Writer Blues
I think I have the writer blues.
Being a writer is a bit like riding a spastic roller coaster sometimes. One day, you think you’ve got some absolutely terrific and perfect. The next, you think every word you write is blah. One day, someone is requesting material. The next, you have three rejections.
I actually really love the book I just wrote, but I have no idea if it’s any good. I thought it was, but now I’m starting to think it’s no better than the last one. *sigh*
But I think the real problem here is withdrawal. I threw myself into this novel, and I wrote like mad on it. I thought about it all day long. I wrote at every possible free moment. I edited at every possible free moment. I was excited about it. I wanted to get the story down. And I did. Now it’s done, and I don’t know what to do next.
Writer Blues.
There’s a sequel I have in mind so I might start on that. There’s also the idea I dropped to write this one. I could go write that, but there’s no way it would measure up to this story and this world.
So, what do you do when you’re on the downside of the roller coaster? What do you do when you have withdrawal after a writing a manuscript? Do you get withdrawal?
Dr. Horrible = Best Thing Ever| Blues Begone! » »
Comments
Sorry to hear you “got the blues.”
I’ve got a bunch of advice that may or may not work. First, don’t second-guess yourself. That’s probably the most important. I’m sure the book kicks serious butt. I’m sure other people will think it kicks serious butt, too. *Here endeth the obligatory pep talk.*
Go back to the old idea…kick it around for a day or two. Who knows, something might click. Sometimes, just to shake the cobwebs out, I’ll mess around with poems or plays (neither very good usually, although I have an awesome play about Scooby-Doo and Beowulf…don’t ask).
If all else fails: read a book, pop in a DVD, or re-watch Dr. Horrible.
I get them big time. It goes quickly from: “man, I’m sorry to see that story end” to “polishing it is feeling more vicarious than creative” to “uh oh, the story has a fatal flaw” to “oh no, I only have so many of these left in me before I die” to “I don’t deserve to commit suicide.”
So, yeah, I think the blues come with the territory. The thing that helps me is to understand my place. It isn’t my job to make people like my stories. It isn’t my job to even enjoy the stories I write. I am a storymaker: I make stories, and sell the paper they are printed on.
Get working on your query and submissions and send out a fleet, then go to the next drug… I mean story… immediately!
@Dan: Scooby-Doo aaaaand Beowulf? Well, it’s definitely unique!
@Xdpaul: Onto the next one!
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