The writing blahs....

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

Lately I have felt completely dissatisfied with all of my rps. It's not my partners, or their characters, but....I don't even know what it is. It's not writing itself, because I have been in the mood to write. The problem is, I just don't want to write for my rps.

No, that's not quite right either.....

As you can see, I have no freaking clue what the problem is. I like my rps and my partners, but there's something missing from it that's been taunting me.

I want to blame it in me being a control freak and getting antsy when things stray from how I hope they would go. I won't deny I am aggressive, especially if it's one of my plots. I think what bothering me is I don't feel anything at all when I am writing. I can't quite get emotionally wrapped up in the stories the way I used to. I know to some people that sounds stupid, but I have had rps that have made me cry or feel giddy when something happens, and now I feel like an emotional desert when I am writing.

It's to the point where I feel like scrapping everything and starting over from scratch.

Anyone ever get like this? And if so, how the hell do you get over it?

 

[Lea]

I tend to get like that but I usually get over it since I have an overly creative mindset. What I will recommend though is that you get in touch with your characters on a very intimate level. Also try not to think of your creations as mere imaginations but as actual living things that breathe and talk the same way you do. Once you truly accept them as entirely separate entities from yourself, then they will lay down the blueprints for you to turn into posts.

Roleplaying is all about being in complete sync with the character you portray. Heath Ledger did it with the Joker(Got too into character there) so now you must do it with your character. Hopefully my suggestions were helpful but if not, then I'm sure that a few others will come to resolve the problem that I could not. With that out of the way, I bid you farewell cause I have shiz to do!!

 

[Kestrel]

Anyone ever get like this? And if so, how the hell do you get over it?

Yes. Time.

Oldest answer in the book, but sometimes you gotta give yourself a breather. Forcing it won't help you.

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

I've done the break thing. It worked, sort of. I got back into the urge to write, but my rps still felt like they were missing something. I think it's mostly me being disconnected to everything outside the stress going on in my life. That and a major hiccup in my mental state thanks to my medication.

I o miss my attachments to my characters though. I use to adore them all, and didn't struggle to think like them whenever it came time to reply. Now I stare at my screen and wonder if it's just me. Before they had their own little voices in my head, and it was easy to predict how they would react to certain situations I thought up for them. Now that's about as difficult as waking up in the morning is. (I hate mornings, especially in the winter!)

I've tried reading the books/stories and watching the movies that helped me get inspiration before, but they don't have the same effect. I'm hoping that once things in my real life settle down and rping becomes less of an escape and more of a leisure activity I might be able to reconnect with my stories. Until then, I'm not sure what else to do. I've lowered my responses, and I've started steering away from my comfort zones hoping that a change might pick me up. No luck so far, but I'm hopeful!

 

[Kagayours]

How long was your break? I'm not sure you took long enough to recharge.

I get what you're saying -- I've totally been there. It happens with pretty much all my RP's from time to time. All I can really do is ignore it and not think about it for a while. I think the "not think about it" part is the keyword. If you're technically not roleplaying but you're still trying so hard to get your inspiration back, you might be burning yourself out just the same.

Usually what I do is just allocate my efforts elsewhere. Work on some other project. Finish a book that you've been putting off for a while. Work on a different RP (if you're only feeling uninspired for some but not all of them). Catch up on that show you're behind on. Play a video game that you haven't played recently. Just... do something you haven't had time to do in a while. That's what I usually do.

Then, when I do go back to my RP(s), I feel a lot more pumped and inspired because I'm not so burned out anymore. That's usually enough to go on some plotting spree and get myself really into it again.

Alternatively, have you tried talking to your partners about it? I'm not saying you're incompatible -- I'm just suggesting you do a plotting session with them to really get the ideas going. As a GM, this is one of the first things I suggest when a player tells me that they have writer's block. Just tossing ideas around can help you think of something new, and really roll with it.

I think newness is the thing that makes all the difference, here. Too much of the same thing just gets stale (I think that might be why your old methods don't seem to be working anymore, as well). You have to give your brain something new to do -- whether that means talking to a partner to think of something or just letting yourself relax and do something different for a few days, switching things up is essential. And, yeah, I would definitely emphasize doing something that isn't normally part of your routine -- even if it's something simple such as, like I said, playing a video game that you haven't touched in a while (or one that's completely new to you), or marathoning a bunch of movies that you've been meaning to see. Whatever the case, just find something new to get wrapped up in. It'll relieve that antsy feeling of not having anything to excite you, and I think it's a really good way to refresh your mind and get you back into RPing again.

Also... you mentioned something about medication, and, well, I'm certainly no stranger to how much starting/stopping taking medication can really alter your RPing (for better or for worse). I don't know enough about your situation to give any solid advice here, but... yeah. I would start with the advice I already gave, and, if that doesn't work (or if you already know that this won't work because of whatever mental "hiccups" you're currently dealing with), then, well... maybe it's worth talking to your doctor about? Especially if this seems to be hurting your creativity across the board. Maybe it's not something that you need to take every day, and you could therefore take a break from it every so often to relieve these kinds of problems? Again, I don't know enough about your situation to say if this is a good idea or not (in fact, depending on what exactly you're taking and what for, it could be a horrible idea!), but uh, just a thought. Might be worth bringing up with someone who is far more qualified to discuss such a topic. At any rate, good luck to you in that regard -- there's really not a ton I can do, but uh... here's hoping things improve for you.