If writing is, for you, like pulling teeth, consider this.

[Meerkat]

I mentioned in the lit fic thread that I used to write horrible lit fic.

Truth: the whole time I was writing that stuff, I hated every minute of writing. I'm sure all of you are familiar with the "I must write or I'll end up flinging myself off a bridge" mentality, and that was my impetus, but cheese and crackers, how I hated it. Every word was water squeezed from a stone. I dreaded writing.

I quit writing lit fic last year and switched to my true love (sci-fi). Amazing fact: it suddenly got easy . . . and fun.

So, if you, like me, find yourself in a love/hate relationship with writing, it's possible you're in the wrong genre for yourself.

I've seen a LOT of litfic writers say they hate writing and would rather not do it . . . what was the maxim? "A writer is someone for whom writing is harder than it is for other people." Yerp.

 

[Carol Rose]

If you're not having any fun writing, and that's a collective "you," not an individual comment aimed at @Meerkat, I have to question whether writing is what you're really meant to be doing?

 

[Bluma Bezbroda]

I am really a pro in avoiding things that I don't enjoy, so if I'm writing it means I do like to do it That said, it is not easy for me- moments of "flow" are relatively rare, I get stuck very often and it takes me a long time to feel that I'm satisfied enough with the fragment/sentence at hand to move to the next one. But that's mostly due to my annoying sense of perfectionism, bordering on compulsion. Good for a scientist, worse for a writer... If one element does not fit and "hurts my eyes" in some way, I just can't move on. But then, when I do manage to finish a paragraph or a chapter, it's the feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment that keeps me going. These moments when I reread a piece and can nod with approval, thinking "Not bad, B. Maybe there will be something out of you, after all"

I write to convey stories and ideas. There are other forms of (artistic) expression, but all of them are out of my reach at this point. My partner is a musician, I asked him whether I could still learn the piano. He said "Sure, but it would take you way more time and effort than my 5 y/o students". I have a way better chance of becoming a tolerable writer than a measly musician/painter/director

All this rant actually comes from a fact that I just had a bad night of sleep and, together with it, a minor crisis (so, @Meerkat, thanks for the space ). All sorts of bad thoughts have befallen me, as I was lying in my bed. But even then, it was "You suck at writing, why do you bother", not "You hate writing, why do you bother".

 

[echo.]

I frequently have zero fun writing. Many evenings have been spent cursing over the keyboard, intermittently getting cups of tea and mugs of wine and rewarding five minutes of writing with three episodes of Frasier. I'm putting it down to having worked on the same thing for so long and the fact that I'm not really writing anything new anymore, just going over it again and again until I have successfully sucked all the fun out of it and convinced myself that I am a talentless, humourless hack.

I am kept going by the encouraging thought that if I die in my sleep I'll really regret not finishing it, and being as I frequently lie awake nights considering my own mortality and the terrifying prospect of eternal darkness, I have so far carried on.

Though I did recently start a side-project about paranormal private investigators and that's been fun. It hasn't convinced me that I am not said hack, but it's taken my mind off it. Even if it has not taken my mind off the inevitability of the grave.

 

[KG Christopher]

I sometimes walk around a problem, or my ability to write. I will do anything else besides sitting down and writing. The last 2 months I have hardly written anything, but I do enjoy writing. If I sat and tried to force myself to write, I don't think it would happen, or I might write something I am not proud of. I agree with Carol, it has to be fun, it has to be exhilarating. When I write, I sometimes get an eager rush to transfer what is in my head onto the keyboard, it really is a fervent rush, the computer looks battered afterwards, but that's how I write.If it ain't happening tonight, well may as well turn over and go to sleep.

 

[James Marinero]

When it comes to escape and immersion, writing comes close to reading for me. I got completely involved in writing this morning and it was a joy.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

I have to set an alarm so that I remember to stop writing in time to pick up my kids after school. But writing is hard work. Stephen King said something like, "Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work." I think for every writer there must be times when it feels like work, but that's where the triumph comes in--after all that hard work, when you know that every word is right.

 

[Meerkat]

But even then, it was "You suck at writing, why do you bother", not "You hate writing, why do you bother".

Generally, the more despairing you are of your talent, the more fantastic you are at it. So, you're probably a diamond in the rough, if not a diamond already. I bet you're actually quite good.

Dunning–Kruger effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Meerkat]

If you're not having any fun writing, and that's a collective "you," not an individual comment aimed at @Meerkat, I have to question whether writing is what you're really meant to be doing?

I would humbly disagree! A person who is drawn to writing is drawn to it for a reason. Enjoyment of writing is a perfectly valid reason for writing, but for many writers, including myself, writing serves a psychological reason. It's not any better or "higher" a purpose than any other, and indeed, it can tend to solipsism if one does not take care, but it is still a reason not to be disregarded.

Most people don't enjoy therapy, either, but if you have a need, then you should do it whether or not it's fun. Something is calling you to it, and you should not ignore your intuition.

 

[Bluma Bezbroda]

So, you're probably a diamond in the rough, if not a diamond already.

I've blushed a little

 

[Keith A Jessop]

For me, writing is the only way to get these damned ideas out of my head. Until the words are streaming out on the page (screen), these ideas clamour around in my head, demanding attention, distracting me from everything else, waiting to be transformed into a story. It's never easy and never will be: Thomas Mann said "A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people". Fine words which are displayed above my desk.

Keep plugging away if you really believe that this form of creativity is the one for you.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

I frequently have zero fun writing. Many evenings have been spent cursing over the keyboard, intermittently getting cups of tea and mugs of wine and rewarding five minutes of writing with three episodes of Frasier. I'm putting it down to having worked on the same thing for so long and the fact that I'm not really writing anything new anymore, just going over it again and again until I have successfully sucked all the fun out of it and convinced myself that I am a talentless, humourless hack.

I am kept going by the encouraging thought that if I die in my sleep I'll really regret not finishing it, and being as I frequently lie awake nights considering my own mortality and the terrifying prospect of eternal darkness, I have so far carried on.

Though I did recently start a side-project about paranormal private investigators and that's been fun. It hasn't convinced me that I am not said hack, but it's taken my mind off it. Even if it has not taken my mind off the inevitability of the grave.

You're darned good at it. I hope you will want it enough to keep on with it.

 

[KG Christopher]

I agree with @Katie-Ellen Hazeldine , the sample chapters I read of your's where very good @echo. Hope you keep.

 

[Matnov]

For me the first line is always the most difficult one. Get that out of the way and the rest seems to flow but when the synapse occurs and an entire new avenue of a plot or a character arc opens up and all the lights go on, that for me is the greatest feeling of all. That sense of pure elation and joy, makes it a pleasure that is up there with the best of them available to us all whilst still wearing clothing. For me that is the hook, at least in terms of why I have this compulsion/addiction around writing.

 

[Amber Zade]

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you. ~ Ray Bradbury

 

[echo.]

Thanks, @Katie-Ellen Hazeldine and @KG Christopher. That really is a wonderfully encouraging thing.

Also:

@Amber Zade via Ray Bradbury: You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you?

The first four words are my favourite. DONE.

 

[Alistair Roberts]

If you find it annoying, or frustrating, why the hell do it? No, writing has to be something you WANT to do, and have a zillion ideas floating around your head demanding to be written down, or you're in the wrong game. Certainly some genres will suit you more than others, but if writing is nothing but hard work, it is NOT for you. It's a passion and a serious one at that. No painter ever became an artist unless they were inspired and talented and WANTED to do it. An Author is the same. Period.

 

[Nicole Wilson]

I don't think it has to do with whether it's hard or easy. The reason people write changes with the person. Writing is ridiculously hard for me. I'm getting better at with practice, but it is difficult. I write because I enjoy the end product. It's the same reason I exercise. It's a pain in the butt going into it, I struggle while I'm doing it (even if it's a sport I like), but I feel so much better afterwards, and there's a result because of it.