I have an unusual problem, and that's with procrastination. Normally, I know that the real solution would be 'get your ass in gear and do the work already.' And that has worked for me in the past.
Now is a different story, and I'm wondering if I can ask for advice from someone who may have had a similar problem to mine and found a way around.
The summarize, after I graduated from school, I stopped worrying about deadlines for my creative writing work. However, this had the severe effect of pretty much shutting me down. It seems like where most people do the things they want to do, I'm a demonstration that not only is 'trying' an ability, but also that it is possible to lose that ability. And when I try to get back to writing, I hit a sort of mental paralysis and just end up freezing. Has someone out there experienced this same phenomenon and manage to overcome it somehow?
My apologies if I'm using this Help Forum for personal issues rather than technical ones, or if I end up just sounding creepy.
Procrastination Problem (hope this is okay)
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I have a similar problem but sadly i have not found a solution. Though I know what cripples me that hasn't helped me in getting over it. Something that has kinda helped is just doing it, telling myself over and over that it needs to be done now and that i'll regret it later. Writing is another story. Since I have not been able to sit down write in many years, I'm thinking of using AP to help motivate me. I'm going to try to come up with some ideas, present them to the members here and ask them to vote on the idea they like best then write stories based on the winner. Positive feedback on my stories from random people helped me a little before so I figure maybe it will help again.
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I've the same problem. Like with my studies, I KNOW I should revise, and I know how to pass.
I just find it SO hard to concentrate, and stick to learning my notes again. It really is hard. -
Here's a website about a blog that talks about procrastination: http://calnewport.com/blog/
Maybe yours is just a creativity problem, but I would look deep inside and make absolutely sure it's not something else, i.e., depression. Again, make sure what you're going through is not something more serious than procrastination.
On that note, I don't mean to sound preachy, but you could try reading Plato's Meno. It deals with: "What should I do" or "On Virtue". I've seen questions like this come up in a lot of places, and I think its dealt well in that dialogue. A good example is that are you sure, this "ability" you even speak of is something you can gain through knowledge? That is, is it something others can tell you? Logic would speak of it, that if it was something that others can teach others, this would mean the child of hard working parents would be hard working themselves and the like. You see where I'm getting at?
I'm sorry I can't be more helpful, but good luck. And again, make sure what you're going through is not something more serious than procrastination.
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It does sound alot like a creativity block caused by procrastination. Maybe you need to take a break from writing for a little while; or maybe you need something new to write about, or some new reason/ inspiration for writing.
My advice: Don't think too much about writing. Take long walks. Take naps. Watch movies you've never seen before and listen to new music. And every once in a while, get a good train of thought going and then just jot down any words that come to your mind, even if it's not writing material.
(sorry if you've already heard this)
For me, I had block for a really long time until, one day, Goodnight Boy by The Arcade Fire came up in my shuffle while I was doing homework. As soon as I heard the lines "he wouldn't be quiet/unless his dad would sing him a song/so yeah, it wasn't long/before they found out just where we were," I dropped everything and started writing. I hadn't listened to the song alot before that, but for some reason those lines started to mean something to me, all of a sudden. I actually ended up writing a decent, short fic about little!Ace and Garp, which I later started making additional chapters to.
Anyways, just don't try too terribly hard, or you might just stay stuck. Take it easy for a bit. When the time comes, you'll be back to writing again.
Good luck! :) I hope you are able to overcome this soon. -
Thanks for the advice all–I honestly didn't expect any turnout.
@ElectricField-Actually, I do have a history with depression. However, when I first posted this, I was really afraid that saying so would be pouring it on a little too thick, especially since I was writing even during my depression. Then again, maybe it did get worse…
As for creative blocks...not sure if that's it, as although I can't concentrate on writing a sentence without getting up and wandering, I do keep voice notes and written notes whenever I get an idea that expands the story. Maybe the size of it all is just intimidating...
Once again, thank you for all your advice.
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maybe you need a place seperate for working, than for playing. i'm kinda a a loss in my situation, cause i'm renting a room, so all my stuff is crammed in here. I don't have a seperate work space from my tv and videogames, and computer, and boy do i get distracted.
also, I find making a to do list helps motivate me. I keep looking to it as if it were a challenge. ok, what can I do now. Ya! I got 2 things off my list today. I feel accomplished.
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@Cuddles:
@ElectricField-Actually, I do have a history with depression. However, when I first posted this, I was really afraid that saying so would be pouring it on a little too thick, especially since I was writing even during my depression. Then again, maybe it did get worse…
First don't read Plato's Dialogue unless you want to. That was ignorance on my part because I didn't know what to say.
On this note, I don't know why you are depressed, and won't ask in a public place like this. But talk to someone about it. If you feel comfortable enough, maybe PM me when you feel down or just want to chat about something. It doesn't have to be your problem but about One Piece or something, lol, anything. Talk to a professional if you can about it, but use good judgment and make sure you don't go to someone who is ready to fill you up with meds.
On the creativity issue this is an excerpt from novelist Haruki Murakami's memoir, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.
! Writing novels, to me, is basically a kind of manual labor. Writing itself is mental labor, but finishing an entire book is closer to manual labor. It doesn't involve heavy lifting, running fast, or leaping high. Most people, though, only see the surface reality of writing and think of writers as involved in quiet, intellectual work done in their study. If you have the strength to lift a coffee cup, they figure, you can write a novel. But once you try your hand at it, you soon find that it isn't a peaceful a job as it seems. The whole process–sitting at your desk, focusing your mind like a laser beam, imagining something out of a blank horizon, creating a story, selecting the right words, one by one, keeping the whole flow of the story on track -- requires far more energy, over a long period, than most people ever imagine. You might not move your body around, but there's grueling, dynamic labor going on inside you. Everybody uses their mind when they think. But a writer puts on an outfit called narrative and thinks with his entire being; and for the novelist that process requires putting into play all your physical reserve, often to the point of overexertion.
! Writers blessed with talent to spare go through this process unconsciously, in some cases oblivious to it. Especially when they're young, as long as they have a certain level of talent it's not so difficult for them to write a novel. They easily clear all kinds of hurdles. Being young means your whole body is filled with a natural vitality. Focus and endurance appear as needed, and you never need to seek them on your own. If you're young and talented, it's like you have wings.
! In most cases, though, as youth fades, that sort of freeform vigor loses its natural vitality and brilliance. After you pass a certain age, things you were able to do easily aren't so easy anymore -- just as a fastball pitcher's speed starts to slip away with time. Of course, it's possible for people as they mature to make up for a decline in natural talent. Like when a fastball pitcher transforms himself into a cleverer pitcher who relies on changeups. But there is a limit. And there definitely is a sense f loss.
! On the other hand, writers who aren't blessed with much talent--those who barely make the grade-- need to build up their strength at their own expense. They have to train themselves to improve their focus, to increase their endurance. To a certain extent they're forced to make these qualities stand in for talent. And while they're getting by on these, they may actually discover real, hidden talent within them. They're sweating, digging out a hole at their feet with a shovel, when they run across a deep, secret water vein. It's a lucky thing, but what made this good fortune possible was all the training they did that gave them the strength to keep digging. I imagine that late-blooming writers have all gone through a similar process.
! Naturally there are people in the world (only a handful, for sure) blessed with enormous talent, from beginning to end, doesn't fade, and whose works are always of the highest quality. These fortunate few have a water vein that never dries up, no matter how much they tap into it. For literature, this is something to be thankful for. It's hard to imagine the history of literature without such figures as Shakespeare, Balzac, and Dickens. But the giants are, in the end, giants -- exceptional, legendary figures. The remaining majority of writers who can't reach such heights (including me, of course) have to supplement what's missing from their store of talent through whatever means they can. Otherwise it's impossible for them to keep on writing novels of any value. The methods and directions a writer takes in order to supplement himself becomes part of that writer's individuality, what makes him special.
! Most of what I know about writing I've learned through running every day.I found it in my University library.
I'm no writer by the way, but maybe the following books can help:
Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain
The Rhetoric of Fiction by Wayne C. BoothAnd some websites of authors that I think that has helped my writing:
http://hollylisle.com/ - Holly Lisle
http://www.hatrack.com/ - Orson Scott CardAgain, I'm no writer, but these have helped me the most when trying to write fiction for RPG's and the like.
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I'd been having serious problems with procrastination for a long time. I've found the best thing to do in terms of personal projects such as writing is come up with ideas for it which get you really excited.
For example, last summer I started coming up with ideas for a series which I thought up, but never really did much with.
When I started coming up with all the new ideas and plotting out the skeleton plot for the series I got really excited and am still working on getting it set up/working out ideas.So yeah. I'd say take it slow by coming up with the skeleton format and working it from there. Work with something that interests you too. Even if it's something which only mildly interests you, you'd be surprised at how interesting it can become :>
Hope this helps ^^;
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Oh, it definitely helps. The number one rule is to always keep notes. Thank you for the advice, though.
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I'm a huge procrastinator, and it ruins my life.
The secondary reason I'm a procrastinator is I seem to get a lot of pleasure out of living life dangerously. I actually get an adrenaline rush taking tests without knowing anything, it's like a gamble. That's part of the reason I'm such an obsessive mahjong player, normal passions don't excite me as much.
But it's not enough to say it's a addiction to living dangerously, there's also a fear component. This is key. If you're afraid of something, because it's hard or something, you tend to put it off because you're afraid of failing or not being able to admit to yourself you don't understand. With this mental fear block in place, it becomes harder to take to the task because you're focused on trying to procrastinate. Sort of like pretending the problem isn't there.
Best way to get rid of that - no indulgence, just get a good night's sleep. A good, long sleep, but don't sleep in. Wake on time then try to tackle your task no matter what. Maybe walk a bit before starting, don't daydream about other activities.
I've found that improves concentration and focus. The fear is paralyzing, but it's an even bigger impediment to success than the quantity of material you have to compute and its complexity.
