Do me a favor?

[apocalypsos]

This may end up sounding totally spoiled, but ... well, I think I kinda need a pep talk.

Here's the thing. The past few weeks, when my days off have rolled around, I've been all ready to write and ... god, nothing happens. I've been staring at The Grand Prize Winner and The Hollow Girl for weeks now and I've barely been making a dent in either one of them. And I think it's just because I just feel detached and like I'm screwing up both stories with every step I take and ... hell, I don't know. It's my last night of my shift tonight and I have to leave for work in five minutes and I guess I'm just hoping it might help if I came home tomorrow morning and there was a little pick-me-up waiting for me.

So, yeah ... maybe a pep talk might be in order, because so far the only thing that seems to be working is going to work and trying to scribble down a few words at a time in a notebook in between running my machine. *sigh*

Comments

[wolfshark]

I'm no good at pep talks, but I've read your stuff and you're *awesome*. Everyone has periods where it just isn't working, so don't beat yourself up!

[allthelivesofme.livejournal.com]

Ah, notebook scribbles. That sounds familiar. LOL

I'm sure it's just been a temporary setback and you'll be ready to write again in no time. Goodness knows you're awesome at it, so you haven't got anything to worry about. (okay, so I've only read your Supernatural fic so far, but if your original writing is even half as good, were the universe fair you'd have publishers in a general feeding frenzy trying to get you to sign with them).

And since this is a pep talk-- *waves pom-poms* ;-)

[alasse.livejournal.com]

Everything I've read by you has been completely fantastic - original, engrossing, funny, and just GREAT. Writer's block sounds totally cliche, but sometimes you just have to push through it, one scribble at a time. You're an awesome, awesome writer, sweetie - don't doubt yourself :)

[meriwethersays.livejournal.com]

It's not spoiled to ask for a pep talk, it's making wise use of your resources.

I understand exactly where you're coming from, I'm stalled out on what I thought was The Novel, so here's what I can offer: open a new document, tell yourself you don't have to include any of what you write in your stories, and just write around it. Skirt the edges of whatever you need to work on. Write from someone else's point of view. In the end, the key to writer's block is lowering your standards.

(Someone famous said that, I'm misquoting).

Your fiction is terrific, but that doesn't mean that everything you write has to be. Just keep writing until you find something you like. Go you!

[smallship1.livejournal.com]

I can honestly say I haven't read any of your fiction (yet). That doesn't matter. How good you are doesn't matter. I mean, it obviously doesn't matter to whatever it is that's blocking you, so it shouldn't matter to you either.

What I mean is, I don't have to know how good you are to know you're a writer and you should be writing. That screams out at me from every LJ post I see. I get the feeling you're worrying too much about doing it right, about being good, and that maybe some nasty little self-doubt is using that worry to get between you and the words. Same thing happens to me. Same thing happens to Aaron Sorkin. You're in good company.

So. Forget about whether the word you're going to put down is the best word for the job. You can find that out after you've written it, and you probably won't know till then anyway, so write it already. You're a writer. Writing is what you do. Writing well is what you do when and only when you are writing.

And if doing it three or four words at a time in between running your machine works for you, then do that. I was a lot more productive when I was at the office than I am now I'm stuck home with nothing to do. Writing at work gives you something to do to get away from the work, and something to do to get away from the writing. It's practically the perfect place to do it. I wish more bosses recognised that fact.

Anyway. Of course you *are* good, I know that from the delighted testimonials I read here. It can be a thing to live up to, and that can become a problem. Just remember: in order to write well, you have first to write.

Go get 'em, kid. For Corporal Prachowski and his little dog. We're right behind you.

[lovedbythesun.livejournal.com]

THIS. Totally solid advice. I was plugging away at a story and hit a roadblock. The dialogue didn't sound right, the action was off, it was all a flop. Someone told me to write the scene from a different perspective. Write the scene happening between totally different characters. Write anything that wasn't what I was trying to write at that exact moment.

[hunterwithcause.livejournal.com]

To tell you the truth, I find it hard to imagine that you could screw up any of your stories.

I mean, I know that it's possible but I only see your finished fics and they are always awesome and compelling and original and leave me satisfied and with a 'Yep, that's it feeling and so, yeah... I think I lost my point in there somewhere :)

I'm not a writer so I can't offer you any kind of advise as to what to do but I know that you'll come through with a bang.

In the meantime, I offer you kitties playing with fish *points to icon*

(Also? Your icon rules ;))

[apiphile.livejournal.com]

Yo.

Here's how it goes.

It doesn't matter if you screw those stories into the ground like teenage rent boys; you deal with that in the edits. Right now you have to be WRITERGIRL, and that means just kicking words into the file even if you hate every single one of them (and trust me I am currently IN that phase of the moon or whatever it is), and kicking and kicking until it stops being hard and gets easy again. Which you know it will, because you've done this cycle before.

Pick up your "and" and your "the" and the rest will follow. I'm rooting for you. :)

[gruyere.livejournal.com]

WRITE!
*thwack*
WRITE!
*thwack*
WRITE!
*thwack*

There. That help?

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

You are one of my favourite writers in SPN and that is in large part due to your vision and creativity. You may not be in the flow right now, but you are amazing, trust yourself!

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

You need to write because, seriously, I want to read your books so badly it's kinda of insane. And I totally can't usually be assed to sit still and concentrate long enough on books, usually. And I can't read them if you don't write them so, clearly, you need to be writing them right now.

[doqz.livejournal.com]

http://www.ravensnestfashions.com/product.sc?categoryId=5&productId=28

[zephiey.livejournal.com]

I'm sitting in a car covered with zombies and the cat in the back seat keeps looking at me like I'm a human sized chicken breast and you want a pep talk?

Okay.

But I will be extremely pissed if my brains get eaten before I finish the pep talk.

I'm just saying.

[pushingyouaway.livejournal.com]

just think of how those bits and pieces of words can (and WILL) eventually become pages and pages of things that will turn out to be awesome. it sucks, but sometimes a little goes a long way. things take time, and i'm sure writing is no less different


you're a fabulous writer and things will eventually work out flawlessly

*cookies*

Begin surprisingly articulate toddler mode.

[insidian.livejournal.com]

Tell me the story. I wanna hear the story! I love your stories. I wanna hear this one. Tell me the next bit! I wanna know what happens! But what about the other girl!? What happens to her? OMG TELL ME NOW OR I WILL PUT THIS SPOON THROUGH MY SOFT PALATE!

/surprisingly articulate toddler mode

[telaryn.livejournal.com]

Honey, I know my fangirling of you sometimes borders on the stalkerish, but there's a reason I choose to spend what I can of my "pay it forward" ability on you.

You're worth it.

I hate to see the way life kicks you sometimes, because you have an honest to Gods gift. You're intelligent, witty and perceptive, and have a way of looking at the world that has *never* failed to touch my day.

And all that's in your writing, sweets, because I've never met you in person.

I have exactly three people whose LJ posts I actively look forward to (as opposed to simply enjoying when they happen.) One is my boyfriend, one is my best friend, and the third is you.

[lovetheboys.livejournal.com]

One of the best things I can say about your writing is that you've been the only author I've been able to get my friends-who-think-I'm-crazy-for-reading-fanfic to read. I have a friend thinks the very idea of fanfic is annoying/nuts/creepy/way-too-geeky, and she loved Real Men Don't Make Cheesecake. Also, my cousin, who I love dearly, is freaked out by fanfic, but she has read and liked several of your fics, including the one mentioned above and the Jess-lives AU (that I'm blanking on the title, sorry...).

As for myself, my thinking is that if you can do that with the inconsistent and often thin characterizations prevalent on TV nowadays (love them though I do, that's what they are), I will love to see what you can do with your own characters that you know, in universes that you create.

And when the plots you describe sound not only good and entertaining but sellable, which is a factor that can't be ignored in this market, then it's only a matter of time.

And quite frankly, I can't wait until I can say, "I know her on the internet!" when I check out one of your books to my library patrons. We have Cassie Clare's book at the library, and I'm sure we'll have mistful's when they get published, and I can't wait for yours.

...but no pressure or anything...

[jamjar.livejournal.com]

We don't really have shared fandoms and have no real fanish contact, but I still check your lj regularly because I like reading your fic and I like reading your regular posts. Your writing is good enough and enjoyable enough to make it worth me reading fic from fadoms I'm normally meh about, or don' even know.

Basically, you're on the list of writers I follow, the ones I read because they wrote, rather than what they write falls into my fannish need.

[mercurydraconix.livejournal.com]

Nothing Up My Sleeves is basically one of my favorite things ever. /peptalk

[azurelunatic]

You're not betraying anyone if you back off and write some fluff for a while.