Update · 8:38pm Mar 17th, 2019
It has been a long time since I last posted an update. To be honest, I have never been particularly good at engaging with the community that I am apparently a member of, so I think perhaps I should take steps to fix that. I've been writing Blueblood: Hero of Equestria for quite a while now, and considerably longer than I had anticipated. Now, part of it is due to the fact that I have been somewhat remiss in keeping up to my self-appointed schedule of one chapter per month (translation: failed spectacularly). I have wracked my brain about the cause of this, and I can come up with excuses about work, about family commitments, about hobbies, about various other things and, yes, while those things do eat into my time, ultimately it comes down to me and a distinct lack of drive to write.
I understand I'm under no actual obligation to write, but feeling as though I'm letting down my readers due to, let's call it what it is, my own laziness makes me feel very guilty. So! The question now is, what do I do about it? Forcing oneself to write rarely works, though it is better to write at least something rather than nothing at all. No, after a degree of introspection (while staring at a blank Word document and wondering what I'm supposed to do now), I have deduced that the cause of much of this is having lost the 'spark', that intangible drive, to write a story. Therefore, I shall take steps to rediscover that spark of inspiration through the following:
1) Watch the show. It's obvious, right? I haven't kept up with the MLP show for a good few years now, and I can't help but notice that not watching coincided with my downward spiral
2) Read stories. The stories on this site is what pushed me into giving it a try in the first place. I've probably missed out on some great stories
3) Set myself a goal. Normally I find these don't work, but if I can set a loose aim of writing five hundred words a day as a minimum then I can at least get back into the habit of actually writing. Five hundred words can become a thousand a day, and so on. At the very least is more than what I was doing before...
If anyone else has any tips on how to defeat writers' block like this that would be appreciated.
In other news, I've only just come across the Equestria at War mod for Hearts of Iron IV. While I am unequivocally bad at grand strategy games and even worse at this particular mod, it has given me some ideas for future stories and lore.
That’s great, we your readers are glad your doing well, and that you are continuing the story.
Also, if you are still struggling with inspiration, some of the authors I follow created accounts on sites like Patreon to get them in gear.
But if the spark fails to return, or you get the drive to create a new story, don’t worry. It’s better to wait and create something wonderful, than to rush and make chapters you won’t like in the future.
Ps: thank you for the blog, it’s great to know you are doing at least well irl
I can say that I am an in away an authority in writing, I am in actuality an artist here and on DA, but I have passed those similar hurdles in finding the drive to do more of my own art and have found some of my own art, maybe that could improve.
what has helped me a lot is to engage in talks with other people with similar interests and start sharing ideas, plot points, flaws, solutions, design, build up a repertoire of ideas in your interactions that would feed each other in growing shared ideas. This had helped me a lot in my work and I hope this might help you in some way.
I do a lot of my interaction through the PM system and Discord for more instantaneous feedback.
What really killed motivation for me is procrastination where it slowly erode at my will to do art and I worked very hard to find ways
to keep myself on my table even if I don't feel like it. I learned over time to get in the mood to write or to do art, I have to draw or do something related to that even if I am not in the mood to do art in that moment it comes back while I am doing it scribbling vague ideas one over the other without any attachment until I find a good groove and find something that peaks my interesting to continue on it in a concerted effort to want to finish it.
Good luck in your writing projects, even if it might not be MLP anymore.
All writers go through periods of writers block. (There’s a named term for a reason.) I’m glad to hear you’re ina space where you can continue to work on what I consider to be an excellent Cainesque MLP 40k adaptation. I love mixing the two genre’s myself, but you do it so well in the current setting. If you can make more, excellent. If not, don’t worry, some ideas play out. That’s just the way it is. Don’t feel bad either way, the creative process is never easy... except when it is. I’m just glad you’re back in a space where you can start working on things again. Happy writing.
Maybe you don't have to watch the show
maybe you just have to read works by others?
try reading works ismilar to your own, like maybe Foal of the Forest by Moguera on this site?
Sorry, it's the closest thing to battle that i can remember off the top of my head.
Let me offer a straight, direct answer that has worked for me, and may work for you.
https://www.lumultra.com/
Lumonol is a brain health supplement I've taken off-and-on for the past few years. Though they've changed the name to "Lumultra" for some products ever since they recently upgraded the formula.
What I usually use is the Lumonol Smart Drink powder they advertise. It's an infuser for water; I just add one to one and a half scoops (it comes with the scoop measure) to 600 ml of water, shake (I have a sealed Tupperware container-cup for this), and drink. Immediately, I notice a difference. Besides the obvious cocktail of vitamins & herbs, it's specifically formulated to boost oxygen flow to the brain, which can help give a heckuva kick to your motivation & focus. If you use nothing else from that site, I recommend you buy at least 1 jar (30 servings) of that powder, and just try it. You will want a shake-cup like I have to mix it properly; stirring won't really work well.
Your results may vary a bit from mine, but I can affirm that this stuff does work. I've tried a total of 6 different products of theirs (including Smart Drink); the ones I've noticed the most difference from were the base Lumonol pills, the powder, and their "Nova" and "Game On" pills. The last one, especially, left me in a razor-sharp state of focus for several hours the first time I tried it.
I'm not saying that this'll be a 100% guaranteed way to get back into writing, but I am saying it could be just the boost you need to set yourself into a sustainable pattern of habits, by helping you think straighter.
Hey, that kind of thing happens. Don't worry.
I can't really give advice on how to deal with writer's block. Still, knowing you are alright and have no intention to abandon the story (which I consider to be among the best ones I've read) is a relief.
5030066
Never thought I'd see what basically amounts to a pharmaceutical ad on a pony site. This is quite unexpected! XD
I know this isn't really the point of this post, but Equestria at War is by far the best mod on the workshop, and I'm not embellishing the truth because it is about Equestria. This mod, excluding the actual setting, is what Paradox should have aimed for from the beginning with Hearts Of Iron IV. It provides so much content, such variety, and an impossibly friendly community, that it is hard to find anything particularly wrong about it. And don't worry, I only play the game on civilian difficulty, so I can't really pretend that I'm some sort of "master player". Have fun playing it dude! ^^
If you'd like someone who's a HoI 4 fan and interested in the EaW mod, I own the game and quite enjoy it. Though I'm still not that amazing at the game myself. If nothing else I could help explain some of the stranger mechanics that don't get talked about in the tutorial. Either way, we're still here for you, even if it takes a bit longer for the chapters to come.