I'm not entirely sure what to do. I took almost all of January off of writing to take a 'break' and recharge my batteries. But I haven't been in the 'mood' to do much writing since then. I'm not entirely sure what to do to get out of this 'slump' I'm in. I have a couple of options: A: Power through and hope I break out of it. B: write a new idea for a chapter and hope it snaps me out of it. C: (least useful option): Continue to wait for the mood to strike. I'm leaning more toward A or B than C, as I've already tried C. I think the main part of the problem is that I took too long of a break from my 'routine' so now I'm having difficulties getting back into it.
Some ideas I would use if I found myself stuck that you might (hopefully) find useful (or not): 1) Write something that isn't serious 2) Join a book club or a creative writing club where you write every week together (although that might be difficult with the pandemic - maybe they meet virtually?) 3) Write something you would ordinarily never write like a newspaper or magazine article about a fictitious subject or your choosing, or 4) Use a prompt to start a type of story you've never written before EDIT: or write a short vignette about a scene, or a character Good luck!
Have you seen those journals pre-printed with prompts for grandmothers or mom or random people to use to write their memories down? They're only about $8 at Barnes and Noble. I got one to write down things I remember for my granddaughter. I usually veer away from the spirit of the prompts, but it's been an entertaining exercise that has given me some ideas for short stories.
There is another option: Just write, Anything. Often a stream-of-consciousness flow will get the juices flowing again. No editing, no pre-planned thought, just write. Doesn't need to be anything important or related to your book/story. Just something to unlimber your mind again.
A or B seem fine. I have trouble picking stuff up if I've left it a while too. What I have to keep reminding myself of is that even one sentence can be enough to start the engine again. Another thing you can try is abstaining from entertainment (social media, video games, TV). If you do it long enough it sort of returns your brain's reward system to a more productive baseline. You'll be driven to creative pastimes out of mere boredom.
I might go with the news article idea, could be a fun way to see if I like a story idea enough to actually write it. The real question is how would a news article about a foreigner from an isolationist nation read? I'm betting about 70% Paranoia and 20% fear mongering with 10% questioning their appearance lol Note I mean the article is about a foreigner and is written by an isolationist, not the other way around. XP
