time last year I am way behind

[bogwitch.livejournal.com]

Comment numbers do not equal quality. There are all sorts of factors at work.

[ceci2176.livejournal.com]

Amen to that!

[hils.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you may me right but I take it as an indication of people who read the fic and liked it enough to say so

[ladydreamer.livejournal.com]

I'd advise, after you come back from your break, to do as others have said and keep in mind that you're going to edit the stuffing out of it. I edit A LOT, even before I send it to beta. Things get cut, reworked, put in other places, and it makes for tighter fic. So realise that even if it doesn't feel very good now, you're getting your ideas down to make it good, and have an account of where to go, what to do with it.

Also, try not to talk yourself down. I think one of the main functions of writers block is lack of confidence. Or that's what I do to myself with my academic work.

[hils.livejournal.com]

I think lack of confidence is the main issue at the moment and I don't know where it's come from.

[bagheera-san.livejournal.com]

Same situation here. When I'm in one of my really creative phases, I alwys feel giddy and confident about stuff I've written, but in those times where writing is hard, everything seems to suck.

Things that help me are: doing other stuff, reading books (not other people's fanfic. I find that other people's fanfic isn't bad when you're trying to get the voices in a new fandom, but when you're blocked, it only makes you feel bad about your own writing) , consuming lots of caffeine (er... not sure if that last one actually helps.)

[hils.livejournal.com]

Hehe! I might make some icons in a bit and then maybe read some more of my book

Thanks :)

[lapetite-kiki.livejournal.com]

I can’t speak for everyone, but I do comment every time that I really enjoy a story, art, vid… so when I don’t comment it’s either because I didn’t read/see it, or didn’t like it enough. As for your latest two codas, I read them, but they didn’t work out for me, they weren’t believable in my eyes. But that’s just me, and my view isn’t the right one or better than yours, it just the way it felt. In the last couple of years for some reasons, it’s happening more and more that a story doesn’t click for me, even from my favorite writers. I can’t explain why, it just happens.

I think that the most important thing is that you had a great time writing it, and it felt right/good to you. If not than taking a little break could be good I guess.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Thanks for being honest :)

[tasabian.livejournal.com]

I think with episode-related fic, the amount of readers you'll get depends on what people thought about the episode itself. IE, "Siren" didn't have a lot going on for Clexers so a Siren-coda is a harder sell to your readership. Plus, as other posters have mentionned, lj has its mysterious waxes & wanes, so a rise & drops in comments is just something that happens.

I love your icons - but I love your fic too!

[hils.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know what you mean about Siren. I didn't especially like the episode myself. LOL! My Fracture coda seems to be doing better

Thanks though and I'm working on some new icons now :)

[epeters.livejournal.com]

I know that feedback and comments really help to inspire a writer but I really believe that you have to write your fic to please you FIRST.
If you like it, we'll like it. And sometimes we all get stuck and you just have to back up, maybe leave it alone or sometimes I'd delete a whole page or part.....and then start a new direction. Whatever works for you...will work.

Now, as for tallying up your comments. That's never accurate. I can speak for myself and tell you that I rarely read things when they are first posted. I rarely read WIP's until they are all finished.
(Part of the problem for me is my eyesight. I have to increase the font and print stories out to read them.) So, it could be a week or two before I get back to commenting.
I sometimes have to wait for the weekend to have more time to read. I can't always read things at work. OTher people may have the same time restraints.
Don't think your writing has declined because the comments have. Anything that I've read of yours is always very, very good and well thought out.

But, you gotta write to please you.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know you're right. I was just having a moment of insecurity

Thanks *hugs*

[ghosts.livejournal.com]

your writing is not crap. say that again and i'll... take away all yer pretty clex icons!

[hils.livejournal.com]

Nooooo! *clings to icons*

[ghosts.livejournal.com]

i just got this funny mental image of you trying to hug yer lj userpics page and all these 100x100px icons just falling out of yer arms because there are too many to gather up all at once XD

[hils.livejournal.com]

Hee!!! Yeah, there are quite a lot *g*

[ghosts.livejournal.com]

im willing you bet, you've that 100 icons package ;p

[hils.livejournal.com]

More than that. 118 icons is my max and I have 115 uploaded

[ghosts.livejournal.com]

my measly six bothers me muchly -.-; *steals icon slots*