# Don't feel like writing



## KMatthew (Mar 21, 2012)

Be warned, this is a pointless complaint thread. lol

Moral of the story, I don't feel like writing. I played video games all day yesterday. The two days prior to that, I moved a bunch of my books from Smashwords to Draft2Digital. Before that, I think I wrote for two days and had even more downtime before that. I'm in the process of moving, so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. It feels like I've been nothing but a big ball of misery lately. I'm supposed to be writing right now. I got two pages written, and it seems like my mind is constantly looking for a distraction (hence why I'm here). It's not writer's block, because I know where the story is going next. I just don't want to write--don't feel like writing.

I'm sure someone out there can sympathize. -End rant-


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## pjmartin (May 7, 2013)

It happens sometimes I guess. At least it's happened to me many times. But the only thing you can do (if that is what you really want to) is to suck it up and start typing on your keyboard. It will probably not be really good, but you can always rewrite that section.
I have found out that when this happens to me, the only way of getting back my writing energy is sitting down and writing. Maybe around five hundred words in, I get my senses back and dive right into the story again.

Hope it helps and cheers you up.


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

*passes the tiramisu*

I don't feel like writing either. Can't wait for summer to be gone and to be in my new home, at last.
Problems are piling up, I'd rather hibernate until next spring in October 2015.


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## MQ (Jan 5, 2011)

I feel the same way...you're in good company


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

I always feel like _having _written. And that I'm going to write like crazy ... tomorrow.


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## 41352 (Apr 4, 2011)

deleted


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## swolf (Jun 21, 2010)

I can commiserate.  I'm on vacation in Florida, and I figured I'd be able to get some writing in during the mornings and evenings.  But so far, nothing.  Right now, my wife is at the pool and I'm sitting beside my father-in-law watching Casino Royale on TV, and dicking around on Kboards instead of writing or editing. 

I'll get to it - eventually.


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## C.F. (Jan 6, 2011)

Dalya said:


> I always feel like _having _written. And that I'm going to write like crazy ... tomorrow.


Yep.


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## KMatthew (Mar 21, 2012)

Nathalie Hamidi said:


> *passes the tiramisu*


My savior. lol



Chrystalla said:


> That's how I feel right now too, and it can't be, because I'm behind and have to get this book done...


I have a week before this book has to be out, and it would only take me two days to finish it. Still, I feel like I'm behind. I'm doing my best to chug through it, one page at a time.

Forcing myself to write typically doesn't work too well, because the entire time I do it I'm absolutely miserable. It's a necessary evil sometimes though. Whoever said "if you love your job you never work a day in your life" was a liar. lol



swolf said:


> I can commiserate. I'm on vacation in Florida, and I figured I'd be able to get some writing in during the mornings and evenings. But so far, nothing. Right now, my wife is at the pool and I'm sitting beside my father-in-law watching Casino Royale on TV, and dicking around on Kboards instead of writing or editing.
> 
> I'll get to it - eventually.


That's funny. I was actually thinking I need another vacation. Vacations are supposed to refresh you. Recently, I took a week long trip to New Orleans. When I came back, I felt no more like writing than when I left. I'm not sure how that happened, but I've been on another mini-vacation since then and it was the same thing.


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## Quiss (Aug 21, 2012)

I feel that way at the start of a book. I'm not sure about the characters, or don't know if the plot is going where it's supposed to or even if the story is interesting.
Sometimes it helps to skip ahead and write parts that are more easily written. 
Once a story is well underway I get excited about it and then can't find ENOUGH time to get it done.


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## WG McCabe (Oct 13, 2012)




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## 54706 (Dec 19, 2011)

I also fudged around today, all day, and didn't do the 5k words I'd planned.  I keep telling myself, "Later."  And then later comes and I do something else.  Today I have:

1.  Made a book cover that I'll never use featuring my son on the cover (photoshopped that mofo for abou 4 hours as I learned how to use Gimp.)
2.  Shopped for flamenco shoes for my 9-year-old.
3.  Walked the dog 4 times.
4.  Grocery shopped even though my fridge is too full to close.
5.  Cremated some sausages on the grill.
6.  3 loads of laundry.
7.  Napped.

It happens to everyone.  The danger, I think, is giving in to the "I don't feel like it" monster and only writing when you really feel like it.  If I did that, I'd only have 1 book written in 18 months instead of 19.


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## EC Sheedy (Feb 24, 2011)

You have lots of company. I don't feel like writing either. Or fighting a tiger...    

(So I'm sitting in a room with four other writers--we retreat quarterly--critiquing one of their novellas and ignoring my own story--for now.)


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## The 13th Doctor (May 31, 2012)

At the start of the year I made a list of what books I had to finish writing and then... meh. I just couldn't face writing (plus my muse, Maud, skipped the country on a booze cruise). So instead of forcing it I started making book covers and got through a lot of books on my kindle.

This went on until about a week ago where I decided I was reading too much and wanted to get creating my own stories (and Maud made a return). Since Monday past I have written over 11K words and will add to that number this weekend.

I don't have any great advice for you, except that if you don't feel like writing then take a break from it.

All the best.


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## Mark Philipson (Mar 9, 2013)

I'm having major dental work done and I usually don't feel like writing for a few days after a session. I visit the dentist on Fridays. I have the remainder of the weekend to sleep, read or build animations in Adobe Edge Animate. I use scaled down assets from book cover comps. By Monday I'm ready to tackle the stories again.


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## S. Shine (Jan 14, 2013)

I have that too some days, too many days in fact, and learned to give myself a day, or a day or two, off and then force myself to sit down and write. The moment the words start flowing I always feel like writing again.


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## Al Dente (Sep 3, 2012)

Don't feel bad. I have 10k words left to go before a project I've been working on since March is finished, but I don't feel like writing it. I'll get to it eventually.


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## quiet chick writes (Oct 19, 2012)

I don't feel like writing either. Doesn't help that school's out now, so I have my 7 yr-old home with me all day.  

And like you, it's not writers block or anything. I know exactly *what* I need to write, I just don't wanna. There's a Sims EP coming out in two days and I want to play it! And we're going on vacation in 6 days. I think my brain has taken an early leave of absence, lol!


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## KMatthew (Mar 21, 2012)

Laura Rae Amos said:


> There's a Sims EP coming out in two days and I want to play it!


Sims, you say. Oh God, why'd I read that. LOL More reasons to procrastinate.


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## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

I finished the rough draft of my next book and kind of felt that way too. Then I got slammed at the day job for 2-3 weeks there and now I'm finally getting back to writing.

I went and rode my bike this morning instead of jumping back into things.  I really needed to get out of the house for a while.


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## beccaprice (Oct 1, 2011)

It's too hot to write. It's 91, and we don't have a/c in our windows yet. At least husband got me my very own a/c for the office this year, but now he has to go out and get extension cords for it. *he* works in an A/c office, with a/c in his car, and doesn't quite understand that *the kids and I* don't have that when it gets hot. it is, after all, fairly cool for sleeping...


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## MonkeyScribe (Jan 27, 2011)

Hang in there. If you can, find something to recharge your batteries. Go watch some stuff on creativity online, or reread your favorite book on writing. Something, _anything _to get yourself energized again. Good luck, and be sure to tell us when you're off to the races again,_ pour encourager les autres._


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## KMatthew (Mar 21, 2012)

Well, I've managed to squeeze out about 1,500 words since starting this thread, so I guess that's something, not hardly off to the races though. My goal is 5,000 words a day.


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## Rin (Apr 25, 2011)

Sometimes writing just goes away - little stresses and worries can build up and just clog the creativity.

Or...I know it's banal, but sometimes it's because there's something "wrong" with what you're writing - you don't like a plot direction or a character, but are too invested to change it...even though you know it needs to be done. Maybe reread what you've done lately and see if anything pings as "I'm just not happy with that".


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## KerryT2012 (Dec 18, 2012)

MarlaB said:


> Be warned, this is a pointless complaint thread. lol
> 
> Moral of the story, I don't feel like writing. I played video games all day yesterday. The two days prior to that, I moved a bunch of my books from Smashwords to Draft2Digital. Before that, I think I wrote for two days and had even more downtime before that. I'm in the process of moving, so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. It feels like I've been nothing but a big ball of misery lately. I'm supposed to be writing right now. I got two pages written, and it seems like my mind is constantly looking for a distraction (hence why I'm here). It's not writer's block, because I know where the story is going next. I just don't want to write--don't feel like writing.
> 
> I'm sure someone out there can sympathize. -End rant-


I read somewhere, that you should never stop writing. Therefore, if you don't feel like writing a book. Then, write a shopping list, or a letter to a friend or something just to get back into that momentum. Or just write loads of posts on Kindleboard - like the rest of us that should be writing right now


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Even people who love their jobs need to take vacation and long weekends. I will never understand why authors seem to feel that they can't/shouldn't.

Take a freaking vacation from writing and go play some D&D and eat fruit.


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## Shalini Boland (Nov 29, 2010)

I totally sympathise. I'm also in the middle of a house move (knocking walls down, packing boxes and trying to calm the kids down) and have no time to even think about the novel that I'm only-freakin-halfway-through-but-should've-finished-months-ago. And in my gut there's this constant churning gnawing worry that I should be writing and, because I'm not, the world is going to implode.


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## cwashburn (May 20, 2013)

If sales are going well I feel more like writing.  That beige wall almost freezes things until it goes away.


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## Writerly Writer (Jul 19, 2012)

Writing isn't feeding the muse. Feeding the muse is 'living', and that doesn't happen as dynamically in front of your computer with an empty .doc open. 

Allow yourself time off but also realise that 'feeling' something doesn't necessarily mean you have to act on that feeling. I know I can still write when I'm not 'feeling' it, although it's a little more painful


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## L M May (Mar 14, 2013)

MarlaB said:


> Be warned, this is a pointless complaint thread. lol
> 
> Moral of the story, I don't feel like writing. I played video games all day yesterday. The two days prior to that, I moved a bunch of my books from Smashwords to Draft2Digital. Before that, I think I wrote for two days and had even more downtime before that. I'm in the process of moving, so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. It feels like I've been nothing but a big ball of misery lately. I'm supposed to be writing right now. I got two pages written, and it seems like my mind is constantly looking for a distraction (hence why I'm here). It's not writer's block, because I know where the story is going next. I just don't want to write--don't feel like writing.
> 
> I'm sure someone out there can sympathize. -End rant-


I sympathize with you because of the way my mind works. I am an all or nothing person (who is also in the process of moving). Sometimes I go weeks without writing while doing other things and I always feel bad about this. Like I should be doing more, but in the interim, something amazing happens. While I have been off doing other things and feeling bad about not writing, I find when I get back to it that writing becomes an obsession again and that a lot was going on in my mind while I wasn't writing - my subconscious was hard at work putting the pieces together for me if that makes sense. It is like a cycle for me and I have come to accept it, but I always worry that the next cycle won't start every time it happens. You just have to be kind to yourself and trust that when the time is right it will happen. It is hard (for me at least) to write when I have other stuff going on, moving for example.


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## morgan_n (Oct 21, 2011)

It's refreshing to see a change from the self-congratulatory 1000-words-a-day bumpf


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## BlankPage (Sep 23, 2012)

_Comment removed due to VS TOS 24/9/2018_


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

MarlaB said:


> Well, I've managed to squeeze out about 1,500 words since starting this thread, so I guess that's something, not hardly off to the races though. My goal is 5,000 words a day.


I bet it's the tiramisu!
It's a dessert Italian mothers eat after giving birth to get more energy!


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## KMatthew (Mar 21, 2012)

Nathalie Hamidi said:


> I bet it's the tiramisu!
> It's a dessert Italian mothers eat after giving birth to get more energy!


That's amazing! I learned something new.

It's another day I don't feel like writing, mainly because I haven't been sleeping and was woken up in a rude way this morning. There's nothing like a bad mood to make you not want to work.

That tiramisu looks so good I think I'll go get some today. Maybe it will lift my spirits.


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

MarlaB said:


> That's amazing! I learned something new.
> 
> It's another day I don't feel like writing, mainly because I haven't been sleeping and was woken up in a rude way this morning. There's nothing like a bad mood to make you not want to work.
> 
> That tiramisu looks so good I think I'll go get some today. Maybe it will lift my spirits.


I wrote 500 words earlier.
You cannot let me beat you!
COME ON.

You must write at least that much, otherwise NO TIRAMISU FOR YOU. COME BACK ONE YEAR.


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## H. S. St. Ours (Mar 24, 2012)

cwashburn said:


> If sales are going well I feel more like writing. That beige wall almost freezes things until it goes away.


This. Totally. If I can avoid looking at the reports, I do better. It's hard to resist the impulse, though, but I try to think of it like Schrödinger's cat: If I don't look, it's possible that sales have rocketed. If I do look, well, I'll be wasting spending time posting on Kboards again.


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## Desmond X. Torres (Mar 16, 2013)

“(W)hat I write when I force myself is generally just as good as what I write when I'm feeling inspired. It's mainly a matter of forcing yourself to write.” 
― Tom Wolfe

He's one of my favorite authors. 

I don't know what the cause is of the wind being taken out of your sails- is it exhaustion, despair over the odds of success, doubt about your own skills, or just the overwhemedness of living. Nor do I know how much the commercial success of writing plays in your life goals. 

You've futz'ed around for a few days, and you're sort of back in it right now. I've hit that wall a couple of times myself. Three techniques I've employed that helped are:
1. Diary. I call it Journal because I'm macho. I go to it when my head gets screwed up. I write in it and try to figure out just what's eating me. When I land on what the major obstacle is, I then try TRY to come up with a strategy to fix it and then write for 25 minutes. I set a timer, and when it goes off, more often than not, I ignore it because I'm in the zone.

2. Goal assessment. Why the hell am I killing myself when the odds are so slim? This is an important dragon to slay. 

3. Down time is crucial. We have to recharge. But after the work is done. By that I mean if you have a set agenda (and if you don't, think about putting one together), when a milestone is hit, back off. If that milestone still looms, buckle down and finish it. Then take a break. You earned it.

And if all else fails, Tiramisu!


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## Shawnreilly (Jun 10, 2013)

I'm supposed to be working on the fifth book in my series which I had hoped to get out by the end of July. I'm not sure what happened, between sending off the fourth book to my editor till now. I had some weird review kind of stalker on amazon, my editor couldn't get to my book right away and has taken forever to get it done, (a month later and I'm still waiting) I went through some sickness, but either way I should be looking forward to my series coming to an end with just being one book away after this one, but I can't seem to focus. I have been stuck on the seventh chapter for over a week. I just keep thinking its bad but my beta says its great and she's one for telling things how it is. I'm just not sure what's up. I guess I got the writing blues.


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## Diane Patterson (Jun 17, 2012)

I just sat down to read this week's EW (I thought I was up on stuff, but I've never even _heard_ of the "Divergent" series before) and there's an article by Jerry Seinfeld about his weird little internet show, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee." There is a fabulous quote applicable to...well, to anyone.



> I remember we were in the bar at Catch A Rising Star in the 70s, and there was some young comedian pumping Rodney Dangerfield for some guidance. And Rodney said to him, "You'll figure it out," and he walked away. I was, like, 24 and we talked about that anecdote for years. It took a few years before we started realizing what that meant - that he's telling you, "I can't help you, and if you want to do this, you got to just stick your nose in there and figure it out." You'll figure it out, or you won't. _Everyone_ sucks at it. It's like taking a javelin class. You throw it as far as you can, and it's horrible. But that's what comedy is: that initial realization that this is almost impossible. _Almost_. So you realize that, and you go, "But I still want to do it." So then your next step is, "What's it going to take?" That's another torturous discovery - that it's going to take probably more than I have. Then you go, "But I'm still going to do it."


Seriously, this is going in my quote file. "But I'm still going to do it."


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## Desmond X. Torres (Mar 16, 2013)

Diane Patterson said:


> I just sat down to read this week's EW (I thought I was up on stuff, but I've never even _heard_ of the "Divergent" series before) and there's an article by Jerry Seinfeld about his weird little internet show, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee." There is a fabulous quote applicable to...well, to anyone.
> 
> Seriously, this is going in my quote file. "But I'm still going to do it."


Wow Diane... what a great quote. It pretty much nails it for me. I've just printed it and hung it on my office wall. Thanks, doll! I'm also going to cross post it into a thread that I commented in yesterday.


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## EGranfors (Mar 18, 2011)

When I get into those moods I do one of several things:

color in my coloring book (seriously!)

go for a walk or a swim

read a book that makes me say "ah!"


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## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

First of all, OMG that chocolate is awesome! Drool.

Secondly, it's good to see that I'm not alone. Well, not really _good_, but you get what I mean.  Lots of good advice, and love that Seinfeld quote. I need to write that down...

I've had a rough time lately, what with my mother's health scare last year (a "bad" form of breast cancer, the doctor said -- is there a good kind?), with her nearly dying from complications from surgery, and then my father getting sick earlier this year. We just got confirmation that he does have myelofibrosis, which will eventually be fatal -- if something else doesn't happen first. 

Add that to all the problems I'm having with the youngest son, and I've been knocked for a loop. I feel like a cowboy who's been thrown off a horse: I know I need to get back on, but I don't want to. Except I _do_.

It's not that I don't have any ideas -- they never stop coming -- I just can't get motivated to write. Or do much of anything. 

Anyway, vent over. Thanks for posting this. I feel a little better now.


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## KMatthew (Mar 21, 2012)

That was an awesome quote, and so true too. If you really want things to work, you just have to keep on trucking.



Sheila_Guthrie said:


> Secondly, it's good to see that I'm not alone. Well, not really _good_, but you get what I mean.  Lots of good advice, and love that Seinfeld quote. I need to write that down...
> 
> I've had a rough time lately, what with my mother's health scare last year (a "bad" form of breast cancer, the doctor said -- is there a good kind?), with her nearly dying from complications from surgery, and then my father getting sick earlier this year. We just got confirmation that he does have myelofibrosis, which will eventually be fatal -- if something else doesn't happen first.
> 
> ...


I'm sorry to hear of all the troubles you're going through. It definitely makes it hard to write when your mind is constantly going back to other things.

And in case anyone wondered, I did get the tiramisu today. Now I feel better. Hopefully I'll finish up my current WIP tomorrow . . . because I didn't write a single word today (aside from these posts).


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## JonDavis1 (Apr 11, 2012)

Wow, I just had this happen to me today. 
All day at my (labor for money) job, I'm trying to think out a conundrum in my current project and all I was getting back was..."I DON'T WANNA!" from the inner child.
(The brat gets cranky when he can't get something right).

So, tonight, I fed the inner child his fave food, watched his fave movie, and said, "we'll go at it tomorrow. rest..."
Amazingly, there's an inner purr...


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## Laura Lond (Nov 6, 2010)

I am well familiar with the feeling. Writing does not come easy to me, and I have to force myself to get to it quite often. Usually, it doesn't take long to get back in the story and start hitting those keys, but I must force myself to open the file and begin.

So just do it!  (Easier said than done, I know.)


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## Desmond X. Torres (Mar 16, 2013)

Sheila_Guthrie said:


> I've had a rough time lately, what with my mother's health scare last year (a "bad" form of breast cancer, the doctor said -- is there a good kind?), with her nearly dying from complications from surgery, and then my father getting sick earlier this year. We just got confirmation that he does have myelofibrosis, which will eventually be fatal -- if something else doesn't happen first.
> 
> Add that to all the problems I'm having with the youngest son, and I've been knocked for a loop. I feel like a cowboy who's been thrown off a horse: I know I need to get back on, but I don't want to. Except I _do_.
> 
> ...


Hey Shiela:
Your comment does put things into perspective, write schmite- with the stuff you have to deal with as soon as you open your eyes in the AM, writing stories isn't so much so high on your priorities right now.

Groping for something witty and supportive to say right now, and I got nothin'.

May Angels keep and hold you in this time of trials.

Desmond


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

Yep, you definitely have lots of company 

Happens to me often. What's worked recently for me, strangely, is fleshing out characters. I'd spend time asking questions like: What are their early traumas? What happened to them in school? What secrets are they hiding? And so on ... for some reason that gets me really excited and so i start writing again, eager to work off new info.

Later on in the books I just bang my head against the computer until blood starts squirting ...


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## Christine Elaine Black (Mar 31, 2013)

Could be the time of year. The industry feels a bit slow right now. It's a roller coaster of emotions. Hang in there.


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## KMatthew (Mar 21, 2012)

The evil summer slump. lol


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## Christine Elaine Black (Mar 31, 2013)

MarlaB said:


> The evil summer slump. lol


Which month is typically the worst month for ebook sales?


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

Christine Elaine Black said:


> Which month is typically the worst month for ebook sales?


All of them.


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## KMatthew (Mar 21, 2012)

Christine Elaine Black said:


> Which month is typically the worst month for ebook sales?


This is my first summer seriously publishing, so I honestly couldn't say. I've always heard the summer months are bad though, and from what I can tell, things are slowing down financial wise a bit. Then again, that could be because I've been pricing a lot of stuff at $0.99 lately, when my usual price point is $2.99.


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## Claudia King (Oct 27, 2012)

I feel like more chocolate might be helpful. I've been neglecting it a lot lately for the sake of being healthy, but I could definitely use more of it in my life.


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

Denise Templey said:


> _and _ some of Nathalie's tiramisu!!


Some of Nathalie's LEGENDARY Tiramisu.


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

Denise Templey said:


> ... LEGENDARY   Tiramisu


Yeah, don't you ever forget it!
*The Godfather soundtrack*


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## Desmond X. Torres (Mar 16, 2013)

Just to say, this technique has really helped getting past the doldrums. Especially the last section of the post that starts with 'What surprised me...'

http://writetodone.com/2013/06/24/how-the-pomodoro-technique-can-help-you-draft-your-book-in-just-3-weeks-while-still-having-a-life/

Cheers


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## Christine Elaine Black (Mar 31, 2013)

Nathalie Hamidi said:


> All of them.


Nice one!!!


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## KMatthew (Mar 21, 2012)

I have surrendered. I'm not even going to attempt to make any real progress on my writing until the move is over. I'm too tired and stressed.


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## Writerly Writer (Jul 19, 2012)

MarlaB said:


> I have surrendered. I'm not even going to attempt to make any real progress on my writing until the move is over. I'm too tired and stressed.


Sounds like you are adequately in touch with yourself and your emotional state. Focus on moving, and don't beat yourself up for not writing. Return to your work willing and settled.


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