Pardon me for just jumping in, but I've a question about shelf life?

[tigersilver.livejournal.com]

This is an informal, 'What do you do in this particular circumstance?' sort of question, so please jump in and say whatever.
Lay down thy gathered wisdom on me, please. [grin] Especially all of you wonderful Longevity Writers, those who've been in the fandom for, er, Quite a While.
What do you do when you feel your creative shelf life has expired?

Or, more precisely, when you are in a slough of utter despondment over your inability to write anything at all that contains the faintest spark? When you simply are bored to copious weeping by your own words, what do you do?

Mods, my luvs, may I request a tag for Advice?

EDIT: Hours later, Tiger!Time. My very dears, thank you. Ahem, THANK YOU! That's all sound advice, and many excellent directions to pursue and ponder, and I very much appreciate all of you taking the time to help me. I am struggling where I should be finding joy; that's not a good thing. Emotions bleed through, always, and that's not what I'd like to give back to either myself or the fandom I adore. So...thank you. You've done me a good turn, this day, and I am very much grateful. May Luck Dragons and all fortunate beings smile upon you and yours! Glomps from Tiger!

Comments

[emansil-08.livejournal.com]

I know exactly what you're speaking of here. Sometimes my love of fandom waxes and wans like the phase of the moon. Somedays I relax and allow it to happen, and other times I fight it. Fighting it usually has a horrible effect, so i try to just let it flow.

I've also found that if I try to read fic when I'm trying to force myself to write, that it has a devestating effect on my ability to write. The horribly evil Potions Professor of the early years moves in to my brain and tells me repeatedly that I am not nor will I ever be good enough to be part of such talented people. Needless to say I try to avoid the fic reading at those times.

Yet at the same time it is fic I want to read when feeling down, and it is fic I want to read when feeling stressed. It is also the reading of fic that makes me want to get pen and paper out and return to the unfinished tales.

So it's all a balancing act. I do quite often find myself falling off the wire, and have to climb back to the top again.

[tigersilver.livejournal.com]

Exactly, exactly, exactly! Couldn't have put it better myself; I am damned glad you did so for me! That is precisely the contradictory mood I'm in, you know? I can't bear to read; I wish to read; I fear to read and, above all, I squirm away from actually writing. Too much of a good thing does do that to one, I find; you're completely spot-on.
In any case, it's nice to know I'm not alone here, on my isla de torpitude, and thank you! I hope you'll forgive the belatedness of my reply; Life is completely galloped off the tracks with my mental carriage!
Tiger

[emansil-08.livejournal.com]

I'm glad what i said made sense, I'm never sure if it does or it doesn't but, yeah it is a quandry we get ourselves into.

I noticed you had recced a lot of stuff this past weekend, so apparantly you decided to go for the reading now. The rec's looked good.

I'm trying to focus on getting word count for hd_bigbang, so am putting reading off for a while. Fingers crossed it works.

[tigersilver.livejournal.com]

Kick arse, take names!
[Offers chocolates, pets and lavender sachets for soothing purposes:>]