I'm having withdrawals. I finished my short story for the sci-fi contest and I have a ton of other things that need doing, but I'm in that spaced-out zone. I want to still be in my story. Thank goodness I have my novel to get back to. I didn't realize how therapeutic writing had become for me. But I absolutely have to get some other things done before I open that Scrivener file. Withdrawals, definitely withdrawals.
I have never gotten far enough to experience a withdrawal, but I'm always coming up with a new story, so I probably won't feel it.
I get post-story blues. There's always a big "Whew!" and then nothing for a week or more, writing-wise. I just feel empty after finishing a story (as much as my stories have ever been finished).
Nope, au contraire, I'm like "thank God I'm done with it, back to the WIP, thank you very much!" Besides, it was somehow disorienting to write on my own... We're so used to writing together with T, but on the other hand, it was a fun experience and it was nice to notice I could still do it, write alone.
Now you tell us we could've written it together! Seriously though, we decided to write separate entries 'cause, well, as you put it, we've been joined at the brain for over five years, so it was fun to experiment with writing alone for once even though we both came to the conclusion that, for us, it's just much more fun to write together. And I had a character I had come up with a few years ago who didn't seem to fit anywhere, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to write her and Kat wanted to experiment with a different style than what we usually use, so... separate entries. Besides, this way we have higher chances of winning 'cause with us, if one of us wins, we both win. Oh, and as for the topic: yeah, I sometimes get post story blues. Way back when we finished the 1st draft of our 1st story, I was shocked at how sad I felt for having to leave that world. Then we realized we could keep writing, that helped a lot. Even if it's not a sequel, diving into a new world helps overcome the post story blues. Then again, we've written and rewritten our current WIP for so long that once it's done (whenever that will be), it'll be a huge relief. I have a love-hate relationship with that story since I'm sick and tired of it after years of working on it, over a dozen drafts etc. but of course I love it, the characters etc, but the day when we move on to another story will indeed be a happy one. Or bittersweet, like the end of a long journey: you're glad to be home again, but you kinda miss the adventure and excitement of the road too.
No joke, the most days I haven't written fiction (since my first novel, which was two and a bit years ago) was two and a half days. I was on holiday and thought, "Hmm, twenty days to be fiction-free before getting back to work." Nope; my hand was itching to get back to writing that I grabbed a notebook and pan and wrote the thing by hand. I'm pretty sure I've told this story on here before, but I thought it was relevant to this thread. WITHDRAWALS!
I have only completed a few stories, but those that I did complete... I was actually feeling quite wistful. I hated completing the stories, but they have to be done at some time... I am even beginning to rewrite them just so I could "go back to the world" one more time. But I've gotta pull these from my grasp and write new stories. I haven't completed one for years now.
