PMD: Seventeen Plates DT 3

...

I'm sorry, guys. I just.. I don't know what it is, but I don't have my passion to write anymore. I've been avoiding YWS more than ever before. Sure, I could chalk it up to being busy, which I have been, but if I'm being honest with myself, I could have made time. I'm worried that I'm dragging everybody down by not contributing or following up on anything, and yet I just can't push myself to make the stories flow. This is beyond writer's block. Writer's block can last a few weeks, maybe even a month or two. But when was my last post? Three months ago? Four? Five? I lost count. I feel so ashamed of myself for not having done anything but no matter how much I kick myself over it, nothing comes out of it. It feels like I'm going through some kind of crisis. What happened to me? I used to love writing. I did it every chance I could and - without trying to brag - was at least semi-decent at it. So what changed? I don't know what's wrong or what to do about it. If any of you have any idea what's up or how to handle this, (not that I'd expect you to, this isn't your problem,) please let me know. I need to want to write again.

@TheSilverFox → 15253 wants to make an announcement → he says we have to wait until Rydia comes online → his announcement relies on her actions → Rydia is an Administrator → Global Moderators can do many of the same things Administrators can → he wants to change his username.

@15253, you're not changing it to Numbers, are you? *will break the news to Wanderer in the morning*

I was once numbers

Now I am soup

@AstralHunter: Well, once again, my logic processes have managed to fail when I needed them (which I blame on whatever I'm sick with, and my series of frustrating and challenging classes). But yours obviously did not. XD

And, speaking of, I still have to do more schoolwork. Joy. *runs off* <.<

@Charizard821 ...We need to talk. As soon as we're both available for it, that is.
But we need to talk. That's a problem I'm a bit familiar with, though I don't know the details for you, so I have no clue if i can actually be of help or not.
But I sure as heck am gonna try.

O_O How do you guys write such long posts.

Well, @Charizard821, I'm not entirely sure what to say. Having rarely ever experienced writer's block in my life, and having all kinds of ideas buzzing around my head much of them (of course, in the case of the latter, I'm kind of forced to do that. My brain loves to come up with bizarre or inappropriate images, which will harass me and drive me mad if I don't destroy, distort, or affect them somehow. And this, as you can imagine, usually leads to some very peculiar ideas), I'm not exactly sure what I can do to help.

However, I would like to state that, if you don't feel the energy or the ability to write, then don't force yourself to do it. That will probably do more harm than good, as, if your mind works anything like mine, it can become more defensive/resistant/unwilling to do anything the more you try to prod it, especially if it involves some kind of a large-scale writing project. And that just makes the situation worse. I also wouldn't blame the reason upon your being lazy. Sure, you could've been able to make time with what you had available. Sure, you used to have a great love for writing, but now you find it hard to write anything anymore, and you just can't develop new stories/poems/etc. But I highly doubt that has anything to do with laziness, mainly because, given my experience, if you have a passion for something that has extended for a long period of time, only something significant could be interfering with what you're doing. Whether that is physical, mental, or emotional, or whether it has taken place only fairly recently or for a long period of time, it is likely that you mind is facing some kind of obstacle that is either distracting it or altering it.

With that in mind, you may want to look over the present situation of your life. Has anything distressing, shocking, or upsetting taken place lately? Have you noticed a change in your mood? What could you attribute those changes to? Do you have evidence? I feel that it's highly likely that something in your personal life may be getting in the way of your writing, and that's something you might want to address, understand, and work to fix. Naturally, it won't be easy to do that, but what is life without some kind of an obstacle, a wall to climb up, a challenge?

Of course, if you want to get back into the habit of writing once again, I'd suggest starting out small. The basis of writing is taking inspiration from the world around you and transforming it into ideas, plots, characters, and, eventually, words. Look at your own life. Look at the world around you. Look at the people around you. It doesn't have to be complicated. Even a random flash of inspiration is a good step towards writing again. Regardless, think about your surroundings, and wonder, what could I do with this? How could I turn this into a story? A writing idea? How could I manipulate it to become an idea?

Too, when you've begun come up with that inspiration, that idea, I'd suggest starting off small. Write it down on a scrap of paper, type it on a computer, whatever is closest and most convenient. You could always ignore the idea and come back to it later, or you could focus on developing it a little further. Regardless, just start coming up with ideas, and start writing them down. Many of my most well-developed and favorite characters, as well as a large number of things that I've written, began in this fashion. To be honest, probably 50% of my writing these days are mostly just small poems scrawled on paper, story and character ideas written in notebooks, with the potential to become much bigger. If you find something that you find interesting or like, then perhaps you can work on developing it, making it more complex, expanding it. Let your mind roam and wander, rather than forcing it to do something it may not want to do, and you may soon find yourself inspired and passionate about writing again.

And, of course, if you want to talk to somebody about it, you can always feel free to talk to me. I know I can be notoriously unreliable, especially with schoolwork and life in general slowly crushing me, but I am usually available during the later hours of my day. I'll also respond to PMs fairly quickly. But yeah, if you want to someone to talk to, I'll definitely see to it that I can be available.


(magic, @StupidSoup, magic. )

@Charizard821. Just remember you have zero obligations here. Take as much time as you want to sort things out.

If ya wanna talk to anyone I'll be online anytime after 330 PST

Ah, @15253, why didn't you - drat, I forgot, err, @StupidSoup - just talk to me? I try to limit other characters' activity in my posts for fear of portraying them incorrectly. Find me on chat some time so we can talk about how to correct Gabriel's dialogue. (If that's how you depict him, then goodness, I am doing an abhorrent job with his characterisation... *depressed sigh*)

Gabriel is blunt in normal circumstances - he's only rude if he dislikes the person, and frankly, he has no reason to dislike Ren. Also, I have another conversation planned between Gabriel and Xerneas which takes place more or less at that time. You don't have to delete the post, but... No, please delete it, but save the post's content for later. I shall post mine first, then we can work together to expand yours. Besides, then you can include the training from Ren's perspective.

Finally, please keep the language in mind. I know everyone wants to write in their style of choice, but if I must write dialogue for Twinkiel, I have to use Tort's style, not mine. The same goes for everyone else.

Goodness, @TheSilverFox, we both need to work on being less long-winded. I mean no offense, but that post is extremely difficult to read, and my eyes almost glazed over. However, I need to be more concise as well, so we should help each other, if we can. Or anybody else could help us, if they have advice... *sigh*

@Charizard821, I shan't burden you with more advice, just know you are welcome here and on YWS no matter what. Don't think you have to be obliged to write - I know many users who have lost their desire to write but are still happy to hang around. Even if you don't write, don't disappear. We get worried when our resident dragon goes missing.

Darn. Sorry about that, Hunter; force of habit. Whenever I have a limited amount of time to write something, or I feel passionate about it, I usually end up writing far more than is necessary. Although I kind of do that with everything (which my family can attest to). I could probably make what I write more concise and effective if I spent a little more time and focused harder, but, as you can tell, I usually don't. <.<

hilarity ensues

O-o Vex is a beast

EDIT: @AstralHunter: Since you did have dialogue expressing Gabriel's disapproval of Ren followed by his fight with Xerneas I just assumed that he would be very angry and take out his anger on Ren because that kinda what people do.

@StupidSoup, Gabriel wasn't... disapproval? Remember what I said about my portrayal of Gabriel? Well, if you think he was disapproving of Ren, then I don't just suck at characterisation, I SUCK at it. He expressed concern about Ren and asked if there wasn't anything they could do to hel- You know what, here's a quote:

AstralHunter wrote:“Okay, look,” Gabriel said, changing his tone from sceptical to serious, “I can tell that you think I’m judging him, but I’m not. I’m concerned. Are you familiar with the illness known as depression?”

“I am, and you are not to interfere.”

“But isn’t there anything we can do for him? I know there’s something we had for it back on earth, so if you won’t say anything, I can just follow that thread–”

Reading that, it seems very clear to me that Gabriel wants to help Ren, not blow up on him. In fact, I've been researching bipolar disorder, depression, St. John's wort, and lithium salts. I'm planning a business for him, and you think Gabriel wants to verbally hurt Ren?

Oi, @Poopsie! Swearing is forbidden in anything but literary works. Plus, whatever you write in a post can appear on the first page, which means YWS' younger audience can be exposed to taboo language. Also, keep the SB rules in mind:

Robusto's 2nd and last rule wrote:Keep it PG 13 (That means some of the lesser swear words are allowed, but please keep words such as GD and F away)

I censored the swear words, which is what I expect you to do on your own when you want your characters to swear in future. Don't do this again.

PS: I have plans for Ho-Oh, so please discuss with me what you plan on doing with him. If you want me to do the same regarding Kyurem, all you have to do is tell me and I'll gladly oblige.

PS 2: To everyone, if I write about a character that is technically yours and you feel I depicted them incorrectly or did something that goes against your plans, please tell me, so that I may remedy it. After all, you have probably all noticed I don't hesitate to do the same.

My bad, i only used swear words in excess at the start of the post because i saw them used a few times in other posts and figure. "They won't get that mad."

I'm not using Ho-oh, he's just their so all three of my characters can make fun of him.

Anywho, Frost post'll be up today.

As long as you abide by the rules, I'll be as merry as a butterfly. (Unless you try to pluck my wings, in which case I become a wasp.)

Also, if you want to make fun of Ho-Oh, go ahead. He's shallow and proud, so if that's it, then sure. To me, it just seemed as if you were planning something. (I still want to know why Ho-Oh finds Vex frightening, though.)