I’ve been in a bit of a writing funk the past few months. I’ve not had writer’s block, per se; the words just haven’t been coming as easily as they have in the past. The last three weeks, however, I’ve made some progress at clawing my way out of the hole. I completed a new story—it’s only a flash piece, but it’s the first entirely new short story I’ve finished in a couple of months—and revised on another story that had been collecting dust on my hard drive. I’ve also got a third story nearing completion (another year-old draft), which would keep me on pace to meet my writing goal of a finished story per month.
I also recently passed the two-thirds mark on the novel I started during last year’s NaNoWriMo, and I hope to have the first draft finished sometime around the beginning May, provided, that is, I can figure out how it should end. I know vaguely how I want things to go; I’m just not sure how to get there. Fortunately, I’m confident a flash of inspiration will come; here’s hoping that lightning strike happens soon.
It’s times like these when I know I just need to write my way out of the dry spot. This is especially true if I want to turn fiction writing into a viable second (or maybe first) career. Inspiration is a wonderful thing, but it’s not there all the time, and a successful writer doesn’t have the luxury of writing only when the muse favors him or her. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of butt in chair and fingers on keys.
D. Thomas Minton 
Butt in chair has been my mantra for a month. It seems to be working. I think moves, regardless of how we *think* they go, take a lot out of writing reservoir, dry up that well, until we settle in and begin to feel “at home” once more. Congrats on writing thru the lean, gritty times, and may they soon come to an end!
Yes, I think you’re right. I definitly started to the notice the writing molasses around the time the move became a reality. We’re not settled yet in yet, but we’re getting there and hopefully within the next few months everything will be back to normal.
You’re one of the more prolific writers I’ve come across, so your down time is better than a lot of people’s up time.
The problem I run into is starting too many projects (writing and otherwise) and then feeling weighted down, like I’m not making progress on any of it. I’m in that place right now and need to find a way out of it.
I’ve never thought of myself as prolific, especially when I know other writers who put 30+ decent stories a year into the submission cycle. I ty not to get down on myself, however; every writer is different. But I also know that I need to improve my productivity without sacrificing quality to have a reasonable chance of turning this “hobby” into a possible “career.” Writers need to put new stuff frequently to be successful. I’ve always liked multiplee projects going, but that’s probably a product of my short, MTV-generation, attention span.
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