Witheredaster - Sad And Gay, Keep Moving

i find myself lately frustrated with my writing; it feels like nothing i am producing is right....im not liking any of it, and its frustrating and sad because i used to really like it but dont know where stuff went wrong. im trying to take a break but its hard because trying to fill the times where im usually writing with something else makes me feel empty :/

I'm sorry you're going through all of this, anon. This feels like a lot to deal with.

In a situation like this, it can be helpful to look at each piece of the puzzle and see which one you're able to deal with right now and which ones you'll need to come back to later when you're up to it.

You're frustrated because it feels like nothing you're creating is right. The key here is figuring out what's wrong with it. Is it a story that you're not interested in anymore? Is there a plot point that you wrote out that you don't like anymore but it feels like a lot of work to go back and revise the story to take it out? Are characters feeling "off" in some way? Does it feel like it's missing something and you can't figure out what? Depending on your answers, the way to resolve this might be putting the story aside. But it might also be abandoning the story altogether or gutting it fairly significantly in order to keep the parts that you do like in order to get rid of the stuff that you don't.

You used to like it and you don't know where it went wrong. It might be that plot point issue I mentioned above, or it could be another factor. How are you feeling about the fandom in general? About your life external to fandom? Unhappiness in other areas of our lives can cause frustration in the places where we used to find happiness. Are you feeling sadness, frustration, and discontent about other things you used to enjoy? Do you have stresses in your life that might be affecting you? This one might require you to talk to someone about what's going on.

You're trying to take a break but it's hard. Fandom is a wonderful community full of joy and giving. But it's also a community where we can sometimes pressure ourselves too much. Sometimes taking a break can feel like you'll lose your audience - like they'll forget you when you're gone. Sometimes taking a break can make you feel guilty because all you can think about are the people who are waiting on the next story or the next chapter. When you're tired and frustrated and sad, you need to stop thinking about others and start focusing on yourself. There's no shame in needing a rest. Everyone does sometimes. And as for losing your audience, a lot of them will still be there when you return and the ones who left might be replaced by new people who will just be discovering your art.

You feel empty when you're not writing, so you can't think of another way to fill your time. What parts of writing fill you up? What about it gives you energy or inspiration or happiness? Is it the moments where you're imagining? The moments when you're crafting sentences? Is it the moments when you're talking to a friend about the next plot point or cackling over how people will react to your cliffhanger? Is it seeing kudos and comments come into your inbox? Seeing your fic get talked about on tumblr? Depending on what parts of writing satisfy a need inside of you, the way you fill that time will differ. If you need the creative outlet, doing something else creative like painting or baking or gardening etc. might help. If it's the parts surrounding friendships, then spending time doing things with people you care about might help. If it's about the attention you get from your fellow fans, look into some kind of performance outlet - either in person or via social media. Figure out what you need first and it'll be that much easier to get it.

You might only have to look at one of these items. You might need to consider them all. Either way, you can't really solve the problem until you figure out what it actually is.

It's been a long time since you sent this in, anon, and i'm so sorry for the delay. I hope you're in a better mental place now and that you're found your way to whatever your next joyful moment might be.

Scar auditioning for the royal guard is one of the best things ever I think

(click for better quality, you know how it goes)

he is my wife he is my babygirl he is my ideal gender presentation

started watching double life and I already have favorites

the only problem with scythes as a weapon is that you can't design one without some joyless realist deciding it's their duty to remind you how impractical they would actually be in combat. it's always "but a scythe would be useless in a real battle!!1!" and never How was the scythe the scythe looked fun it was fun.

Yess girl slaaayyyyyy wait no stop don’t actually girl what are you doing what are you doing stop stop stop oh my god god no no he’s dead no no no oh my god girl what have you done

hes my guy ever

I used to get a bit annoyed by people calling Bdubs an Etho simp/stan/fangirl. I thought "They've known each other for so long, it seems a bit disrespectful to relegate Bdubs to just being a fan of Etho and not a friend."

I'll fully admit I was dead wrong. The dude's a massive Etho fangirl. He gets excited every time Etho logs onto the server. He builds things to try and impress Etho. Whenever Etho utters his name he magically materializes. He's active on Slabtwitter. He likes Etho fanart. He livetweets about watching Etho's latest episodes. He makes jokes and references that only people who regularly watch Etho's content would know. I'm pretty sure he dreams about Etho at night, and possibly has an Etho shrine in his closet. If he revealed he ran a secret Etho fan account on the side, no one would be surprised.