mistressofmuses (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mistressofmuses) wrote2025-07-02 10:27 pm
mistressofmuses) wrote2025-07-02 10:27 pm
Entry tags:
Writing Goals/Calendar: July 2025
I could probably make this a faster post by just copying and pasting last month's, ha.
It's now been half of a year of "not really writing much." It definitely feels really discouraging at this point, and frustrating, because just a few years ago I managed to write quite a lot... and just haven't been able to recapture either the interest/inspiration or the success at just pushing through and getting words on page.
June was a rough month, emotionally, and that didn't lend itself to a lot of desire to write.
My goals for June were:
- finish one more chapter of the iddy WIP (in order to decide whether I wanted to continue with it, or stick it on the back burner)
- outline the second iddy story, which had been the one I was most often thinking about and feeling inspired by
- continue the snowflake outline for the "Worldhopping Fairytale Monstrosity" fic
- think about the silly holiday AU fic, in the hopes of being able to actually have it completed by the holidays if I were to get going on it now
How did that go?
- I did not finish another chapter of the WIP, but I did get a couple thousand words written on it.
- I didn't outline the other story... and it's stopped being the thing my thoughts keep drifting to, so I'm afraid I lost my shot and harnessing the wave of inspiration. (Nothing has replaced it in my thoughts. Even when I'm trying, I can't really seem to focus on anything.)
- I did not work on the outline for the WFM fic.
- I didn't think about the silly holiday fic even once.
For the most part, I think I'll just shuffle most of the same goals forward into July.
Goals for July:
- Finish up the rest of this chapter of the iddy WIP. I want to reach the end of the chapter just to have a reasonable break point, but I think I will shelve the idea for a while after that. I haven't completely lost interest, but feel like I'm slogging through mud every time I try to work on it.
- I might still try to outline the other story, if only because I don't want to forget the ideas that I did have for it. (More than I possibly already have!) Unfortunately, it's no longer the "yay" feeling of excitement for the project, so it might also be immediately shelved.
- I do want to at least try to get a bit more of the WFM outline done. I have one more character to do "part 3" for, and it's stupid that I have spent months being stalled out on it.
- Holiday fic is getting punted forward... I don't think I could capture the lighthearted tone I want to for it right now.
Goals for August and beyond:
- Seriously, just find SOMETHING that I care about writing.
- Make some progress on the WFM outline.
- ???
Rereading this, it feels a lot more pessimistic than I was intending for it to be! I tend to try to keep stuff pretty positive, even when I'm not succeeding at getting the things I hoped for done. Unfortunately, part of the issue is just that I don't even especially want to be doing any of these things right now.
I'm used to feeling like I have things I want to be doing, but am failing to find the time and/or energy to pursue them. This time, I feel like I'm lacking the time, energy, and inspiration. (I'm coming up on a string of days off, and while we have plans for a lot of that time, to be honest, I don't even have the hypothetical desire to like, set a day of the time aside to write.)
So... is there a reason for me to push forward on any of this at all right now? Would it be better to just kind of let it all lay fallow for a bit? Maybe just focusing on media intake for a while would be a good idea. More reading, maybe even like... playing a video game for a while, which is something I haven't done at all this year, I don't think (minus the FFXIV playthrough with Taylor.) To be fair, I haven't been doing much writing at all, so it's not like this will free up vast quantities of time to put toward other things, but maybe if I'm not feeling bad about failing to write, I'll feel better about doing other things?
In light of that... Maybe I will still try to get the current WIP chapter done, just so I can put it away at a decent stopping point, and maybe finish out the third part of the snowflake outline, because that's really such a tiny commitment. After that I think I'll pause things until I feel a little more interested in something. (Or can at least see if a full, on-purpose break brings back that interest in any way!)
It's now been half of a year of "not really writing much." It definitely feels really discouraging at this point, and frustrating, because just a few years ago I managed to write quite a lot... and just haven't been able to recapture either the interest/inspiration or the success at just pushing through and getting words on page.
June was a rough month, emotionally, and that didn't lend itself to a lot of desire to write.
My goals for June were:
- finish one more chapter of the iddy WIP (in order to decide whether I wanted to continue with it, or stick it on the back burner)
- outline the second iddy story, which had been the one I was most often thinking about and feeling inspired by
- continue the snowflake outline for the "Worldhopping Fairytale Monstrosity" fic
- think about the silly holiday AU fic, in the hopes of being able to actually have it completed by the holidays if I were to get going on it now
How did that go?
- I did not finish another chapter of the WIP, but I did get a couple thousand words written on it.
- I didn't outline the other story... and it's stopped being the thing my thoughts keep drifting to, so I'm afraid I lost my shot and harnessing the wave of inspiration. (Nothing has replaced it in my thoughts. Even when I'm trying, I can't really seem to focus on anything.)
- I did not work on the outline for the WFM fic.
- I didn't think about the silly holiday fic even once.
For the most part, I think I'll just shuffle most of the same goals forward into July.
Goals for July:
- Finish up the rest of this chapter of the iddy WIP. I want to reach the end of the chapter just to have a reasonable break point, but I think I will shelve the idea for a while after that. I haven't completely lost interest, but feel like I'm slogging through mud every time I try to work on it.
- I might still try to outline the other story, if only because I don't want to forget the ideas that I did have for it. (More than I possibly already have!) Unfortunately, it's no longer the "yay" feeling of excitement for the project, so it might also be immediately shelved.
- I do want to at least try to get a bit more of the WFM outline done. I have one more character to do "part 3" for, and it's stupid that I have spent months being stalled out on it.
- Holiday fic is getting punted forward... I don't think I could capture the lighthearted tone I want to for it right now.
Goals for August and beyond:
- Seriously, just find SOMETHING that I care about writing.
- Make some progress on the WFM outline.
- ???
Rereading this, it feels a lot more pessimistic than I was intending for it to be! I tend to try to keep stuff pretty positive, even when I'm not succeeding at getting the things I hoped for done. Unfortunately, part of the issue is just that I don't even especially want to be doing any of these things right now.
I'm used to feeling like I have things I want to be doing, but am failing to find the time and/or energy to pursue them. This time, I feel like I'm lacking the time, energy, and inspiration. (I'm coming up on a string of days off, and while we have plans for a lot of that time, to be honest, I don't even have the hypothetical desire to like, set a day of the time aside to write.)
So... is there a reason for me to push forward on any of this at all right now? Would it be better to just kind of let it all lay fallow for a bit? Maybe just focusing on media intake for a while would be a good idea. More reading, maybe even like... playing a video game for a while, which is something I haven't done at all this year, I don't think (minus the FFXIV playthrough with Taylor.) To be fair, I haven't been doing much writing at all, so it's not like this will free up vast quantities of time to put toward other things, but maybe if I'm not feeling bad about failing to write, I'll feel better about doing other things?
In light of that... Maybe I will still try to get the current WIP chapter done, just so I can put it away at a decent stopping point, and maybe finish out the third part of the snowflake outline, because that's really such a tiny commitment. After that I think I'll pause things until I feel a little more interested in something. (Or can at least see if a full, on-purpose break brings back that interest in any way!)
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June was really hard!! <3
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I tried taking a complete break from things earlier this year, and it didn't seem to really make much of a difference, but I still think I'm going to try doing it again. There's part of me that's afraid that I'll just *never* want to write again, and that taking a break is giving up... but I've got enough that I can do, that trying to force something I'm not even enjoying just doesn't seem worth it.
June was a tough month, and it seemed like it was rough for a lot of people!
I hope to eventually get my equilibrium back a bit.
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I took a long break from writing just so the frustration of not getting stuff done wasn't building up too much.
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And yeah, maybe really just focus on those little goals that let me knock something out, but don't require too much.
I feel like I tried to take a bit of a break earlier this year and it didn't seem to make much of a difference... but trying to push through on something I'm not enjoying isn't making a difference either!
Taking a break and mitigating the frustration of not getting things done is a smart idea... I think that might be some of my issue right now, and just taking some time to do a refresh/reset might help.
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Sometimes having stuff done is satisfying. And like, if you work on a project too long, you are grinding only one writing skill. Getting something done and out can be like a full body work out or something.
Finding what refreshes you can help a lot.
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Yeah, I think that a lot of the stuff I've gotten into and then stalled out on is more like... just spinning my wheels a bit. I need to actually get some stuff for realsies completed. Working out some different parts of my brain and process.
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In all seriousness though, to echo the sentiments in comments above, maybe this is a sign to back off and rest? I wholly acknowledge that writing and the creative process it entails is not something I'm remotely qualified to comment on. But, I wonder if taking a deliberate break and allowing time for things to work subconsciously in the background while also consuming new media and potentially finding new inspiration like you said might be helpful? I'd also add that with everything from June, self care, getting good quality sleep, and recuperating are enormously important right now too.
Finding the balance between knowing when to brute force motivation versus productively backing off is an art I think I could spend lifetimes perfecting and still not fully master though. I feel you. :/
Edit: Words are hard haha.
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I think that backing off and just sort of taking a break is probably the best thing to do right now. Kind of a mental refresh/reset. I have enough stuff to spend my time on, trying to keep pushing through on something I'm not even enjoying just feels silly, y'know?
But uuuuugh, too damn true. I can never quite seem to figure out whether "just push through" or "time to take a break" is the right choice! The feeling of being stuck or burned out feels so similar, and I never know which one is the right solution!
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I hope we can both figure out a plan for moving forward on things!