Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Time?

When do you know that it's time to *stop* writing? Is there something that happens that gives you that message, so to speak? A signal? Or is it just a sense you get that it's time to give it up?

c

I don't think there is ever a 'time' that happens and you feel you should stop writing. Generally I feel what happens is that RL and other pursuits get in the way more. Gradually you find yourself unable to 'make' time to write, or you just never 'feel' like writing.

The other factor that can come to play is the motivation for writing has changed. In other words, that which you got out of writing is no longer there. The satisfaction and fullfillment isn't what it used to be.

I doubt if someone who has gotten pleasure out of writing in the past is ever 'done'. Merely, a writer runs into times when writing isn't a priority passion. One goes on a hiatus.

Tank (who thinks CC should put such silly thoughts out of her head)

Well, as I've mentioned briefly over on another thread, at the moment I really have zero interest in writing and it's not the first time my Muse has gone on a lengthy round-the-world cruise for a few years, either.

Both times, some years later, I woke up one morning raring to go again.

And I've had a passion for writing since I was eight years old and mostly have been writing ever since - bar those two breaks.

It isn't unusual when it comes to fanfic, for authors to eventually get bored of writing for the same fandom, with the same characters. Sometimes you move on. You develop interests in other shows or you want to explore professional novel writing...so there may come a time, certainly, when you want to stop writing LNC fanfic as other types of writing begin to interest you more.

That's certainly happened to me in the past. I have several Young Riders fanfic lying fallow somewhere on a floppy disk which will never be finished because halfway through them and way after YR was cancelled, I fell in love with LNC and the Muse started happily spinning tales in my head about Lois and Clark which I just had to get down on paper.

Generally speaking though, I think the point at when you give up is when it's not enjoyable any more. When it becomes a chore, then why bother?

That's all the clues you need, I think.


LabRat

Ditto Tank and LabRat.

Real Life gets in the way. Motivations change. Ideas seem to disappear. More work than pleasure.

For me, the words just don't flow for some reason anymore. I've got a few ideas, but they don't seem to flesh themselves out like they used to. Plus, I feel like I have no time for myself anymore. Between, family, school, church, job, etc... I barely find time to sleep!

We should really do something about this RL guy you people keep mentioning.

Carol, you know I've loved your stories. I'd so love to read another one... but if there is no pleasure in writing for you, then you just can't do it.

I just hope that you'll hang around these boards, at any rate. I love your posts, especially the one you wrote as a response to a poll I posted a while ago, about how you look at the importance of Lois to Clark.

I've so appreciated you as a story-teller and as a voice on these boards, so I very much hope you aren't leaving altogether.

Ann

Carol, you worded that so oddly. That's the kind of question I would expect from someone who was pursuing a professional career as a writer and had suffered years of rejections and was wondering when to say enough is enough.

From a fanfic writer who, I would assume, is writing for recreation, the question just seems odd to me. Don't you only write when you feel like it? Isn't writing just a pleasure and a way of expressing yourself? When writing is a chore instead of a pleasure, when you don't feel like it or don't have time for it, you let it go, the same way you would let skiing or knitting go.

OTOH, I want to be a published fiction writer. That's been my dream since I was 7, and I've never gone more than a few months without writing some kind of fiction. I don't know if I could give up writing; in fact, some of my private nightmares are centered around that very thing. Perhaps someday I'll quit pursuing publication and decide to just write for my own pleasure, but that's the only kind of giving it up that I can imagine.

Hiatus is a good word. I don't feel like I ever stop writing; I just find that inspiration and ideas bounce around to different areas. I usually write more even if it's not to produce a finished story, but right now I'm more focused on painting and design. Officially, I'll never say I'm finished writing; an idea could pop in my head at any time, and my focus could shift again.

JD

Well, Carol, I have stopped writing because it had become a nagging chore. I've been trying to complete The Circle Game trilogy for three years and it just wasn't happening, so I decided to stop. The freedom I feel because I'm not pushing myself to write something I don't want to write, at this point in time, is absolutely terrific. And as time has passed, I find myself thinking about the story and approaches I might change or add, but I don't feel that I have to write. I'm doing other things, and enjoying them immensely. Since I'm not a person to leave something unfinished, I'm sure I'll get back to it one day, but for right now, I'm just taking it easy.

BTW, this says to me that I'm not a real writer, because I think a real writer has to write, can't not write, and is compelled to write.Real writers may have talent, or they may not. Sheilah and Nan are real writers who have talent also, as are a few others on this board. You know I think you have talent, Carol. Maybe you just want to write something besides L&C fanfic.

Jude

I think it really depends on your reasons for writing. I write fiction because I like making words turn into stories. I'm actually a lot better at original writing than I am at fanfiction, but the basic reason is the same: I enjoy it.

As my main reason for writing is for myself, I stop when I'm either not having fun or RL issues get in the way. Sometimes writing helps me deal with stress--but if it's creating stress, it needs to end.

That being said, original fiction, with intent to publish, is different and something you may have to FORCE yourself to write some days. Fanfiction, in my life, isn't. If I don't have time, I don't have time. If I don't feel any words or ideas coming, I don't. It's not like a research paper with a deadline that means you have to write whether you want to or not. It's purely voluntary. And sometimes you get someone who reads it and likes it. That's always a plus.

As to how you know it's "time"--I think it all depends on the person. Obviously many people have hit a point in LNC where they have no more ideas, desire, time, what have you. They know it's over for the time being, and I respect them for it. Doesn't mean I won't wish they were still writing though!

Could we close this thread, now, please.

Thanks

c

We don't close threads, Carol. Unless there's a specific problem with them breaking the rules of the mbs. So I guess this one will keep running until everyone who wants to say something on the subject has had their say and then it will die a natural death.

LabRat

Why in the world would you want to close the thread, Carol? I think it's a very interesting one! Maybe I've enjoyed reading it so much because I, too, have been struggling with finding the time to writing these days, mainly due to an insanely busy real life schedule. I think the responses people made were very interesting -- many of them paralleling my own thoughts on the subject -- and I'm glad the topic was opened for discussion.

(And from the responses, it sounds like there are many of us in the same boat ... it's kind of nice to know I'm not the only one out there who needs more hours in the day to accomplish everything she wants to.)

In short, I'll echo those who say "if it's no longer fun and enjoyable and giving you pleasure, it's time to stop doing it." It's not like this is a job, and when we start thinking of it as a chore, then I don't see a point to it. To me, writing fanfic has always been a fun hobby, and when unfinished stories start to feel like a guilty weight on my shoulders, I need to give myself permission to just stop for awhile. That's where I'm at right now, in fact. I expect to start writing again (I always have before after taking a break), but other things have priority right now. And that's just the way it has to be.

Kathy

Oh, I agree with Kathy. This is fascinating. Why ever would you want to close this thread? I think about this often myself, when my doubts about becoming a successful writer rear their ugly little heads.

I'd echo what the others have said about writing fanfic. If you are not writing in an attempt to make a career of it, then writing is a hobby (and I say this broadly, knowing that many people write hoping it becomes a profession or money maker and certainly don't consider it a hobby in any way, myself included). And once a hobby loses its appeal, what reason is there to do it any longer?

But, even bigger, I think people who consider themselves writers - even if they do it only nonprofessionally - write because they have to write. Like Jude said, they can't not write. Whether it's fanfic or original fiction, the need is so great that writing is its own reward, regardless of anything else they get out of it. If they seriously consider that not writing is an option, one they could actually carry out, then giving it up wouldn't even be a question. When it got hard, they'd take up fly fishing or yodeling or cliff diving instead.

Too, I think anyone considering if he or she should stop writing might want to examine why they write in the first place. Borrowing this list from J.A. Konrath , is it:

- a need for self expression?
- for money? (not really applicable in fanfic)
- an inflated sense of your own importance?
- for fame or applause?
- peer pressure? (a big one in fanfic )
- to change the world?
- art for art's sake?
- a need for attention?
- to ease the pain?
- for self-gratification?
- to forget?
- to remember?
- because it's important?
- a need for acceptance?
- because you can't stop?

Some of these are good reasons, most are not. But I would say only the last one is good enough to keep writing if it no longer holds any appeal to you. And, really, if the reason you write is because you can't stop, then the process is probably still fun and the question moot. If you enjoy writing, you will keep writing even if every word that comes out of you is never read by another person. You get pleasure from the act of writing itself, not the result, so if the act is not pleasurable, there is no reason to continue. Because it certainly isn't worth the time spent or the headaches involved.


Lynn