lost

[Xos]

I've completly lost the will to write. I haven't felt this empty in over ten years. I mean, I know about what I want to write and have the general storyline planned out, but I've completly lost the will to write, I've lost the urge to put finger to key and finish the threads I'm in.

Any ideas on how to remedy this situation?

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

Take a small break. Do something to inspire you. Like for instance, for me that's turning on the local jazz station and playing a hella amount of NES and SNES.

[Daggertail]

I suggest finding a good book, hopefully something you didn't already read.

[Breaker]

Yes, take a break. You've been pumping out post after post with like 4 different characters for some time, exhausting yourself creatively.

I also agree with Daggertail. Get a book by an author who really inspires you to write and read it. Make sure it's something you haven't read before; reading new material might bring new ideas to you.

[Tiberius]

In addition to what Daggertail said, get a good book. A science fiction book, mainly because that's what genre you're writing in when you post on Althanas.

Even better, get a science ficition series. Nothing works more than reading a seven or eight (or even twelve in some cases) book series. There are also a few good trilogies out there as well, don't skip them only because they're three parters. =)

I suggest The Sword of Truth series, by Terry Goodkind. Kick ass. Also the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams is a good one too. As well as The Obsidian Trilogy, co-written by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory. That one's a really good read too.

And, on a side note, all the books are huge! Liable to keep you busy for days, or weeks, depending on how slow or fast you read. =) I'm sure that by that time, with all that sweet fantasy stuff and ideas getting pounded into your brain, you'll find your will to write again. =P

[Xos]

It would take a massivly huge book to keep me occupied for a large time. A mere 1024 book like the Stone of truth only kept me busy for one day.

[Tiberius]

So, you're saying you read all of those pages, in detail, could remember a good seventy-five percent of the story three days later, all in one day?

Or did you just get bored? =P

[Saxon]

Just went through this last year and a bit of this summer, Xos. The trick is to give writing enough of a berth that it doesn't drown you, but you don't completely lose touch with it either. The school year is about to pick up, and thats usually when people start to regain their energy and will to write, so it'd probably be best if you walked away for a bit and tried focusing on something else, because you've bled yourself dry. The period of time it takes for something like this to recover from ranges from maybe a couple of days, to a week, to even months.

Some helpful advice to avoid this kind've situation would be not to overextend yourself creatively and try to do too much work at one time, because your brain just can't take it. This is a game, and also a place to help you learn how to cope with writing large volumes of stuff in small periods of time, so consider this one of your many lessons here. Everybody has there own pace of doing things, and its hard to put your nose to the grind stone when you see other people doing it much more efficently and even getting better results. You'll be there eventually with enough practice.

Anyway, I hope this advice helps and it blows over fairly fast for you, because I've been there and this is one of those things that is very hard to control and let alone understand when your going through it for the first time. Good luck.

[Xos]

So, you're saying you read all of those pages, in detail, could remember a good seventy-five percent of the story three days later, all in one day?

As a matter of fact, yes, yes I am. I possess a photographic memory when it comes to reading. I can read a book and recite it back to you word for word. Of course there is no way currently to prove this online and I am aware of this fact, but all the same it is still true.

[Xos]

Just went through this last year and a bit of this summer, Xos. The trick is to give writing enough of a berth that it doesn't drown you, but you don't completely lose touch with it either. The school year is about to pick up, and thats usually when people start to regain their energy and will to write, so it'd probably be best if you walked away for a bit and tried focusing on something else, because you've bled yourself dry. The period of time it takes for something like this to recover from ranges from maybe a couple of days, to a week, to even months.

Some helpful advice to avoid this kind've situation would be not to overextend yourself creatively and try to do too much work at one time, because your brain just can't take it. This is a game, and also a place to help you learn how to cope with writing large volumes of stuff in small periods of time, so consider this one of your many lessons here. Everybody has there own pace of doing things, and its hard to put your nose to the grind stone when you see other people doing it much more efficently and even getting better results. You'll be there eventually with enough practice.

Anyway, I hope this advice helps and it blows over fairly fast for you, because I've been there and this is one of those things that is very hard to control and let alone understand when your going through it for the first time. Good luck.

This is actually the first time I've ever pushed myself into regular creative writing, so its easy to see how I could've bled dry.

[AdventWings]

I don't question your photographic memory capabilities, Xos. I know a good many people who can do that and I'll just be "wow" for a whole day.

Maybe what you're having trouble with is inspiration. Sure, reading large volumes of works would show you how much you know... but how much of the story do you understand? I'll just leave my line of thought to that, though, since that's not the point of your plight.

Next time you sit down with a good book, read through it slowly. Get to know the characters, the way they think, their fears and aspirations. A story is not a story without the characters and a good story cannot begin without deep understanding of the characters' minds.

I've said what I need to say. Hope you come back inspired and refreshed. :)

[Kially Gaith]

Video games and books. William Gibson books and LOTR books are the best for creative writers, I find, Tolkien inspires, Gibson builds your vocab.#

Game wise? Final Fantasy 5 for it's mixxed job classes is sort of inspiring, I was inspired by the geomancer class, so I threw in a bit of myself, my religion and my affinity to wind, and the fact that I have the emotions of a child. Poof. Character.

For gaming inspiration, try the Suikoden series (I sugguest you find emulators. >_< as they are impossible to find normally) and the Final Fantasy series, if you're a horror writer, try Alone In The Dark 4 The New Nightmare.

If you have a photographic memory like you say, research weapons and look at pictures of landscapes. My memory turns everything into sound, so I can remember lyrics and landscapes in scary detail.

[Tiberius]

As a matter of fact, yes, yes I am. I possess a photographic memory when it comes to reading. I can read a book and recite it back to you word for word. Of course there is no way currently to prove this online and I am aware of this fact, but all the same it is still true.

That, is bad ass. I've known a few photographic memory blessed (or cursed maybe) people and their abilities amaze me still. I think I possess the realm right between photographic memory and just regular memory. Like, camcorder memory. You can remember it, see it, but not see all the details...or the like. I can also say I have a very short train of thought, and very, very, very short term memory. Like, five seconds. It's bad. Maybe you just need to go to the library and just pick up a random book and read...lol

Anyway, for real though, take a break. Get back into the mix with the random events of the school year, and then come back. See what happens yo.

[Amaril Torrun]

All this talk about reading books is something I hear quite often, but doesn't usually work for me. The same thing that gets me in the mood to write seems to have a hold of reading as well, therefore I go elsewhere for inspiration.

Seeing as how you can read massive books in a day, and haven't seemed to get out of the writing slump, I'll let you in on my secret to get back into the groove of things.

Don't think about writing. Forget about Althanas and your threads. Don't analyze literature. Go outside and play football, hang out with a few friends. In short, do anything that is fun for you besides writing. Now, I'm not saying that you should never come back to Althanas or the genre, because if you're like me, then you'll want to come back in a week or two with even more eagerness than before.

Of course, some people who halt all forms of the literary word in their lives find it too hard to come back, so I'd give everyone else's ideas a try first.

[Xos]

I listened to Dr. Jeffrey Thompson's Creative mind system. This is music created based on brain frequencies. What it does is train your mind to be more creative, or in my case, recharge the creative mojo. Its awesome music crafted by science, and while I cannot explain it very well, I have an entire website I found devoted specificly to this branch of science.

http://www.neuroacoustic.com/

It can explain better than I can. I want all his cd's!

therefore, in a little while, in my gigantic solo quest, I shall continue posting.

[AdventWings]

I'm glad you're still rarin' to go, Xos. :) Just remember to take it slowly so you don't burn out, aye? :p

[Xos]

The only thing that disturbs me, is how somethings just write themselves without any planning from me, such as how Xos got into the classroom with The Brain, or how Valanthe managed to find the door to the room Xos was in.

Or how some ideas just take root and won't go away, such as the unexpected ending.

[Karuka]

Careful with random events. They need to be explained about 75% of the time or it'll hurt your score.

[AdventWings]

Or just your brain. :D

Remember that only you know what's going on inside your head. Clear communication with other people so they understand what you're talking about is just as critical as writing a trilogy worthy of a Nobel Prize.