Scary!

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Mon, 2005-07-18 08:56

Scary!

I've done a really scary thing!

I've been writing on and off for most of my adult life (I'm now 32) - various stuff, including "humorous" sci-fi short stories. Up until now, I've been too lazy, lacking in self-confidence, whatever, to "do anything" with my writing, so I've got (or rather "had" - see later...) a big pile of unpublished - one might say "unloved" - writing gathering dust in a couple of files. I said to myself the other week, "you're 32; if you're going to make something of your writing, DO IT NOW!" - and upon this declaration, I took the somewhat radical decision to dispose of everything I had written so far, wipe the slate clean, start afresh, turn over a new leaf (and other such metaphores), and re-commence my writing "career" (apologies for all the quotation marks, by the way) in EARNEST!

I now have one little old writers journal, a couple of "how to write" books, a "Writer's Forum" magazine, a whole load of websites "to look at"... and a few niggling regrets at my radical decision creeping into my consciousness!

O WHAT HAVE I DONE?!

Have I made the right decision?

Will I ever come up with a good idea again?

I'm presently feeling distinctly Writers-Block-y and wishing I could refer back to my previous stuff for inspiration. But alas this is no longer possible! My username, above, is the name of one of my previous characters, such was (is?!) the attachment I had to the chap - maybe I can only truly experience Creative Rebirth when I have killed off this character once and for all?

I need inspiration.

I need confidence.

I need to feel like it will be worth all the pain, soul searching and suchlike.

HELP!!!

"Pepsoid" (for now)

[%sig%]

Mon, 2005-07-18 13:15

Foxy

Pepsoid, I think you are approaching this from the wrong direction; instead of feeling nervous and regretful over what you have done you should be celebrating it. You said you need confidence and inspiration; why not draw upon whatever it was that inspired you wipe the slate clean and write about that. It may not turn into anything usable but at least you will be writing and that should go some way to restoring your confidence. Joining this site is not going to help you become a better writer but you will receive advice if you ask for it and, despite today's evidence in the General Discussion forum, it is a good place to hang out with a lot of very interesting and, on the whole, good hearted people. There are always exceptions to the rule though but if you stay for long enough you will soon recognise who they are and ignore them like the rest of us do. I am still a relative newcomer to this site myself, but even in the short time I have been a member I have gained a lot from it.

Mon, 2005-07-18 14:22

pepsoid

Thanks, Foxy. I did feel positive & like it was "the right thing to do" at first... and for a while afterwards. But now I'm just feeling a bit creatively dry. I'm determined to give this writing thing a good go this time, though! I'll take your advice & try to "draw upon whatever it was that inspired you wipe the slate clean and write about that" - I think I generally need to do some soul-searching, writing about writing, that sort of thing... decide what type(s) of writing I want to do & get on with it. General Discussion does seem "fun" in places, but I'll definitely stick around & see how some more serious, "writerly" discussions go... I'm looking forward to getting the most I can out of ABCtales!

Tue, 2005-07-19 08:36

Pepsoid Reborn

Foxy, Well, I did what you said. On the bus on the way to work this morning, I filled two-and-a-half pages of my journal with thoughts about why I did what I did, how it made me feel at the time, how I feel about it now and how I can turn it into something positive... as it was always meant to be! About half of what I wrote was about my favourite character of the last few years, who is called... can you guess?... Pepsoid! I've felt most regretful about "destroying" the Pepsoid stories, but decided it's like re-designing an old computer game - those old 8-bit cartridges were fun at the time, but we have new technology, new skills and new expectations now and shouldn't cling to the past. I may, however, "re-invent" Pepsoid, rather than kill him off altogether... Thanks again for your advice! "P"

Tue, 2005-07-19 12:21

Foxy

I'm glad it worked for you Pepsoid, all you've got to do now, is just keep writing.

Tue, 2005-07-19 12:33

Pepsoid Reborn

...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing...and writing!!!!!

Mon, 2005-08-08 00:15

Tyler King

I think that you should be celebrating this, also. I have been a writer since I was in seventh grade (Im in the eighth) and I am glad that I write

Tyler King

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