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The creative lebido

Dutchboy

Dutchboy

I'm sitting on my computer with absolutely no desire to write. I've learned by now not to force myself and to not write when I'm not feeling it. I guess I sit down and actually write when I'm feeling the creative drive inside me, which I experience sporadically.

Anyone else ever go through phases were they have absolutely no desire to write? I don't necessarily mean writers block, just not have the desire to be creative or write. I guess there are people out there who can write 24/7 but I'm definitely not one of them. Maybe that's a good thing... I would like to hear other people's experiences if they feel like sharing...

EDIT: I also have routine places where I develop good ideas such as driving and random locations. Anyone else like this?
 
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As long as you don't use "feeling like writing" as an excuse to procrastinate forever -- and I speak from experience there!

The trick they say is to TRAIN yourself, to not let yourself off the hook: a sort of "I don't have to WRITE, but my ass is gonna stay in this damn chair for the next X hours, whether I write or not" approach.

Here's the thing: the mad rush of Creativity is a rare high. Pros learn to summon the Muse, if not the mad passionate thrillride Muse then at least the Muse that won't leave you abandoned to go out and screw all your friends instead of you!

Here's the thing:
Writing is RE-Writing.
You cannot RE-write until you've written something first.

I used to think I'd "poison the well" if everything I wrote wasn't inspired and complete the first round.
But the real job of writing is a 15 round bout. So you get in there and you sweat and you bleed and you win if you give out better than you got ... even if sometimes it's a hard no-thanks no-glory fight.

Most writers start out thinking the first thing they write is their masterpiece.

Only those who KEEP WRITING end up "Writers" -- most drop out of the fight.

The ones who stay with it tell you that their first few things -- in retrospect -- SUCK!

They say you only know how good the first one is, after you finish the fifth one. And then you understand how good the tenth one will need to be!

Yeah, that's right, that sounds like I know sumthin' about it, uh huh! :yes:

:no:

But at least now I can sit down and write when I'm not waiting for or needing for creative Disneyland fireworks to be going off all around me. And that works out best in the end ...
 
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Dutchboy said:
I'm sitting on my computer with absolutely no desire to write. I've learned by now not to force myself and to not write when I'm not feeling it. I guess I sit down and actually write when I'm feeling the creative drive inside me, which I experience sporadically.

Anyone else ever go through phases were they have absolutely no desire to write? I don't necessarily mean writers block, just not have the desire to be creative or write. I guess there are people out there who can write 24/7 but I'm definitely not one of them. Maybe that's a good thing... I would like to hear other people's experiences if they feel like sharing...

EDIT: I also have routine places where I develop good ideas such as driving and random locations. Anyone else like this?
Click to expand...

I do this for a living and what you describe happens all the time. I tend to visualize my entire story before I actually write anything but during this phase of creation, I really try to get to know my characters.

So when I do sit down but have nothing to write but I haven't been able to play my story all the way through, I tend to think it's because I don't know my characters well enough. So I create bits and pieces of backstory about them -- stuff that is never going to make it into the script but things that happened to them that will help them in their decision-making process as the story evolves.

In other words, when I have no desire to write -- I usually don't. When I have the desire to write but have nothing to write YET, I write backstory or do some research so that I know both my characters and characters' world.

I too get my greatest ideas when I'm driving long distances in the car... In fact, I plan roadtrips just for this purpose and drag my digital recorder along with me.

When I get home, I transcribe the recordings and lots of other interesting ideas pop into my head as I listen to, and transcribe them. Many of the recordings are created when I haven't slept and you'd be surprised how sleep deprivation can make you see things completely different from when you're conscious, awake, and thinking about your story.

I also created a PDF file that I faithfully read once after I get up every day and once before I go to bed. This file contains both specific and non-specific affirmations that bounce around in my brain while I go about my day and while I sleep.

I know it works because the ideas that come to me always come to me when I'm not even thinking about my story. Which is another good reason to carry around a digital recorder to record these ideas or, at the very least, a pen and a notebook.

So, you're definitely not alone...

filmy
 
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Thanks for the advice from both you guys. I'm already aware that the first few screenplays aren't masterpieces. My first one, I wrote back about 3 or 4 years ago was horrible and painful to look back on. You both make good points though.
 
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I just work through that stuff.

I realize that doesn't work for everybody, and it can sometimes lead to immensely unsatisfying work, but my train-of-thought has kind of developed over the years to place where the only way I can really get from writer's block/no desire to some decent material is to just work through the first part and put up with whatever mediocre result pushes me from the first point to the decent material one.

Sometimes, you get the third step second, but more often than not, it's just about keeping yourself as sharp as possible until that desire comes back or that really good idea comes along to compel you forward.

I've also noticed that it can be very hard to maintain discipline at times.
 
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Anyone who always has the desire and inspiration to write is probably certifiably insane. I'll sometimes have what seems like an exciting idea and an incredible motivation to write it. And I will work on it for a night or two. But then, while retaining the excitement of the idea and even the motivation, the thought of sitting in my hard chair for a third night in row, ignoring my wife, missing a good movie on TV, etc. will absolutely turn me off. So I take a few nights off. But I never really stop. Instead, I go for long walks listening to instrumental music thinking about the idea. I get drunk on it. I immerse myself in classic films. I roll the idea around, back and forth, in various states of consciousness. THAT'S writing, too, or at least part of the writing process. After a few days, my chair won't seem as uncomfortable, I'll be caught up on bills and other household tasks that get put on the backburner when I'm on a roll, etc. And I've thought the next steps through, over and over, up an down, so hammering them on on paper goes a lot easier. The first draft is finished. For me, and this is a wildly inaccurate average, the entire process for a first draft averages three weeks, but only three or four nights of actual, physical typing.

The important thing, though, is to finish that first draft or move on to something else. Give yourself a personal deadline and stick to it. If you don't finish that first draft, you'll have nothing to refine or rewrite and your idea won't get made. Your first draft is going to be crappy, that's its job. But then you have a solid block of SOMETHING to carve into something NEW.

I, too, have definite places that work on my brain...those long walks around the neighborhood, long car drives alone, and at work. I repair musical instruments for a living and sometimes removing dents on trombones can get monotonous, so I do a lot of brainstorming there.

This website, I've found, is quite inspirational too.
 
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For me it is impossible to write in 3 cases

1) When i am not willing
2) If i have been appointed to write with a short time limit
3) When i am completely blank about the further proceedings.


These days i am completing my comedy series of 10Epi......i normally take 3 to 4 days to think the further story...scenes....comedy sentences..... i do all this while i am on bus for UNI.........while on BED....when i have arough struckture in my mind .i automatically start willing to write because i feel very excited to put all those words in written form....One major reason that i take so much time to write is that i am working on comedy and it needs lot of balancing and concentration ..and i do not write untill i am satisfied myself..i make tones of all my charachters while writing their dilogues and when i think everything is in appropriate portion and is at the level where even i will like to see this comedy if it was written by some one else the i start writing........:D

By the way i personally think comedy is a genre which can only be written by heart...i mean when you are really in a good mood and willing to write and fresh...What do you people say about this?
 
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EvsFX08 said:
Hence, Egdar Allen Poe.
Even Steven King goes through some dry spells. You can't possibly think like he does ALL the time!
Click to expand...

Actually, if you were speaking of a normal human being, you'd be right!

As a point of interest though, I recently read an article by S. KING ... and that mutant claims that he writes hours and hours everyday or else he goes into junkie withdrawls! He credits his wife for understanding and making it possible ...

That said, no one should bash themselves if they're not non-stop-writing marathonists. The key is to find what system or approaches allows YOU to write the most creatively and productively for YOU (and each of US for US) ...

My biggest early hurdles were to fight down perfectionism, and the procrastination that is allowed by not daring or wanting to write until "it's perfect" ...

But (imo) it's NEVER "perfect" no matter how long you WAIT ...

It cannot be perfect EVER. (But it can be sold or published even when short of perfect)

It cannot even be POLISHED until first it is WRITTEN, then it can be made better RE-WRITTEN.

And HOLLYWOOD is full of rich and famous and happy Screenwriters, making wonderful careers ... from writing and selling screenplays that were LATER RE-WRITTEN, again and again.

In Hollywood, they say that you will Re-Write ... or you yourself will find yourself Re-Written, sooner or later.
That's the reality. Be happy that your words are changed by another WRITER ... rather than by Paris Hilton in front of the camera because your wonderful words "Don't sound right" in her mouth.

Create.
Write.
Be Fruitful and Multiple.

Then let the WGAw iron out which of the three writers on a movie should get "sole" credit. ;)
 
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One thing i've found helps is bet a writing buddy round and bounce some idea's around together. Sometimes i've been working all day and i'm just shattered when i get home, those days if my mate that i write with fairly often pops round i wont even switch the computer on, we'll sit in the next room with a pad and just throw idea's back and forth, talk about stuff that'd be funny, cool whatever. Then when i do have the desire to write i find i can dig out some great stuff from that pad.

Also try take a pad and paper or a digital recorder and go for a long walk, take the dog out or something, as a lot of people say idea's come at random times. Someone on here said they have a white board in the shower to write idea's down! I laughed so hard but in a good way, this is the kinda person who i really hope would make a career of it, such a great idea and a funny, quirky story to tell when your receiving your first award :)

*ps - People tell me i procrastinate a lot, i wrote down the definition of the word in big, bold letters and have it out on the desk when i'm writing, little odd but it helps :)

Procrastinate
pro·cras·ti·nate (pr-krst-nt, pr-)
v. pro·cras·ti·nat·ed, pro·cras·ti·nat·ing, pro·cras·ti·nates
v.intr.
To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness.
v.tr.
To postpone or delay needlessly.
 
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