I need some Advice, dear indieweb...

[soliloquy]

Thing I need advice on: How to get back into writing / overcome The Terror TM

Hello 

So, I've been writing my entire life. literally. I used to write mini picture books when I was around 6 years old, and more in depth full stories were written and worked on starting around age 14. In 2018 ish, I did the infamous November Writing Challenge, and outlined + busted out a whole 50k word novel. It was... hmm. I don't want to trash talk myself, but it definitely was a first novel. -- I haven't written, truly, since then. Life has thrown a seemingly endless amount of curveballs my way, and my mental health hasn't made it any easier, either.

So now, it's 2026. I want to write. I need to write. I want to write lore, and worldbuild, and do solo journaling rpgs, and and and -- all of it. But currently, I'm lucky if I can muster up the courage and determination to write a very short poem. Sometimes I can trick my brain into thinking I'm just writing a post, when I'm actually writing an original piece of prose. Sometimes.

I don't know if it's fear of failure, fear of lacking, but I know it's fear of some kind; Combined with AuDHD so unbearably bad that even treated it's... a struggle to stick with stuff. It feels impossible to write. It feels impossible. I'm an artist by default, I draw constantly and love to paint when I have the spoons to do so... But writing is just. Not happening.

Some additional important info: I've tried prompts, I've tried imagery and playlists and I've tried building a habit.

I guess my question is this: Does anyone relate, and if so, does anyone have any (as unconventional as possible) advice for me? Because there is a void that writing would fill in my wellbeing but I just cannot seem to DO that writing.

Conversation/commiserating is welcome as well :P

thanks all,

--ink&

[KrazyKoen]

I'm not much of a writer but I think I've been in your situation before. If it's fear of some kind I think I would try writing something as a joke. I'm sure I'm not the only person with this advice, but making something totally ridiculous and completely unserious always helps me. My first and currently only finished video game was dedicated to making fun of how short my sister is. I think making it a complete joke helped me not care so much about the quality, just about finishing it. I hope this is helpful or you find some other advice that helps.

[RNotteLovesOwls]

here’s a simple method i can think of to getting your creative spark back, be it writing or the visual arts:

take a piece of paper, and just write or draw exactly what you’re feeling at that very moment. be as imperfect and messy as you want. don’t follow prompts, just make something. try to do this at least twice a week

i know how it feels. you want to make something, but the same thoughts run through your head: “will anyone actually see this?” “is this marketable enough?” “this isn’t good at all” “i wish i could just ask chatgpt to do it all for me...” (NOTE: you’re probably not thinking that last one. eugh...  )

we as artists often forget to make stuff that’s just for us, not for anyone else. we have to make a habit of doing that more

[IceBear]

As an AuDHD writer, I know the feeling you mean -- I had a 2 year hiatus of writing where, at the end of it, I so desperately wanted to write but I couldn't figure out how. So, I've been in your situation and this is kind of a hodgepodge of what helped me.

The hardest part of writing is finding inspiration to write. You can want to write a story, but if you have no intrinsic desire to see the story that is written, it's never going to come out of your fingers.

What I've found is to, before looking at worlds and big overarching stories, come up with a name. A name that's important for your story. Don't worry about the why or how it's important, just come up with a name. Give them a normal, everyday job and a normal, everyday background BUT >> change one thing. Make one thing inconsistent with our world. Then explain that difference. Explain who/what/where/when/why/how it is different. Then expand on that.

----> But what if I can't find inspiration?
Don't write. Seriously. If you don't have the inspiration as a hobby writer, don't force it. That's how you burn out.

----> But what if all my inspiration is in a world someone else created?
Write. Write it in that world. Inspiration can come from anywhere in your life. Change small things at a time until the writing is no longer in that world. Now it's your world. Congrats!

----> What if I find it really hard to digest this much instruction at once? Where do I even start?
1) Look for inspiration.
1.a) Look in things you enjoy.
1.b) Look in things that interest you.
1.c) Look at bugs outside.
1.d) Look at what makes the internet a wonderful place for you.
1.e) Look at a wall until you hallucinate
1.f) Make sounds until they sound like something almost comprehensible.
2) Write a name.
2.a) Write a person's name.
2.b) Write a place's name.
2.c) Write a brand's name.
3) Assign traits to the name.
3.a) If you can't come up with anything relevant, come up with something stupid.
3.a.1) Even something like they don't like cucumber. One of my characters has "Strengths:... Cats" and "Weaknesses:... Cats".
3.b) It only has to make sense to you.
4) Repeat 1-3 as many times as you find inspiration to do.
5) Connect the things.
5.a) See 3.b.
6) Congratulations, you just wrote multiple major plotpoints and characters. If you don't like them, DELETE THEM. There is nothing wrong with starting over.

And if you can't get past step 1, the best thing you can do is find someone ELSE who has inspiration. Use something else. Start the story with someone. Branch off on your own when you're ready -- or just keep working with them, your choice.

I hope this helps. If you need to, feel free to message me and I am more than happy to help you out and/or write with you! I'm always in need of new projects.

[haumeaGeth]

I'm currently going to college for creative writing and am already making the push to enter the professional scene. I also have AuDHD, a learning disability, and am chronically ill. I feel like the piece of advice I have isn't one that's very common, and that is to just stop trying. At least for the time being.

I find that the harder I try to force myself to do something, it quickly goes from being tedious to genuinely, physically painful.

I do agree with some of the other advice in this thread, that side-stepping is a good option too. Drop whatever project you're stuck on and try something fresh. If I'm sick of looking at the stupid sci-fi short story I'm writing to submit to a magazine, I'll go write some cheesy romance one-shots or do some haikus about being lost in a corporate office while trying to find a bathroom.

But you're right, sometimes even that's just too much. So stop.

Writing is an art. It's an expression of one's feelings and passions. Even if you're doing it for money, if it feels like a genuine chore just to describe a forest or a living room, the end result will probably be crap anyway, and it will make you feel like crap. At least for me, if I can get myself to just let it go and step away, then suddenly I wake up not too long later and find that it doesn't hurt anymore, simply because it doesn't feel like something I have to do.

While you're taking a break, that could be a good time to work on your mental health. If you feel like something specific is getting in your way, then try doing some research on coping techniques. But honestly, you don't always need a reason to struggle. Sometimes being creative in a certain way is just hard, especially with AuDHD. I'd love to learn ukulele, but it hurts just to pick the thing up right now. I'm not worried about it sounding bad, I couldn't care less. It just is hard. Someday, maybe it won't be anymore. But it's supposed to be for my pleasure, so forcing it and making it feel sucky doesn't really make sense anyway. You're allowed to just feel stuff.

If you genuinely love writing, it will come back to you. Writers are cursed, we can't just not write. If there are words in your soul that need to come out, they're going to come out whether you like it or not. You just have to give yourself grace and find the way that works for you.

[Indigo]

For me, It's more of a "You never know what will happen unless you try." I have experienced writer's block myself and have been wanting to get back into it as well.

My advice is to write what's on your mind. Let the words flow out. Then you can always go back and make edits and revise it as much as you want. Your first draft isn't always the final outcome.

If not creative writing, write in journals about your day and stuff you are passionate about like movie/book logs until you are comfortable with the writing process again.

And my classic advice is read books that interests you and take your time absorbing the information presented to you. That always influences me when doing some writing as well.

Remember to enjoy the process, instead of rushing to the finish line.

[soliloquy]

I think making it a complete joke helped me not care so much about the quality, just about finishing it. I hope this is helpful or you find some other advice that helps.

This is genuinely really helpful advice -- It feels... possible, which is more than I can say about the prospect of writing than I've been able to for a while. Thank you. And see what's funny, is I can immediately take it on as a genuine project so it still has... meaning. The meaning being, as ridiculous and silly as possible, while still being something I enjoy.

Thank you so much <3

[soliloquy]

here’s a simple method i can think of to getting your creative spark back, be it writing or the visual arts:

take a piece of paper, and just write or draw exactly what you’re feeling at that very moment. be as imperfect and messy as you want. don’t follow prompts, just make something. try to do this at least twice a week

i know how it feels. you want to make something, but the same thoughts run through your head: “will anyone actually see this?” “is this marketable enough?” “this isn’t good at all” “i wish i could just ask chatgpt to do it all for me...” (NOTE: you’re probably not thinking that last one. eugh...  )

we as artists often forget to make stuff that’s just for us, not for anyone else. we have to make a habit of doing that more

Thank you <3 You're completely right about forgetting to make stuff just for us, not for others. And I absolutely think I can frame exactly how I'm feeling at any given moment, and translate that into a scene or an art piece. This is very helpful, thank you again <3

[fablefound]

howdy! semi-professional writer and semi-professional autistic person here.

i'm gonna second @KrazyKoen and @RNotteLovesOwls here with that sometimes, just freewriting or taking it as unseriously as possible is the move. a lot of people i know SWEAR by the "morning pages" practice, where you handwrite three pages of stream of conciousness words, just whatever comes to your head, every morning. (i have hypermobile joints so my hands would fall off if i did this, but oh well  )

i'm lumping both of these together because i find they're solutions to the most common cause of paralysis that i see among writers, no matter whether they're hobbyists or professionals: they are terrified of writing something imperfect, or worse, bad, or even worse than that, just plain boring.

two trade secrets for ya:
first of all, practically no first draft is perfect. i once had someone tell me, "writing is rewriting," and as someone who has braved the trenches of editing and revision, i have come to understand it very well.
(my sillier version of this saying is, "we can't all be stephen king writing cujo on a coke bender," because... well, exactly that! we CAN'T all be stephen king back in the 80s writing a book in a weekend, and that's a good thing.)
second of all, and this is particularly true when you're trying to fall back in love with writing or really any craft, your audience is YOU. it's a chance to play, to do the textual equivalent of doodling. to fiddle with dialogue in a character's voice, to describe things, to play with rhythm and rhyme without fear. just getting those words on the page is such an important starting point.

i'm about to hop away from my desk for the night, but i also have a lot of notes from occupational therapy about task initiation and emotion/energy regulation. if that'd be of interest to anybody, say the word. :}

[soliloquy]

As an AuDHD writer, I know the feeling you mean -- I had a 2 year hiatus of writing where, at the end of it, I so desperately wanted to write but I couldn't figure out how. So, I've been in your situation and this is kind of a hodgepodge of what helped me.

The hardest part of writing is finding inspiration to write. You can want to write a story, but if you have no intrinsic desire to see the story that is written, it's never going to come out of your fingers.

Woah... thank you <3 I really appreciate the time and thought you put into your reply, and it is indeed very helpful to read and think about, all of it is. Especially... "it only has to make sense to you" -- that is something that I am decent at in pretty much every other aspect of my life (drawing, webcrafting, my special interests, myself, etc) -- But writing is like. I tend to get so caught up in the idea of someone else reading it and it being crap or nonsense, and just... I can just not worry about that!

I will absolutely shoot ya a message, I think I could use a writing buddy and/or a buddy to remind me of the steps you've written <3 Thank you for offering, and thank you for your reply <3

[soliloquy]

If you genuinely love writing, it will come back to you. Writers are cursed, we can't just not write. If there are words in your soul that need to come out, they're going to come out whether you like it or not. You just have to give yourself grace and find the way that works for you.

Thank you <3 Your advice comes at an odd time in my life, where I feel like I've been stepped away and just allowing myself to Not Write for years now... and I'm finally far enough in my mental health + addiction recovery journey to even have the mental capacity to think about writing at all. But I completely relate to the forcing things = genuine physical pain, I experience that so much and, I suppose there's enough painful "have-to"'s in life that I don't need to make writing into another one.

Your words give me hope, because you're right -- I can't not write. It'll come...

Thank you for your reply <3

[soliloquy]

second of all, and this is particularly true when you're trying to fall back in love with writing or really any craft, your audience is YOU. it's a chance to play, to do the textual equivalent of doodling. to fiddle with dialogue in a character's voice, to describe things, to play with rhythm and rhyme without fear. just getting those words on the page is such an important starting point.

This hit hard -- Reframing how I think about writing to be similar to how I think about doodling and art... that's really, really helpful. Writing as play and experimenting for joy, not to hammer out something Acceptable To (gestures vaguely)TM -- Thank you. <3 And I would absolutely love to hear about what you gained/learned from occupational therapy irt tasks and regulation; that's something I struggle with in many areas of my life and any advice around that area is very appreciated.

Thank you <3

[soliloquy]

For me, It's more of a "You never know what will happen unless you try." I have experienced writer's block myself and have been wanting to get back into it as well.

Thank you <3 Yeah you're absolutely right -- the only way I'll never write again is to never try; and the only way I'll write again is to just try and see what happens. I do want to get back into journaling, it used to be a constant practice on my part -- I do think that will help.

Thank you <3

[grubbyfox]

I've been writing since I was a teen as well, and lemme tell you... who cares xD I mean that in the most positive way. Like, is your goal to write "perfect" and in a way that any potential reader cannot critique it at all? Because that is impossible. It doesn't matter how perfect anything is, someone will dislike it or have critique.

My only target audience has ever been myself and no one else. I dont give a hoot if some random goober doesn't like my writing.
I used to post some of it online just for the fun of it and I think there's that slight inherent want to show something you create, if only just to say "I made a thing" (to use tumblr speak lol but it's true).

Dont set yourself up to "become a world famous writer" or that the entire world is your audience. In fact, I'd say - make an agreement with yourself that so and so writing project is for your eyes only. Dont show anyone, dont talk about it to anyone you know, dont post it online to let anyone read/comment. Just write it in private, on your PC (or books etc). It's very very freeing. Let yourself indulge in whatever you wish for in those works.

You could of course have some other projects you'd like to post online or whatever, if you want to. But try to keep a few projects private and shed yourself of this worry. There is no failure or lacking in something that is entirely yours, imo.

I hope any of that made any sense. Dont waste your life not doing something and then end up wondering where all the years that you could have written went. I totally get the feeling of failure and all that. I dont like criticism of my own works because they are so personal for me. So I dont really post those. But I wont stop other's awful taste in writing stop me from writing, teehee.

[fablefound]

I would absolutely love to hear about what you gained/learned from occupational therapy irt tasks and regulation; that's something I struggle with in many areas of my life and any advice around that area is very appreciated.

Thank you <3

OKAY YAY HI, i'm just wrapping up my work for the day and have plenty to share >:}
first of all, i want to acknowledge that executive dysfunction is a beast for neurodivergent folks. like, on the neuroanatomy level. my therapist never lets me forget that, so i figure it's important.

that said, there are ways to work around that kind of thing. i find that what works for me can be collectively described as removing friction, and it takes a few main forms:
* preparing in advance: i keep an agenda, outline my goals and next steps for creative projects, and when possible, set things up in advance so i don't get bogged down by it in the moment and lose steam. even just things like picking out my clothes for an outing the night before or setting up my mini recording studio a couple hours before i plan to use it come in handy.
* easing transitions: when i write, i like to set the mood. usually by putting on music and equipping my compression gloves, and putting my phone literally anywhere but within arm's reach. when i journal, which i do weekly before bed, i'm even more intentional: my phone is automated to go into an "after hours" mode which locks timewastey, doomscrolly apps from access and turns my phone greyscale.
* naming and narration: more or less what it sounds like! i have friends who talk themselves through their days to hype themselves up. my partner and i literally announce we're doing "work time" when we're locking in on our personal projects. i guess it helps with transitions and task initiation??

idk if these're useful but they've worked a lot for me over the years![/font]