Something is wrong with me (I can't write as much as I used to)

[doravg]

For my first long story, I remember writing more than 10k words per day, without getting tired. Then the number dropped to 5k per day for my first original story. It stayed like that for about 3 years, sometimes got to 10k, sometimes to 15k, but those cases were rare.

Now I can't talk myself into writing more than 4k words. I don't know why. I had fun today, but now I feel tired. Not only that, but I even have two fun writing prompts just waiting to be turned into short stories. I just can't.

Do you guys go through something similar with your own writing? What causes it?

 

[Lorelliad]

It wasn't the length of the chapters that changed for me but more so the frequency of my writing sessions.

Every once in a while I get a really cool idea that I want to write about. And so, I start writing. But as it is a hobby to me, my interest wanes the moment I stop paying even the tiniest bit of attention to my book and more onto other stuff likes games.

But the cycle does repeat, and I start to want to write again. Its probably why I can never complete stories.

 

[SailusGebel]

Take a small break.

 

[Corty]

Sounds like burnout. Include rest days when you don't do anything related to writing or thinking about writing.

 

[doravg]

Sounds like burnout. Include rest days when you don't do anything related to writing or thinking about writing.

I can't. I started posting my current stories and I want to keep my 4thewords streak going. If I get it to 1.5 years, I will get new wings. They look great.

Take a small break.

And do what?

 

[SailusGebel]

And do what?

I don't know what exactly you should do, but I think the most important part is to not think about writing for a couple days(literally 2-3 days). Find something to do that will distract you from thinking about writing. I don't know, watch an interesting TV show, an anime, play a game.

 

[SalivaSpittingWorm]

As the others say. You probably have burnout syndrome. It's good to take a break, relax, gather inspiration, read, watch movies, anime, go have fun.

I understand you don't want to fall out of the writing rhythm, but this state is not ideal. It will also affect the quality of your writing and your mental health. Eventually, writing might even annoy you and you might stop writing completely. I would recommend changing the frequency of your writing and taking breaks between writing.
Your readers will understand the pause.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

For my first long story, I remember writing more than 10k words per day, without getting tired. Then the number dropped to 5k per day for my first original story. It stayed like that for about 3 years, sometimes got to 10k, sometimes to 15k, but those cases were rare.

Now I can't talk myself into writing more than 4k words. I don't know why. I had fun today, but now I feel tired. Not only that, but I even have two fun writing prompts just waiting to be turned into short stories. I just can't.

Do you guys go through something similar with your own writing? What causes it?

Yep, I go through similar situation. As for my case, I think it's my attempt to juggle teaching, advisory class work, writing two theses at once, checking on my business and investments, plus ancillaries like designing for my school, coding and developing the automated system I'm trying to implement in our faculty, checking on my students' well-being, illustrating my novels and writing my novel chapters itself.

Though nowadays, it's more like, my weekends are for my novels. Any school concerns are shot down, or totally ignored, so I can focus on what I'm writing.

 

[MajorKerina]

I have been writing 12000 words a week for 1 1/2 years and burnout is real. I take Fri/Saturday to not write after reaching my goal so I have editing distance. Then Sun zero writing or screw around random creativity. Mon is a easy transition back with outlining and notes and some starter ideas before Tue is creative restarting.

 

[Feylin]

ack, ive been there a lot of times. i think its because i keep reimagining how my story would go to the end that i got tired of it so i make sure to not daydream anything about it unless necessary

 

[BlackKnightX]

I've been noticing this for a while now: you write a lot. Like, a hell of a lot. And it seems like you write for fun. You write because you really enjoy it and don't expect anything in return (I could be wrong).

If writing is just one of your hobbies, then it's normal to get bored or burnt out after doing it for a long time, even if it's something you love.

I used to read or watch certain things voraciously, but now I find myself bored and in search of new things. It doesn't even have to be something completely different; if you love writing, you can try experimenting with other forms of writing or storytelling. Maybe try new writing styles.

It might also be that your taste in story has changed. In that case, you have to find out where your passion lies now. Try reading other genres you haven't read before. Consume different medias. Subvert expectations.

 

[TotallyHuman]

that's life (that's life!)
that's what all the people say

 

[Kalliel]

Might be a sign of the universe telling you to stop.
10k a day is for eldritch horror creatures with at least 8 brains and dozens of tentacles.

 

[IanWhite2105]

For my first long story, I remember writing more than 10k words per day, without getting tired. Then the number dropped to 5k per day for my first original story. It stayed like that for about 3 years, sometimes got to 10k, sometimes to 15k, but those cases were rare.

Now I can't talk myself into writing more than 4k words. I don't know why. I had fun today, but now I feel tired. Not only that, but I even have two fun writing prompts just waiting to be turned into short stories. I just can't.

Do you guys go through something similar with your own writing? What causes it?

Age. Responsibilities. Realizing that writing for fun is a bit of a wasted effort and time. Sounds like it has been five+ and that is the time when your age will catch up to you or life will if you started writing in the mid to late teens.

 

[Roseofblades]

What I do if I'm in that state and I can't seem to find the dopamine hits anywhere else is I reread everything I've written starting at chapter 1. I go back through with the eyes of a reader, not a writer. I see the things that originally inspired me, the scenes I had so much fun writing. I remember all the reasons I made the story decisions that I made. I watch the plot develop and look for hints of subtle foreshadowing that I didn't even know I was doing at the time. I watch my characters grow and turn into the people I know them as now. Doing this helps me get my brain back into the mindset that I had back when writing didn't feel like a chore to me.
And like the others said... Take a fucking break. Sometimes the only thing you can do is step away for a little bit and do something, anything, that isn't writing.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Yes.

I felt just like you. Lost. Alone. Adrift in a sea of nonsense. I couldn't find my way. But then I found the solution. A higher power worthy of worship. As soon as I let it into my body and accepted submission to its perfect will, I finally found inner peace. Through it all people are to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

Spoiler

I, of course, speak of Heroin.

 

[em_sin]

What I do if I'm in that state and I can't seem to find the dopamine hits anywhere else is I reread everything I've written starting at chapter 1. I go back through with the eyes of a reader, not a writer.

Can be very helpful.

For my first long story, I remember writing more than 10k words per day, without getting tired.

Since you've done it before you can do it again, or at least it is a possibility. But ultimately you answered your own question. You're tired, or lack inspiration. Thus return to quote 1, or find a method that can give you inspiration.

 

[J_Chemist]

Hello. Hi. It's me. That guy with also high asf word counts. Yea, the one with the 20k prologue for no reason. It's me again.

I had the same issue when the RR Writeathon started this year and churned out almost 50k in a week. Now I can't put down more than 1k without wanting to lunge out of my window or lay down for a nap. Take a break, sip some tasty drinks, or watch something to distract yourself. It'll come back eventually. Take a day off during the week or two so you don't feel burnout and take in other forms of entertainment to numb your brain every so often. It helps a lot.

 

[DubstheDuke]

Something similar happened to me between my first and second series. First one I was writing about 3k a day, constantly uploading and writing. Second one... well, significantly less.

What changed?

My upload schedule, for one. I started uploading weekly chapters instead of daily - and for one simple reason. Quality over quantity.

I still write 2-3 chapters a week, but some weeks I just sorta take off. I have a whole pile of backlog since I'm uploading far more slowly than I am writing - and I still have the opportunity to just take a week or two and not write if I feel like it.

I allow myself to take my time planning things, and don't really go into an arc without at least a major outline completed.

Does this mean that I sometimes forget stuff, because it takes a whole lot longer to complete an arc? Yes.

Does this mean that sometimes I get out of the zone because I have to spend so much more time researching what's already happened, instead of remembering it all in one go? Yes.

Does this mean that there's less content overall for my readers to enjoy, and less readers overall from the infrequency of the uploads? Yes.

But that's fine.

I would rather take my time and create something that I'm proud of, and something that I ENJOY writing, than force myself to write every single day and not get any enjoyment out of it.

Perhaps your situation is different. Perhaps you are somehow planning on making money off your writing, or perhaps you want a huge reader fanbase. But in my opinion, rushing anything will only ever get you something mediocre.

So don't focus so much on the word count. Focus on the words themselves.

 

[HungrySheep]

It happened to me a while back. I just forced myself to keep writing and asked myself "What else do I have to say about this story?" every time I hit a mental block. Bashing your head against a wall also helps.