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Writer, Recharge Thyself!
You're tapped out. If you look at the computer again you'll spit on its mother—and it doesn't have a mother. Whether it's a job, people, too much, too little, whatever it is that's taken your writing mojo—how do you get it back? We're talking a bad day. Or a bad month. What do you do until the words return?
Me? I turtle. To recharge I put the laptop in another room, stay in my jim-jams as much as possible, and catch up on fic, films, the occasional TV show. Or just revisit things I love, which includes fics I've already read, films I've seen, and rewatching all of the Great British Bake Off. Again.
I'm going to be blogging about each of these newsletters—leave a comment on this week's or tell me your recharging strategies! — Atlin
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The Writing Goblin Fairy Thing
By Jamie Ashbird
Writing mojo! Writing mojo! My first edition of Fantastic Mr Fox for some writing mojo. Wherefore art thou writing mojo?
Bad week? Bad Month? Bad year? Bad two years? Everyone’s got A Thing (TM). And if someone doesn’t have A Thing (TM) now, they will at some point. That’s life. Things happen. Good things, bad things, internal things, external things, fleeting things, chronic things, maybe even no things.
Whatever flavour or form it comes in, A Thing (TM) has the potential to completely obliterate that spark, that ephemeral creature that is the writing goblin. Or fairy, or Muse or mojo or whatever the hell you want to call the Call to Create.
How do I get my goblin back when it’s been frightened away by whatever the Current Thing (TM) is? Yeah, great question. Ummm... yep. Man, I wish I knew. My goblin has been AWOL for some time now and doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to move its toothbrush back into our shared bathroom. Who am I kidding? It never brushed its teeth. Pshht.
I’ve found the strongest, most bestest, for reals and proper way of enticing that little fucker back is inspiration. Find inspiration in whatever form and surround yourself with it. Let it envelop you, seep into your bones, merge with your cells.
For me it’s talking with friends. Bouncing specific ideas off each other, or talking writing generalities—just the act of talking out and thinking about writing with others gets the goblin in my head excited. It’s like giving it a stick of fairy-floss (cotton candy, candy floss, Grandma’s hair, dragon’s beard, whatever else you kids call it) and cashing in on that crazed sugar rush. A rush I have to take advantage of straight away before the inevitable crash. But the more sugar I give it—the more I talk about writing with friends—the more inspired I get and the more chances to get something good down before the sugar fades away. Boy, that analogy is sticky.
Otherwise I seek out nature. My goblin lives in the forest, amongst the reeds in a creek, under mushrooms growing on fallen logs. It parleys with toadlets on tuffets of moss and warbles at magpies and currawongs. These things aren’t sugar pills, they’re a nice slow release of inspiration. They keep the pilot light burning on the furnace when it’s in danger of going out.
When times are particularly tough even inspiration is uninspiring. My day job is a hell of a lot of brain work. And like the gourmet chef that goes home and makes herself some instant ramen for dinner, in the busiest times I ain’t going home to use my brain for words. But that Call to Create that comes from the core and burns like a furnace needs a vent. In the most wordless of times I use the parts of my brain that can do without them.
I play the drums or the ukulele—let my limbs and fingers coordinate together while they do different things at the same time, all while my mind is free of words. I draw and doodle—sometimes something particular, sometimes scribbles, always with a concentration devoid of words. I felt wool—no need for words while your stabby-stab-stabbing a ball of Corrie top.
Does any of this get that writing mojo back? Does it always satiate that hunger to create? Sometimes. Maybe. Maybe not? But it sure as hell is worth a try, every single time.
Writer, scientist, and polymath, Jamie Ashbird's book A Question of Time follows Holmes and Watson through the ages—richly illustrated by Janet Anderton, check it out today!
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Be Unfaithful
By Stella Elisei
Sometimes I've written all the words I had to give. Updating? Writing more about the same characters I've written over one hundred stories about? Sometimes I can’t do that, any more than I can edit my DNA.
I still love them. I still read about them. But writing? Do I look like I can even type their names without having a breakdown?
So, what to do while pretending I’ve never written a word about someone I can't even mention? I indulge in guilty pleasures. That new series everyone talks about but I didn’t find the time to watch? Time to catch up to the world. The rerun of the old classic show/cartoon/movie? Why not have a marathon? These books that have been on my shelf for way too long, and I am mildly ashamed to have in the first place? Finally read.
That usually gets me back in the writing mood…though not my abandoned projects yet. I’m a writer, sure. But above all, I’m a fixer. So with all those reruns/marathons/books I wonder: why would the author do that? was the screenwriter blind? why else would they ignore the implications of this bit? As a Leo, I can’t help but think that I know better than everyone else—and that I can do better than anyone else. Including highly-respected professionals.
At least, that gets me writing again. A story, maybe two. I’ve discovered, though, that I will always, eventually, go back to my main fandom. To the characters I can’t seem to stop seeing in every situation. And, yes, even to my ongoing stories. Even if it takes me a year to do it.
Stella Elisei (Elena at home) writes fanfiction as NovaNara and you'll find her stories on AO3 with stories also on FanFiction.net.
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The Surest Way Back
By AmityWho
I know the common wisdom says we must write every day. I follow that advice, until I don’t. If I’m truly not feeling it, if I’m sore and heartsick and exhausted from wrestling those obstreperous words into submission, I’m better off stepping away from the keyboard for a bit.
One of the biggest advantages of not writing professionally is that I have the luxury to do that. Playing hooky won’t affect my financial bottom line at all.
I’ve come to realise lately, however, that stepping away too long will affect my psychological bottom line, so I need to think in terms of spa day rather than witness protection programme.
What to do.
What seems to help me rekindle my enthusiasm is paying attention to the material world again. It’s easy for me to roam around in my own head for days with my characters, eavesdropping on their conversations, tinkering with their back-stories, dangling them from the landing skids of helicopters. You know.
So I need the physical world: its sights and sounds and smells.
Over there—two men are earnestly discussing something in Spanish. Their eyes meet and dart away repeatedly. They lean closer, forming a triangle, then apart, back to a rectangle. The tempo and volume of their voices rise and fall.
And there—chittering squirrels, a rusted fire escape. An empty dumpster crashes onto a concrete slab, dropped by a sky-blue garbage truck. The grinding, whining gears as it rises. The explosive clang when it falls. The stench.
If I make myself stop and look, if I turn my imagination off and truly listen and observe, that’s the surest way back for me. Especially someplace unfamiliar. Different city? Different city block. Doesn’t really matter.
What matters is the attention to the real, to the present, to the details of the world outside my own head. They never seem to disappoint when it comes to inspiration.
When all that sensory input has had a chance to percolate for a while, plot holes find spackle, motivations become clearer, characters whisper their secrets to me once again.
At least so far. Chocolate and a good night’s sleep never hurt, either.
Amity Who is a fledgling writer but experienced reader. On AO3 as Amity_Who and Tumblr as Amitywho.
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Going For It Old School
By Burning Up A Sun
"How do you recharge your creativity?"
This is the Question Of The Hour for me, or rather, the Question of the Summer Vacation.
My kids (5) are old enough not to need me, but summers off from school are still rough. "Can we go to…" has been replaced by "Can I have the keys so I can go to…" but there are still innumerable doctor and therapy appointments, and appointments have always zapped my creativity.
This past summer, it was compounded by, well, I took a leap and entered a Florida writing competition. I didn't make it out of the first round. Was it because it featured explicit sex scenes? Probably, but the voice that usually whispers started shouting, "I told you that you sucked."
That swirling around the drain? Yep. My creativity.
But I'll tell you what I am doing:
1. Keeping up my writing routine. I make sure that all appointments are after 11 am so I get my mornings to sit and stare at the blinking cursor write.
2. Go Old School. We have the luxury of a backyard pool. I grab a pad and a pen and write in the pool. No, really. I stand in the pool and prop myself against the side and write. Don't laugh! The 3,000 words I wrote were all Old School.
3. Read. I love to read on my phone because when I find a gorgeous description or the perfect turn of phrase, I screencap it and save it to my writing file. I caption it by what it is, like "description room" along with the author and the fic's title. And when I get stuck for how to write something, I read all the examples I've saved. It helps to see how others did it beautifully.
Are these things working? I think so. But hopefully, you've all sent in examples of how you recharge your creativity.
Because I'm gonna screencap the hell out of them and make a file!
Diane, aka Burning Up A Sun, is either writing, driving, or figuring out what to make for dinner. She posts Sherlock, Harry Potter, and ice hockey fic on AO3.
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How do you recharge your creativity? When you've not written or drawn in weeks, or days, what do you do to help yourself recharge?
Alex @alexaprilgarden
I read books I've wanted to read, or reread ones I adore. Just dive into the beauty of language, the precision of writing. Then I reread what I wrote last and try to find out if I still love that story.
Callie Reynolds @Callie4180
Write something else, something very different. Even a letter to a friend, as long as I’m putting the effort in to be clever.
David Beard @Jnanasalin
I go and see what other people have created. A well-curated exhibition or gallery, followed by lots of coffee and cake, and the need to create rears its head again.
Dr Nicko @nickovdw
I stop writing entirely for a little while, maybe a week, maybe a month, to start remembering why I like writing in the first place.
Holly C.
I recharge by focusing not on what I think I should be writing, but what I want to write. There's nearly always a guilty side-project at the back of my mind that I'd prefer to be working on, and I've learnt that it's not the end of the world to let my imagination go wild on that for a bit. I used to worry about getting distracted, but now I've realised that writing something, anything, is far better than writing nothing, and it often "resets" me to get back to my main project.
Hugo Award Winner Nemesis@asstromechdroid
Write just anything! Forget WIPs. Forget obligations. Just write something short and sweet for fun. I try to reduce the thing that's stopping me from being creative. Usually it's because work is tiring me out :-(
Hotaru Tomoe @Hotaru_Tomoe78
If, for any reason, I walk away from a fandom for a while, and feel disconnected when I want to go back to writing about it, the best thing for me is a rewatch (of the series) or a re-reading (of the book) to find again the connection with the characters and the setting.
Kameo @KameoDouglas
Sometimes :: Mary Oliver, Stanza 4 –
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention
Be astonished
Tell about It
Disclaimer: Usually I hate poetry
L.H. Westerlund
Here's the thing; writing is a craft. You can learn it, and you can use that skill for whatever you want. But in the end, you have to write from the heart. Just tossing something together because you know how to isn't actually going to work properly. You have to feel the characters come alive every time, and you have to cry when they die. And when you do, you'll feed off of them, like you would writing with a friend. And that's the secret: then your characters will be the people you cannot leave behind. And you'll be back.
Merinda B writing @merindab
Give myself permission to breathe. Play some video games, read, go outside. Remember that the words will come back. Remember that it’s okay not to write, and if I do want to, then one word at a time is all I need to build a story.
Narrelle M Harris (221b_hound) @daggyvamp
I give myself permission to take time off. As I recently told another writer: sometimes you’ve just used up your field of ideas. You need to let it lie fallow for a bit and recover its nutrients (by reading, watching TV and film, walking in the park, whatever helps fill up your well). In time, your writing soil will become richer and ready for a new crop of storytelling.
PreciselyVex here @Crash_Edit
I'm a person who runs on habit. So even if I'm not creatively inspired to write, I still spend weekend mornings in my writing place, with nothing else to do but write. It's the writing equivalent of putting on workout clothes & telling yourself "you only have to walk for 5 minutes."
Prettyarbitrary @prettyarbitrary
I read a lot, play video games, dig into subjects of interest to me that I've been meaning to learn more about, get out of the house to do fun stuff. Also panic and beat my head against the wall of my own skull. Probably that part doesn't make things actually improve faster.
Red ! Now Playing: 'Melancholy Sunshine' @redpenrevlution
I find a song that inspires me. All of my fics are technically song fics. I've written them explicitly to the lyrics of the song (and I give them the same title as the song). I put on my recommendation playlist on Spotify and listen until I find a song that I have to write.
SherlocksSister @SherlockSister1
I have found challenges/prompt series very helpful in remotivating me. The new @RedPantsPrompts have me back writing after a two year hiatus. Also, I've learned to keep it simple; in the past I have got so caught up trying to write the perfect story that I wrote nothing at all.
SideDoorSide @NightModeLocked
Physical exertion. There's nothing quite as refreshing for the mind as digging a new field or taking a trip to the mountains, for example. Added bonus: this year I've harvested three crates of potatoes. Also DIY.
Somethingsimplysilly @Somethingsimp19
Drink a cool beverage, go for a walk, watch a show, have a nap... Avoid drawing for a little bit? These are my favorite recharge/avoidance techniques! XD
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"I Made That!"
By Standbygo
There’s a mystic ideal about the writing life—that we can be served by invisible butlers who care for our every need, while we write non-stop, creating brilliant works of art.
It’s all a myth. Sorry.
Some of us have jobs, or school, or both. Some of us have family. Most of us (I hope) have friends that we like spending time with. Most of us (damn it) have to prepare our own food. And some of us have interests outside of writing—heresy, I know, but there it is.
It can feel like we’re being pulled in a million directions. Hard to feel creative under those circumstances.
I’m very lucky to have a job which allows me to divide my time and concentration nicely—work at work, and personal stuff at home. But that ‘personal stuff’ also pulls me in a million directions. I could write all the time, but I’d never see my kid, or my husband. I could spend all my time with them, but would miss the writing. You see?
So I try to divide my personal time, as evenly as possible into four areas:
Create: Writing is what we’re all talking about here, but it could also be baking, or painting, or whatever it is that makes me sit back and say, “That. I made that.”
Consume: It’s important to fill up your creative glass of water sometimes. If I never watched TV, I’d never have discovered Sherlock. If I never looked at the internet, I’d never see the fanart that inspires me. I read the fantastic fanfic out there, or original fiction, and absorb that brilliant writing into my pores.
Care for others: We all live in a society which benefits when we help each other out. This could mean having a coffee and a laugh with a friend, or going on a date, or volunteering at a soup kitchen. We benefit from spending time with others.
Care for yourself: Remember that old metaphor of the airplane: when the oxygen mask drops, put yours on first before helping others, because if you keel over you aren’t going to be able to help. You need to take care of your transport. Exercise; eat healthy meals; drink lots of water.
Now, here’s the trick: try to balance all four of those things in your life.
I’ve found that if I get a good balance, the energy gained from one feeds into the others, especially into my creativity. Spending time with my family and friends makes me smile while I write. Doing yoga keeps my back from yelling at me when I sit typing for hours. I get inspiration for a new AU from watching another amazing show or movie.
Is this a perfect system? Oh heck no. I don’t expect myself to be balanced to the last minute between those areas. But if my creativity is lagging, it’s usually because I’ve been neglecting one or more of those other areas.
Try making a list of the ways in which you could apply each of those areas in your life. Try and do at least one from each list, every week.
Plus, creativity helps me in my humdrum job, too. Nothing helps me get through the day like thinking, “Hey, I wrote 400 words of porn this morning!”
Standbygo (aka Sara) tries to balance work and family and writing fic and reading fic and occasionally succeeds. She can be found on AO3.
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Sum and Substance
By Diandra Hollman
I write recaps as well as fanfic and sometimes I have days where my brain is just...not firing well enough to write something that requires creative thinking. Or I have days when I'm so pissed at something or someone that I can't focus on anything but how much I just want to scream.
In either case, if I channel my mental energy into a recap, where all I have to do is find a way to describe what's in front of my eyeballs, I am forced to focus on something outside of my head while tentatively dipping into the creative well.
When I write recaps, sometimes I only get a few drops from the well, but sometimes the bucket overflows and I suddenly know where the fic scene I was stuck on yesterday needs to go or what needs to happen to further the plot in that other fic.
And sometimes, because the recaps are in the same or similar fandom, describing what the character is doing and likely thinking or feeling as they are doing it, can even trigger a realisation that helps clarify a character's motivations in a different context; i.e. "oh, this is totally how character A would react if character B did this!"
It works great...as long as I don't get the files mixed up while I'm typing.
Like that one time I interrupted some hot man-on-man action with a lengthy description of a murder scene on the show I was recapping. It was hilarious, in a way, but it really ruined the mood of the fic.
Diandra Hollman is a public librarian who has written for multiple fandoms for the past twenty years. She is on AO3, Twitter and Dreamwidth and posts fics and recaps to her website.
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Power Levels Critical
By Solana Gray
Unless you are some kind of godling, you’ve probably experienced burnout, writer’s or artist’s block, creative constipation, or something similar.
What to do? First of all, I’m not a doctor. So, when I say head into a nice strip club and book yourself a private dance, it doesn’t come following years of study on the matter. Though, in my personal experience, it will leave you floating for days afterwards.
Okay, but in all seriousness, there are less expensive options for recharging (but few will leave you more appreciative of exfoliating gloves and the majestic wonder that is the feminine form.)
Uh, so, anyway….A lot of artists and writers seem to express guilt when they feel they aren’t creating enough content. And it’s easy to get caught up, but sometimes you just need to stop, to refill yourself, and the important thing to remember is that you are allowed to do it. It’s okay. You are not letting anyone down by taking the time to recharge yourself!
I personally seem to like to nap. A lot. Too much, possibly, it might…actually, you know what? Only nap if you feel that works best!
Enjoy something for a time that is just for your own enjoyment's sake. Sometimes, watching unrelated movies or TV shows is a wonderful way to be inspired in new and fresh ways. Reading books works in the same way. Binging on fictitious worlds? Try some non-fiction, something different, so you can let your brain refill itself.
Or empty itself!
If that’s more your recharging style because your brain likes to eat itself... I personally like very physical exercise (particularly dancing) for this purpose. Or walks, if you do want your mind to wander. You can have a lot of great conversations with yourself. Or with someone you want to connect with, instead, if you can get them to go with you. Anything that takes your mind out of your brain and puts it somewhere else.
Grab a nice hot shower. Sometimes you zone out, sometimes your characters start having conversations. Try just doing something else entirely like putting away that robe, or reorganizing that one stupid cupboard…
Just think of a phone. Plug it into an energy source, put it down…and let it recharge.
∞
Atlin is hungry, please feed Atlin your comments and thoughts on this newsletter or any of these future newsletter topics.
Speaking of the future…tell me your thumbs-up experiences at conventions! How about at fandom meetups? What do you get or give with these? Do tell!
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