State of the Writer, April 2023! · 7:49pm Apr 30th, 2023
That blog title is starting to feel less and less legitimate as time goes on. <_<
I was just talking about this with someone elsewhere on the site, but you know that whole "I write from discontent" thing? I may actually have to accept that I'm simply done writing fanfiction, or at least writing ponyfiction, despite anything I may still want to finish. :/ I'm not happy about it, but sitting around and feeling bad about it hasn't made me write, either.
And I think it's actually disingenuous to put the blame squarely on me cracking the trans egg, as they say. The past four years, my output has been steadily declining. I had a major depressive episode or something back in 2019 (so I was well and truly prepared to stay inside all the goddamn time come Covid), executive dysfunction is unfortunately a thing... I just seem to have hit the end of the pattern is all.
I dunno, I was just talking with a friend about creative outlets last night, and everything that I've been doing for the last decade seems to have fled me. I haven't been writing ponyfic, or SCP articles, and I know there was more besides that, which I can't even remember. All my creative juices are focused on Sentinels stuff. And I can't be sad about that, I still enjoy the hell out of the game and designing things and writing a fake history for a comic book company that never existed. Some of it even counts as fanfic, really.
So, yeah. It is probably past time to stop worrying about not being able to write. Maybe it'll come back to me in time, maybe it won't. I'm not going to have much longer to devote to creative projects anyway (I need to get a job starting around the end of this year), so maybe it's for the best. :( But I do still miss it.
Don't worry about it too much. It's only natural that people would inevitably burn out and move on. That's just life.
I won't pretend that I know the fix when it comes to burnout, but I'll put it like this: It's work.
That's all it is really; just work. If you can make it fun, then all the power to you. If not, then don't drain everything you got onto it. Take it slow.
Anyways, I hope you've been okay despite that.
Time keeps going faster than I'd like. One of my close friends here has all but stopped visiting the site. My big fear is that by the time I finish my thing nobody will be left here to see it, and it will all be for nothing. It's hard.
But don't try to trap yourself here. If you like working on other things, hey, cool, you're working on something. Hashtag blessed.
Sentinels is real good, yo.
Take heart. Slumps come along to everyone, and sometimes it's the Big One that ends a "career". As long as you've found other things you can take pleasure out of, it's all good.
That being said, don't be surprised if a few years from now you have a sudden urge to write horsewords again.
Considering pony stuff in particular, I'd imagine it would be hard to remain passionate about something that you are essentially oversaturated with. Inspiration and ideas often come in moments of distraction and calmness, when your mind wanders and you do some other stuff
So I'd propose to get busy with something decisively non-creative, or simply get bored, and situation about not being able to write will begin to fix itself. That's how we work usually
*hugs* Long as you're having fun doing stuff, I'm happy.
5725639
I tell you what, I am nowhere near being done with the fandom or the site, at least :) I mean, if I didn't enjoy reviewing fanfic anymore, I would absolutely drop it in a heartbeat c_c;
It's okay to shift gears creatively. G4 shut itself off because it needed to. Bill Watterson stopped writing "Calvin and Hobbes" because he said everything that needed to be said via that strip. There is an end to all things. On a personal note, I haven't written pony words in over a year for my story idea tank ran dry, so I know where you're coming from.
As long as you are able to find happiness in some other field, that's perfectly fine. Good luck on your future projects.
The general quality of writing on the whole site has gone down; I am starting to wonder if the site has outlived its usefulness.
5725725
I think a lot of the older guard writers have moved on for whatever reason, while we continue to get new members by the day. So yeah, it'll shift, but so long as no one takes their stuff down when they leave, at least it'll still be there.
Anyway, so you're not really writing, it's fine. Hang out, comment, blog, review. It's all part of Fimfic.
If you're looking for suggestions, here's a really good author you can check out.~
5725865
are you sure? never heard of him :B
5725866
Yeah he's one of those underrated geniuses. Idk if you've ever seen his pictures but he's also extremely handsome.
5725871
I'll have to take your word for it!
I've also felt like I'm in a creative slump recently, whether that's due to running out of ideas or just working too many hours or suffering from seasonal depression that JUST WON'T GO AWAY WHERE IS SPRING?
Maybe I'll write you a batpony fic to cheer me up.