Between Projects Syndrome

Writer’s block comes in many forms. Sometimes you have no ideas, or you have the ideas but not the plot specifics, or you have that but not the words. But there’s a particular type that I seem more prone to.

I like to call it Between Projects Syndrome. Looks more official in capital letters, doesn’t it?

Most writers have several projects on the go at any one time. Say, a blog, maybe a short story or two – and a manuscript that gets the dust blown off it every once in a while. It’s how we keep things interesting, and often if you get stuck on one piece you can work on another to recharge your energies. But what happens when you’re not feeling inspired by… any of them?

There are plenty of things I could be working on right now. Wobbly first draft of Pyromancer (1 ½ chapters in and riddled with writerly self-doubt), a dragon-themed novella (currently in bits), some essay stuff I need to do for uni (oh god not more essays please) and some short stories that just aren’t quite sparking. Some suffer from a lack of ideas – or a lack of concreteness – and others are intimidating by their size.

It’s worse when there are many projects on the go. It’s hard to focus on one at a time when you’re busy worrying about all the others you haven’t got round to yet. It’s an annoying state to being, and for me Between Projects usually lasts a few days to a week. I’m just not sure what to work on at the moment or how to re-motivate.

So I’m writing about not writing whilst I’m waiting for the muse to return.

But of course it’s been said that when you can’t write you can work: planning, looking up new competitions, making character profiles, drawing all your characters as Disney princesses etc. etc. And writing when you don’t feel like it is a good skill to have.

I was supposed to post a proper update blog today. Sorry that you guys have 400 words of mind-barf instead.

Hmm, now that’s probably a more interesting title.

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