Hi there I just had a small question about combating a serious mental block that I've dealt with for some time now. I do realize that this isn't necessarily a 'bad' thing, but it doesn't help to spur creative ideas. I'm finding the only inspiration I'm getting from my writing is from things I've recently watched. These things could be video games, movies, anime and even other books. What my brain is basically doing is taking those creative works and trying to re-brand it. Now I would never move for copyright infringement. Let me provide an example. I just recently finished re-watching an old TV program called Reboot. That series sparked an idea for a very similar concept I could write about but instead of game cubes they journey into Lovecraft realms. the problem is I don't think its different enough to be 'mine' I guess. How do you guys separate your work from that sort of thing?
I write it and recognize it is not my original work. What has pulled me back into writing after a long depression has been fan fiction. I have 4 chapters/stories devoted to my favorite series, and I am fine with it. Any time I run into a writers block with MY story, I go back to fan fiction. It seems to flow easier, probably because the characters are already fleshed out. I work with that until the next scene in my story comes to whisper in my ear "it's time to come back to me" and I go back and write some more on my stuff. It keeps me writing almost daily, which is what I think will develop my skills.
You learn the craft by mimicing existing work: that's the most natural thing there is. Musicians spend decades playing Bach before trying to compose their own pieces - garage bands play tributes before trying their own stuff. Painters do all the classical techniques before succesfully expresing themselves in the medium it suits them best. Etc. And most artists experiment with both form and substance of their work during their careers. Except popular writers: they stick to what works with the audience for decades, same characters, same situations, same book-covers. That's the reason their work is not literature, but products. The fact you try to modify whatever comes your way into your story is, as I see it, a good thing: but you should try to move your focus away from TV and games and back to books. Different mediums have different structures and need different approach: not to mention the fact that movies, series and games are collaborative projects, and writing is something you just need to do yourself...
