Gird your loins; this might get a little bit melodramatic. I like writing, a lot, and I'm having a lot of fun while I do it but... recently, as in over the past week, something seems to have changed. I'm not talking about writers block, I have ideas, it's my writing itself that's changed. My phrasing seems clunky, I'm struggling to write basic action into my narrative, I'm over thinking and over editing my work and it feels awful. For as long as I can remember descriptions, perfectly turned passages of prose, poured out as soon as pen touched paper and it feels like I've been robbed. Am I the only one that feels this? Have I lost my 'touch' or is this something natural that I can work through?
Have your tastes changed? I know I became much more discerning with my own prose as I got more experience. If so, that's probably just something you have to work through. I've had times when it seemed like everything I wrote was garbage. One thing you might want to try is some good close reading of prose you admire. Pick your favorite writer and immerse yourself. Poetry works for this, too, if you choose the right poet. You might want to review some of your own work, examples of your writing you're particularly proud of. Reconnect with those rhythms and go from there.
Only you can really know for sure, but it sounds like a part of the natural up-and-down of writing, particularly when outside events impinge on it. My advice is to take a breather and, as minstrel suggests, do some reading. Good luck.
I remember reading somewhere that a brain goes through cycles; the analytical part of your brain is in charge for some fraction of an hour, and the language part is in charge for another fraction of an hour. I realize that you're talking about days and weeks, not hours, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are larger cycles, too. And it's "change time" - summer is turning into winter, days are consistently getting shorter. At this time of year - and I realize that this doesn't sound relevant - my sense of smell changes, and I often don't like anything that I smell. I notice this because I blog about perfume, but I'd bet that this noticeable-to-me change is just one of a large number of changes that we all go through when the seasons shift, probably based on some old evolutionary mechanism. A few weeks after the change starts, it settles out, and I like smells again, usually a whole new set of smells that I perceive in a new way. I realize that my nose and your literary brain are far from the same thing, but I'd suggest assuming that your literary brain is realigning into a new arrangement, and that when it's done it's going to present you with some cool new things. And just keep on writing while you wait.
You need to be careful about things that you "remember reading somewhere". There are an awful lot of myths about how the brain works. E.g. the biggest myth is the claim that we have a clear cut division between a left, analytical, side of our brain and a right, creative, side of our brain. This myth has taken root in our society to such an extent that some people say it will never disappear. But, it's wrong. Going back to the OP's problem, I have a question. Were you previously writing stories only when the muse hit you. And are you now writing stories as a task you feel that you have to complete?
