How do I bring my creative mojo back?
May 15, 2022 3:39 PM Subscribe
My creative writing mojo has left me. How do I get it back? I just don't feel like writing anymore, but it has always made me feel better. I want to write again.
Since I was young, I have written stories - not with a view to getting published, but as a way to cheer myself up, hang out with characters who feel like friends, and make myself feel better.
In my life, periods of great stress have tended to coincide with periods of great creativity. I realise it's an escapism thing, but it's always been a reliable way of self-soothing and it has always helped me out of a dark place. When I haven't felt the need to write, I've read my own work back to myself, and that also feels good and soothing, like reading a familiar bedtime story. I wrote so much over the pandemic. I felt like I was on fire, creatively, and it helped me to survive the limbo and loneliness of almost 2 years of isolation.
I should say, though, that I have never been disciplined about it; writing was just something I did because I loved it, not something I did because 'It's 8pm, time to spend an hour writing'. The bug would often bite me at inconvenient times, and I'd have to like, hide in the work bathrooms typing away on my phone or whatever.
For the past 5 months I have not been able to write. I'm back working in the office now, and as I've mentioned in previous questions, I'm dealing with a lot of stress wrt my family, who live abroad; they're dealing with health problems, and I'm preoccupied with big life questions. It's no mystery why I'm stressed, but it's the first time that this stress has led my creative juices to dry up rather than the other way round. I just can't focus. One thing that often inspires me is reading, especially other people's fan fiction, but I find it hard to focus on reading anything at the moment.
I miss this coping mechanism which brought me so much joy and comfort. How do I bring my mojo back?
Since I was young, I have written stories - not with a view to getting published, but as a way to cheer myself up, hang out with characters who feel like friends, and make myself feel better.
In my life, periods of great stress have tended to coincide with periods of great creativity. I realise it's an escapism thing, but it's always been a reliable way of self-soothing and it has always helped me out of a dark place. When I haven't felt the need to write, I've read my own work back to myself, and that also feels good and soothing, like reading a familiar bedtime story. I wrote so much over the pandemic. I felt like I was on fire, creatively, and it helped me to survive the limbo and loneliness of almost 2 years of isolation.
I should say, though, that I have never been disciplined about it; writing was just something I did because I loved it, not something I did because 'It's 8pm, time to spend an hour writing'. The bug would often bite me at inconvenient times, and I'd have to like, hide in the work bathrooms typing away on my phone or whatever.
For the past 5 months I have not been able to write. I'm back working in the office now, and as I've mentioned in previous questions, I'm dealing with a lot of stress wrt my family, who live abroad; they're dealing with health problems, and I'm preoccupied with big life questions. It's no mystery why I'm stressed, but it's the first time that this stress has led my creative juices to dry up rather than the other way round. I just can't focus. One thing that often inspires me is reading, especially other people's fan fiction, but I find it hard to focus on reading anything at the moment.
I miss this coping mechanism which brought me so much joy and comfort. How do I bring my mojo back?
Checking out other people's creativity is usually a good way of finding my own creativity. Just about every day I head over to Artstation and just browse. More often than not I will find something inspiring.
posted by Stuka at 5:32 PM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Stuka at 5:32 PM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
Is it possible you’re burnt out and need a break from words? For example, I write for my job, and outside of work stay as far away from the written word as possible. Instead I listen to audio books and music, watch cartoons, draw or color, and spend time outside looking at plants and birds. The bits of your brain that are creative may need different stimuli for a spell.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 5:56 PM on May 15, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 5:56 PM on May 15, 2022 [3 favorites]
I've generally used other forms of creativity to help get ideas going for writing. Historically that's been playing guitar, but more recently playing piano or photography. For me, it's useful because I'm a highly structure-oriented writer. I outline nearly everything I write. Both music and photography are both structure-oriented, but in slightly different ways. In music, you can improvise, but to do so you have to be pretty familiar with scales, chords, etc. - i.e., you have to prepare. A lot of times when I pick up a guitar or sit down at a keyboard, I end up just practicing scales or chord changes rather than actually improvising anything, which is to say I focus on the preparation, which has obvious implications for writing. In photography, winging it is a lot easier - you just snap a photo. But there are so many variables that you can take the same shot 100 different ways. Maybe you silhouette your subject instead of sidelighting it. Maybe you overexpose, or underexpose. Maybe you shoot in black and white. Maybe you compose the shot so that the horizon is toward the bottom of the frame, or to the top. Again, obvious implications.
The other advice I generally give, but often don't take myself, is to go back and edit/rewrite something I've already written. I'm a big believer in editing and I do go through several drafts, but they're usually all at once. What I'd like to do is pick something up that I wrote months, or even years ago, and try it again. Would I still structure it the same? Would I pace it differently? Would I change any word choices? Rewriting is good to do when you're blocked because you have material already, and you just need to write it out. You don't need the creative part saying "OK where is this going?"
posted by kevinbelt at 6:24 PM on May 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
The other advice I generally give, but often don't take myself, is to go back and edit/rewrite something I've already written. I'm a big believer in editing and I do go through several drafts, but they're usually all at once. What I'd like to do is pick something up that I wrote months, or even years ago, and try it again. Would I still structure it the same? Would I pace it differently? Would I change any word choices? Rewriting is good to do when you're blocked because you have material already, and you just need to write it out. You don't need the creative part saying "OK where is this going?"
posted by kevinbelt at 6:24 PM on May 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
I think that you should take a vacation from writing and go back to it when you feel like it.
For me, writing stories was a thing that I did when I felt compelled to express certain personal ideas and concepts in a narrative form. I haven't done that lately, but I might go back to it someday. It's okay not to write unless you feel that it is personally necessary. If you feel that it's personally necessary, but don't have the words, then it's a pondering phase. I still do poetry, of course, which is something else.
posted by ovvl at 6:25 PM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
For me, writing stories was a thing that I did when I felt compelled to express certain personal ideas and concepts in a narrative form. I haven't done that lately, but I might go back to it someday. It's okay not to write unless you feel that it is personally necessary. If you feel that it's personally necessary, but don't have the words, then it's a pondering phase. I still do poetry, of course, which is something else.
posted by ovvl at 6:25 PM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
I think it's great that you're less escape-oriented and less stressed. Maybe you need time away to come back again. Maybe you can block out time and write letters from you to each of the characters you escaped to spend time with?
posted by k3ninho at 2:30 AM on May 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by k3ninho at 2:30 AM on May 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I'm two weeks into the twelve weeks of the Artists Way. Have you tried that before?
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:26 AM on May 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:26 AM on May 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
Have you ever kept a journal? It might help, or it might be a terrible idea.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:29 AM on May 16, 2022
posted by SemiSalt at 4:29 AM on May 16, 2022
Best answer: I came to suggest The Artist's Way--it is pretty much made for this kind of situation.
In general, I find it's good to be gentle with myself, and let myself wander and give in to curiosity. "Cross-training" by doodling, painting, making things also helps, as does bingeing on other forms of art.
posted by rpfields at 8:21 AM on May 16, 2022
In general, I find it's good to be gentle with myself, and let myself wander and give in to curiosity. "Cross-training" by doodling, painting, making things also helps, as does bingeing on other forms of art.
posted by rpfields at 8:21 AM on May 16, 2022
Best answer: Wow. I am literally writing the book on this right now (well, editing, and hoping to publish it in the next month).
What you describe (lots of creativity earlier in pandemic, and now not so much) is what I went through: I wrote a story a week for 52 weeks with a writing partner, which was a fantastic escape, but then it seemed time to take a break. Only the break turned into a 'just not feeling it/no mojo' thing and everything just came to a halt. Granted, life took some Really Big Turns in the past six months, so it makes sense, but damn, when you want to write and it's just not happening--it's painful and annoying and scary.
So I scratched my own itch and researched what others had to say about recovering/rehabbing your creativity, and yes, "The Artist's Way" comes up a lot, and I like a lot of what Julia Cameron has to say (the journal pages, the weekly 'get out and do something different' artist date), but there was a foundational piece missing.
After more research (including neuroscience and how athletes recover/rehab), it came down to getting some purely physical/mental/emotional pieces in place (i.e. getting out of survival mode--Maslow's Hierarchy is worth a look-see), and then taking a self-care/kind-to-self approach to a regular daily-ish practice, which for me as a writer = a page of hand-written brain dumping (a less glamorous Morning Page), a page of practice writing (from a prompt), and only after doing those two things IF I felt like it, then playing with writing a new story. Low stakes, low pressure, and mostly just getting myself to 'show up' for writing (as opposed to doing more laundry, dusting, or anything that was on the surface productive but in truth procrastination).
If you want to write, set a timer for 10 minutes, grab a notebook and pen, and sit with it. If nothing comes, great. If something comes, great. Just show up.
If you want to write BUT you feel like the cat being taken to the vet (all 4 paws out in defiance), then give yourself the gift of taking time off.
If even reading isn't enjoyable for you at this point, then it's time to find something else to delight you. Go do something completely oddball for you (preferably something physical, doesn't/shouldn't be artistic).
Like rpfields said, let yourself wander and give in to your curiosity. Not curious about anything? Great -- indulge yourself with whatever sounds fun/comforting (I binged Regency romances for months on end, read through the entire Dresden Files series, and took up crochet, which I am horrible at but find strangely relaxing).
FWIW I started this rehab process back in November, and I'm finally starting to feel like, "Oh, hey, I might like to start writing some fiction again." It takes the time it takes. And I'm saying this as a very driven, self-disciplined, set-my-own-ambitious-deadlines person. Shifting gears to take better care of myself (without even talking about writing) has been challenging, but I think good for me.
Hang in there. You've got a lot going on, and it's okay to find ways to enjoy yourself that may be different from what they've been in the past. Try new things, and when your Muse starts saying to you, "You know, wouldn't it be fun to write a story about ~?", then maybe see about playing with writing.
posted by sazanka at 1:44 PM on May 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
What you describe (lots of creativity earlier in pandemic, and now not so much) is what I went through: I wrote a story a week for 52 weeks with a writing partner, which was a fantastic escape, but then it seemed time to take a break. Only the break turned into a 'just not feeling it/no mojo' thing and everything just came to a halt. Granted, life took some Really Big Turns in the past six months, so it makes sense, but damn, when you want to write and it's just not happening--it's painful and annoying and scary.
So I scratched my own itch and researched what others had to say about recovering/rehabbing your creativity, and yes, "The Artist's Way" comes up a lot, and I like a lot of what Julia Cameron has to say (the journal pages, the weekly 'get out and do something different' artist date), but there was a foundational piece missing.
After more research (including neuroscience and how athletes recover/rehab), it came down to getting some purely physical/mental/emotional pieces in place (i.e. getting out of survival mode--Maslow's Hierarchy is worth a look-see), and then taking a self-care/kind-to-self approach to a regular daily-ish practice, which for me as a writer = a page of hand-written brain dumping (a less glamorous Morning Page), a page of practice writing (from a prompt), and only after doing those two things IF I felt like it, then playing with writing a new story. Low stakes, low pressure, and mostly just getting myself to 'show up' for writing (as opposed to doing more laundry, dusting, or anything that was on the surface productive but in truth procrastination).
If you want to write, set a timer for 10 minutes, grab a notebook and pen, and sit with it. If nothing comes, great. If something comes, great. Just show up.
If you want to write BUT you feel like the cat being taken to the vet (all 4 paws out in defiance), then give yourself the gift of taking time off.
If even reading isn't enjoyable for you at this point, then it's time to find something else to delight you. Go do something completely oddball for you (preferably something physical, doesn't/shouldn't be artistic).
Like rpfields said, let yourself wander and give in to your curiosity. Not curious about anything? Great -- indulge yourself with whatever sounds fun/comforting (I binged Regency romances for months on end, read through the entire Dresden Files series, and took up crochet, which I am horrible at but find strangely relaxing).
FWIW I started this rehab process back in November, and I'm finally starting to feel like, "Oh, hey, I might like to start writing some fiction again." It takes the time it takes. And I'm saying this as a very driven, self-disciplined, set-my-own-ambitious-deadlines person. Shifting gears to take better care of myself (without even talking about writing) has been challenging, but I think good for me.
Hang in there. You've got a lot going on, and it's okay to find ways to enjoy yourself that may be different from what they've been in the past. Try new things, and when your Muse starts saying to you, "You know, wouldn't it be fun to write a story about ~?", then maybe see about playing with writing.
posted by sazanka at 1:44 PM on May 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
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