Overthinking Writerly Things

Confession: I have not written anything fiction-related since NaNoWriMo ended. Meaning it’s been exactly five months.

Sure, I’ve written other things in the meantime. After all, I’ve cranked out nine blog posts (not including this one). I’ve also been in the mood to do some creative writing in the past few weeks, but I sadly have not acted on it.

I think a large part of it is simply because I don’t know what kind of story to write. I know, I know – I should just start writing anything, and a plot will begin to emerge at some point. It’s how I usually survive and succeed at NaNo every year. But I’ve also been thinking about past stories lately and wondering if I should go back to them. Take that short story and expand upon it or have another go at rewriting one of my previous larger writing projects.

What doesn’t really help is that I’m in the mood to write something involving certain themes or settings or objects. You’d think this would make it easier for me to jump back into writing, but I don’t know how to approach said touchpoints. Anyone got any suggestions on how I can incorporate the idea of a museum composed of taxidermied animals? A farm containing an important well? How about a character looking to save her mentor?

Fun fact: With those first two touchpoints, I actually used them for two separate short stories during my Fiction Writing classes while I was still earning my degree. So part of me is wondering whether I should go back to those stories and develop them more or just create an entirely new story using those settings.

In two weeks, it will also mark one year since I finished my Spring Writing Project 2018. I have not opened or reread that manuscript since I completed it. I feel like I need to go back and read what I wrote a year ago. It’s not something unique enough where I would want to share it with the world, but I mainly want to revisit certain character interactions.

Speaking of characters, they are the ones who keep pulling me back to past stories I have written. There are certain projects where I would love to return to the protagonists, but their actual story/plot needs work. Do I revise their story, or do I create an entirely new story for these characters instead? I’m not usually one who uses the same character for multiple stories, but maybe it’s worth a try?

I think all of this is just my long-winded way of admitting that I have writer’s block. Not sure if it’s a lack of motivation or I need to re-shift my priorities or I’m thinking too hard about the details. Maybe I should force myself to write for a week or two in May, just to get myself back into the game. Kinda like what I did in February.

And if you’ve read this far into my ramblings, thanks.