Trouble Writing

Over the last two weeks I have started about 10 articles. I write thorough introductions, and then lose interest in them. I finally completed an article last night, but it took me three or four days to complete it. Am I suffering from writer's block or my ADD? I think it's my ADD. But then again, it could be the four dogs barking in the house, and my mother interrupting me for trivial things.

Brenda,

You've admitted you have a LOT on your plate right now, regarding your mother's health.

My recommendation is to write on topics about your current stressors - if you want to learn more about your mom's condition, or discuss what you are going through caring for her, or talk about your fears of losing a parent...whatever the case may be...you can find peace through researching the topic for your own well being, then writing on it to "let it out."

When my mom died this year, I did articles/posts on sympathy, spirituality and other things related to what I was feeling at the time. It is hard to feel passionate about much else when treading water.

Hope this helps!

Thank you so much, frugal. I didn't think of that -- obviously.

Very good advice from frugal and I just want to add that no matter how alone we feel with our problems, it's never the case that "no one else can understand" and there may be lots of people who are searching for an article that makes THEM feel less alone in their problems.

In short, many readers will probably relate to what you CAN write about well at the present time.

Hope this makes sense!

And by the way, I also have quite a few articles sitting unfinished here....

You are welcome, Brenda...

It's two birds with one stone - feeling productive, which keeps self esteem up...yet getting free therapy at the same time, writing about your feelings - helping others - sharing comments from those who appreciate your articles, etc.

Dustytoes had a great comment here, too.

And of course, keep on talking to others and stay connected - it really helped hold me up, being brutally honest in forums, my writing, etc.

Take care!

Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions. 

Writing to vent my stressors and to figure things out, were part of my entire first 2 years on HP, it yielded some interesting psychology articles. Today I often will do what you did, when the idea comes I build a wizzle and a thorough introduction (so I don't lose the details).

Today may not be when I "feel like" writing it but the idea is there so I wrote it down that way. I then go back over these ideas when I get writers block, there's always a time I come back to it and build it up. I don't set a goal to complete it so much as work on it...

I think sometimes writers block is the brain telling us to get out and do something else, take a break, but before you do write these ideas down for later :) It's about contrast..

Sometimes writers block is about motivation and motivation may be tied too closely in with money (when I write strictly for money it never works).

What I do is take my laptop to another room in the house or to another person's house (luckily I know writers irl) and change the environment so your brain cells can turn back on trying to register your environment, and creativity tends to reboot when you change native environments where you write.

I notice the same effect when switching to a desktop computer down to a laptop or mini laptop, you have to change how you use the device and that too helps create "change" in atmosphere which may break writers block.

Ironically I have a wizzle in the works for writers block "cures" or ideas, but I keep working on it and lost motivation to maintain that one too long haha, (Mainly because I accidentally deleted an important paragraph and have to rebuild it)...

Good Luck!

Jerrico, Thanks for the input. I do need to get out and do something else. It has been so hot where I live for the last three weeks that I've barely left the house. Today it's going to be 85 degrees. Yey! I'm definitely getting out of here. That's the best medicine for writer's block and jumbled brain.