Falling out of love with a former passion???

[wingchun100]

A few weeks ago I started writing a new story about a future where martial arts were outlawed. It was based on the old urban legend that, when you reach a black belt rank in any style, you have to register your hands with the police as deadly weapons. (I can't believe to this day such a myth persists. I mean, how would the police even keep track of such a thing? Conduct unexpected raids on martial arts schools and see if they had any new black belts since the last "inspection?" And what about schools that don't have a belt system? How would they report themselves? Foolish.)

So anyway, I was cleaning up around my house yesterday, and I went through a stack of notebooks to see what they were. To my surprise, one of them was this martial arts story. I haven't touched it in WEEKS. For a while I was good about cranking out 12 pages a day and then, out of nowhere, I just STOPPED WRITING. And I clearly didn't miss it either. Otherwise I would have remembered that I stopped, and I would have spent the last few weeks thinking to myself, "I can't wait to get back to that story!"

It's not that I lost faith in it. I still believe it is a story worth writing and telling, but for whatever reason I just stopped writing. This isn't like me at all. Normally I obsess over getting a story done to the point where I forget everything else. In this case, I let "everything else" make me forget I was writing a great story!

It's really got me in the dumps, so I'm going to do what I always do when I feel this way: post about it here and (hopefully) find comfort in the fact that it has happened to others!

So, is there anything you are normally passionate about that you have let fall by the wayside, either now or in the past?

 

[jezr74]

I listened to an interview of a grand daughter of a famous writer the other week on the radio. I'm sorry but I can't remember his name. But she said her grandfather's tip for successful writing was to always sit at his writing table between 10am and 3pm ever work day and write his story. Or sit there thinking and doing nothing if he was not in the mood. But always sit there for that time regardless. And inspiration will find you.

It happens to myself when working from home, I just sit in my office and wait, and it has worked for me on many occasions.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[wingchun100]

I listened to an interview of a grand daughter of a famous writer the other week on the radio. I'm sorry but I can't remember his name. But she said her grandfather's tip for successful writing was to always sit at his writing table between 10am and 3pm ever work day and write his story. Or sit there thinking and doing nothing if he was not in the mood. But always sit there for that time regardless. And inspiration will find you.

It happens to myself when working from home, I just sit in my office and wait, and it has worked for me on many occasions.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

That works if you have time for that. I work 7am-8pm most days (overtime to make ends meet). Usually I can pick a story up when I go on 15 minute breaks and my lunch, but this wasn't a lack of inspiration. I knew how the story should go from beginning to end. In fact, I STILL know how it should be written. And yet...I just stopped writing, stopped trying to make the time for it. That isn't like me at all.

 

[donnaTKD]

if you do muay thai or boxing then you have to register your hands and in the case of muay thai your feet and ankles as well it's always been this way.

basically they can match your knuckle patterns and the width of your hands with any bruises and stuff that they find on anyone you hurt so put simply you have to be struck in order to defend yourself and the best part is that if no one sees you get struck and you strike then you're tukd................

so not fair

 

[jks9199]

if you do muay thai or boxing then you have to register your hands and in the case of muay thai your feet and ankles as well it's always been this way.

basically they can match your knuckle patterns and the width of your hands with any bruises and stuff that they find on anyone you hurt so put simply you have to be struck in order to defend yourself and the best part is that if no one sees you get struck and you strike then you're tukd................

so not fair

Huh? I'm at a total loss on how this relates to the thread.

(And that's without even getting into the issue that most of what you wrote is bunk, at least in the US.)

 

[Xue Sheng]

Lost passion for guitar. Use to have one with me pretty much all the time, I played pretty much all the time...one day it stopped.... it was actually a couple years before I realized I just stopped playing.

My job; use to love working on Computers, with computers, and learning all things IT and IT security...now...its a chore to even show up.

As for the guitar, I still think about picking it up from time to time but it has been pushed aside by the didgeridoo....as for the job..... I'm working on it.


That's life, the things that you once really loved doing can fade away and that is not surprising.... I am not the same kid I was when I picked up the guitar over 30 years ago and I am not the same guy that put it down about 10 years ago

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.
-Muhammad Ali

.

 

[wingchun100]

Right but I think with guitar...I don't know, guitar is associated more with youth. LOL Most musicians who get older are viewed as jokes. One rare exception is Neil Young. But with writers...there are plenty of writers TWICE my age (which is 37, by the way). I just don't know why the passion died out so suddenly. It took me completely off guard.

 

[granfire]

Life happens.
(you write in notebooks?!)

Anyhow, It happens to me at times (not 12 pages a day worth, but I can crank out 5k words a day when things flow well)

I think sometimes we need a little vacation even from our passions, step away, clear your mind, etc.

I got one story that's been living in my head as a concept for decades, been unfinished in writing for over a year now, another one that has been growing for 4 years now (come November), I have not written anything in nearly 2 weeks.
I find that a word counter stat thing helps me (but sadly I get it only three times a year)

So, if it bumms you out that you forgot to write, get back to writing. You are never behind!

(I write better when I put the challenge of NaNoWriMo on myself. The graph is fun. and helps me pick one of the many voices in my head to follow)

 

[wingchun100]

Life happens.
(you write in notebooks?!)

Anyhow, It happens to me at times (not 12 pages a day worth, but I can crank out 5k words a day when things flow well)

I think sometimes we need a little vacation even from our passions, step away, clear your mind, etc.

I got one story that's been living in my head as a concept for decades, been unfinished in writing for over a year now, another one that has been growing for 4 years now (come November), I have not written anything in nearly 2 weeks.
I find that a word counter stat thing helps me (but sadly I get it only three times a year)

So, if it bumms you out that you forgot to write, get back to writing. You are never behind!

(I write better when I put the challenge of NaNoWriMo on myself. The graph is fun. and helps me pick one of the many voices in my head to follow)

I write in notebooks because I work 7am-8pm most days, and I work in a job that has a strict adherence to HIPAA rules. If I brought a laptop in, they'd probably send me home for good. Plus writing by hand still feels more intimate to me than typing on the computer for the first run.

I have a story idea that I can visualize from beginning to end, but I don't know if it should be written in prose or as a screenplay.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Right but I think with guitar...I don't know, guitar is associated more with youth. LOL Most musicians who get older are viewed as jokes. One rare exception is Neil Young. But with writers...there are plenty of writers TWICE my age (which is 37, by the way). I just don't know why the passion died out so suddenly. It took me completely off guard.

Just a question before I answer, do you realize that response is a bit condescending?

Now the answer

:s395:

There is more than one style of music and I seriously doubt Segovia and those like him were ever thought of as a joke when they were old. And if all you can come up with is Neil Young you are seriously limited musically. There are a lot of old musicians (Guitarists/Bassists) that are not (or were not) thought of as jokes and Carlos Santana, Stanley Clark (Bassist), Joe Pass, Pat Metheny, Brian May, Alex Lifeson, BB King, Julian Bream, Les Paul... just to name a few... but then I am not at there level IMO.

the style I played changed over the years, started with Rock and Roll and ended with Classical. It pretty much started with Rush and ended with Fernando Sor and almost 10 years ago I stopped. Sorry if that is not living up to your definition of passion and stopping but you asked, I answered

 

[wingchun100]

Just a question before I answer, do you realize that response is a bit condescending?

Now the answer

:s395:

There is more than one style of music and I seriously doubt Segovia and those like him were ever thought of as a joke when they were old. And if all you can come up with is Neil Young you are seriously limited musically. There are a lot of old musicians (Guitarists/Bassists) that are not thought of as jokes and Carlos Santana, Stanley Clark (Bassist), Joe Pass, Pat Metheny, Brian May, Alex Lifeson, BB King, Julian Bream, Les Paul... just to name a few... but then I am not at there level IMO.

the style I played changed over the years, started with Rock and Roll and ended with Classical. It pretty much started with Rush and ended with Fernando Sor and almost 10 years ago I stopped. Sorry if that is not living up to your definition of passion and stopping but you asked, I answered

How is it condescending to you if I am included in it? Would you therefore argue I'm being condescending to myself?

And if mine was condescending, then yours was flat out rude. I'm seriously limited musically? Because I mentioned ONE musician. Sorry I didn't have the time to list every musician in the world.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Howis it condescending to you if I am included in it? Would you therefore argueI'm being condescending to myself?

And if mine was condescending, then yours was flat out rude. I'm seriouslylimited musically? Because I mentioned ONE musician. Sorry I didn't have thetime to list every musician in the world.

What does listing every musician in the world have to do with any of this? I stuck to guitarists and bassists because that is much closer to what I did. If you want to go all musicians then there are a lot more that are older and not though of as jokes.

And I will apologize about taking your post wrong but including yourself as a writer setup the Writer vs musician issue and therefore gave the impression of condescension. I took what you said as condensation because your post, to me, showed your POV as coming from, or having or showing a feeling of patronizing superiority. Writer vs Musician; Old Writers mostly take seriously and old musicians mostly thought of as jokes, therefore not the same issue.

I'm not going to argue, I am not as quick to argue as I use to be, but then maybe it is my age (>50). I will then take it as you did not intend to be condescending and that I misinterpreted you post, which is so easy to do on the wild and wonderful world of the web.

My apologies