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IWSG 25- The Writer Blahs


It's June, my birthday month!!!! Aside from celebrating another year of life, it's also means it's time for another IWSG blog post.


Last month I talked about having to pull things together since I was venturing into the world of querying. I managed to get projects submitted, one still needs a synopsis, but then the blahs hit.


I call them the blahs because it's not the same thing (to me) as having writer's block. I'm not stuck on a story, I have a few WIPs as we speak. The characters are actually still whispering about their stories. I simply have no love or desire to work on any of them. At all. Not even a little bit.

It's a sad and frustrating feeling because the year started off strong for me. I had been so excited. And little by little that excitement died off and I was left with the 'I just need to get it done' feeling so I would push through, but there was never any pride of accomplishment attached.

I've completely fallen out of love with one of my projects. The one I mentioned still needs a synopsis so it can go off to it's final query destination. I have zero desire to complete it or really do much of anything with it. I know people say let it sit, you'll get that feeling back, but not the case this time.

There are days I think I want to write. I'll open one of my docs and then I end up looking like the picture above. Because of the blahs, I've gone on a bit of a WIP hiatus. I say WIP and not writing as a whole due to the fact I'm part of a daily writing challenge that needs at least 100 words per day. Some days I barely get the 100, but so far, so good on at least keeping up with that.

I hope this slump passes soon. I'm not sure why I slipped into it. Until then I'm trying to find other things to occupy my time. It's summer so plenty of activities with the boys. I have plenty of books on my device and I've gone back to playing The Sims as a way to unwind.

I want the enthusiasm I had at the beginning of the year to return. I want the drive and productivity, the motivation all back. Until then, I'll sit and stare at the words on screen and mosey along as I have been for the last few weeks.

Have you ever lost your total love for a project? If so, what did you do to pull yourself out of that feeling?

This month's optional question: What's harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names?

I'm gonna say names. The titles for all my projects have come to me fairly quickly and without a whole lot of decision making. Picking names is a different story. When I wrote Fiendish, I realized at the end I a lot of 'M' names for the small cast of characters. Now I make an effort not to use 'M' so I don't fall into that trap.

There's also the issue of not having names that rhyme or that are too similar in sound like Casey and Cassie. I want to have unique names, but don't want them to be too out there. Then I have to stay away from my no list of names, the ones I won't use under any circumstance because they may have some personal connection, like my kids' names for instance. I write adult romance, can't have my leads using names of the offspring, that would be too weird. 

Book titles are definitely way easier for me. The definition of fiendish fit Seth, my lead in that story as well as the story line as a whole. Not Broken conveyed the message that while Calida went through hell, it didn't break her and she found a way to heal. My novelette was about two neighbors 'getting to know each other', the title Being Neighborly fit and was a fun play on the term considering the theme of the story. See all easy-peasy and nothing super fancy. 

This is a blog hop, so be sure to see how the other participants answered this month's question.

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a home for writers in all stages; from unpublished to bestsellers. Our goal is to offer assistance and guidance. We want to help writers overcome their insecurities, and by offering encouragement we are creating a community of support.


Until next time,
~Meka

Comments

  1. I've been floundering in that area for a while now. But I wrote some last night and got excited about the story again. It will come back to you.
    Want to name my stories for me?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay for getting words written! Even bigger yay for being excited again for your story. I'm hoping to be back there soon. And I'll be happy to help you name stories. :)
      Thanks for stopping by

      Delete
  2. I've fallen in and out of love with my projects too. Sometimes taking a break helps. The important thing is to let your mind do other things for a while without dwelling on writing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is a first for me and not a good feeling. Hopefully the love with return. Until then I try to keep focused on other things and not let the negative thoughts bog me down too much.

      thanks for stopping by

      Delete
  3. I'm riding out a bit of a blah myself and keep thinking each day with be different. It hasn't been so far.

    Anna from elements of emaginette

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup that's been me. And the longer it goes the less I want to pick back up with my WIPs. :( Hope it passes soon for you.

      thanks for stopping by

      Delete
  4. Climbing out of a slump myself, right now. I am on the same page with you on titles and names. I also have that long list of rules about what can and cannot be used, in addition to the OCD research I do to be accurate for ethnicity, religion, region, ancestry, etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you're on your way out of slump. Hopefully I'll follow soon! Picking names is hard and I don't even do the same level of research you've described!

      thanks for stopping by

      Delete
  5. What you call the blahs I call burnout. I've been dealing with that since the beginning of last year. :\

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Burnout is very real. I've been going nonstop on one thing or another since picking back up with Not Broken and I'm kinda over it for now. Hope you are getting some good rest during your down time.

      thanks for stopping by

      Delete
  6. My first book, when I got the critique back from my editor, I decided to store the project in my hard drive, and I keep saying that maybe I'll go back to it someday, but I'm not sure I ever will. I hope you and I both get out of our writing slumps soon! Happy IWSG day! http://www.raimeygallant.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's hard. For the project I've fallen out of love with it's not even made it to an editor for those rounds of fixes and I'm already over it. Only beta reads and way too much time spent in editing hell from that feedback alone. Hope I can get out of the slump soon as well.

      thanks for stopping by

      Delete
  7. I seem to have a blah period in the middle of each novel. Putting it away did work eventually with each, but they were put away for about a year before that desire came back to write on them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh boy, a year. I get it though, I hit the blahs before and it was close to 3 before I picked back up the project that I published just last year finally. Hope this slump doesn't last that long.

      thanks for stopping by

      Delete
  8. I've been there; I think we all have. Sometimes I just have to put away what I've lost interest in and just write something for fun. Or read. Or get out and live some life. While there is something to be said for pushing through and keeping the writing going, there's also something to taking a break and living some life. Good luck with this phase. I hope it's a short one for you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah I've been picking at other little projects but not putting full effort into anything currently. I've been reading, playing PC games, harassing my teenager LOL fun stuff. Thank you, I hope it's short as well. So far we are a month in.

      thanks for stopping by

      Delete
  9. The blahs are the worst, especially when you don't know the cause. I've been there :-( Hopefully, taking a break will give your muse some time to rest and reenergize.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes and yes! Part of me wants to write, the characters are still talking, but I just can't bring myself to put the words down. :(

      thanks for stopping by

      Delete
  10. It sounds like you're a little burnt out. Do you have anything creative that doesn't involve a screen that you can do instead? Sometimes the best thing you can do is take a break from writing and recharge, especially during the summer.

    Hang in there; you'll get through it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am and trying to work through it. I'm not really creative in other ways. I play a video game so have been doing that to relax. Done some pleasure reading and spend days vegging out with the kids.

      Thank you. I'm trying and my characters are still talking so all hope isn't lost.

      thanks for stopping by

      Delete

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