#I'm still trying to claw my way out of this slump but that dialogue from Soo Won got me feeling some kinda way

[ratasum]

I think what hits me, time and time again, is that the tragedy isn't in the actual act of killing the dragons, per se. It's that they were born with such love and purpose, and somehow lost their way. To the point that there was no walking back from it. That their own mother said that there was no other way- the only answer to save their world was in their deaths.

Tyria is healing in the wake of the loss of the Elder Dragons. Even after all the pain and fear, the world will recover. We already know Orr was healing, as early as S3 when we reached Siren's Landing. I'd assume other areas are similar, even if we haven't seen it directly.

And it is still a story of hope. That so long as we stick together, keep moving forward. One foot in front of the other. We can succeed and, ultimately, survive.

But hope came at the loss of children whose mother couldn't have known how her loneliness would shape the world, and her own end.

[monstersandmaw]

Hi there. I've got lots of work in progress' I haven't gone back to in years, thing is I really like writing and want to get back into it but I just don't know how? I'm starting to think I might just not have what it takes to be a writer.

So as someone who is quite an extensive writer, what advice would you give to someone who desperately wants to write but won't ?

ooooof, Anon, your ask hit home with the accuracy of a flipping missile!! I know you’re not the only one struggling right now, and the key I think is to be a mix of very gentle with yourself and simultaneously just a little bit stern.

I burnt out completely in December 2020, and didn’t write anything for nearly five months, which was devastating. I’m a writer! That’s who and what I am. And I couldn’t do it??? I was deeply shaken by it, and I’m only just starting to claw my way back to my identity as a writer. I’ve had creative slumps before, but never a complete inability to write at all, and no one really... got it? I’ve had to postpone working on my novel, despite constant pressure from my family, which sucks.

I can’t tell you what will work for you for certain, obviously, but I can tell you what has helped me a bit, and hopefully something there will resonate, and you’ll be able to use it for your own struggles. Hang on in there, Anon!

First off, and I cannot stress this enough, you are still a writer. You don’t have to be sitting at the keyboard and typing actively all the time to call yourself a writer. You can be a writer while also taking a break, no matter how long that break is. If you want your identity to be that of ‘writer’, then you are. Tell yourself you are a writer, even when you’re not actively writing.

Force yourself to stop trying to write for a while. It sounds bonkers, and counterintuitive, but if you’re on a forced break, it might help recharge your energy. Tell yourself you’re not going to try and write for at least a whole month. Don’t open any WIP docs. Don’t re-read stuff you’ve got stuck on in the hopes that this time you’ll finish it. You’re on break, and you’ve given yourself permission not to be writing.

While you’re on your break though, feel free to use a little notebook or something to jot down any ideas you have, or snippets of dialogue/scenes etc., as scraps for the future. Just don’t try to make them into a big complete work just yet.

Read. Read lots of new books and stories. Push the boundaries of your usual genre comfort zones and try a new genre. Analyse the writing of these authors closely. Why do you like their style? What makes their style unique? Why does that sentence work so well, and why does that one feel flat or clunky? Be active in your reading, and it might trigger some enthusiasm for your own creativity. Hold onto that feeling, and see if you want to have another go after your break.

Write something for someone else. I took on some commissions recently, knowing I would be obliged to finish them, but I set a limit on the wordcount so I didn’t get super overwhelmed each time. (This is the ‘being a little bit stern’ part.)

Once your break is over (if you decide a break suits you in the first place!), write just one sentence and then walk away. Close the document and go and do something else. If you want to come back and write more later, then do. If not, you still wrote something. Do the same the next day.

Go outdoors if you can and think about your story somewhere else. Perhaps the change of environment will make it feel more refreshed. Take a notebook with you and write somewhere else. It might even feel like a treat!

Make sure you’re comfortable when you’re going to write. Turn your phone off, disconnect your laptop from the wifi, have some water or tea or whatever nearby, go to the bathroom first, put a jumper on or open the window. Just... give yourself permission to write for the joy of it. Remember why you wanted to tell these stories in the first place.

If you’re still not really feeling it, try creating character moodboards on Pinterest, or colour palettes for your characters, abstract watercolours, or whatever creative medium you fancy. Draw maps of the world, or just try and be creative within the universe of your stories without writing them.

Try a writing exchange with another author.

Take writing prompts for ten sentence drabbles or something.

And if none of that helps, forgive yourself for not having the energy to be creative in this way at the moment. Find a way to let go of the guilt and self-flagellation that a lot of creatives go through when their main focus isn’t playing ball. It’s ok to go into a creative slump, and it can take a long time to come out of it.

Hopefully some of that is helpful? It sucks, it really really sucks, when you’re not able to do something you love for whatever reason. Check out my ‘writing advice’ tag because I’ve written a few posts on creative block/writer’s block/creative hibernation before, and I might have missed some points in answering this.

Good luck, and go gently with yourself.