Can Having Little to Do Make it Harder to Write?

[Ma'am]

Sometimes my mind is just dull and I can't write fiction very well.

For me, there are probably various reasons but I know one of them is lack of stimulation, from being isolated with nothing much going on. Then, sometimes I either write nonfiction or go out around people (when there's not a pandemic) or just get something else done instead.

Another method that works sometimes for me, is to just go crazy. Run through the house, do some jumping jacks, beat on the table, yell, etc. Then try writing again. Maybe all it really does is get some blood circulation to the brain, who knows.

[wannabe1]

This may sound dumb but what kind of story are you working on? Is it character driven? The reason I'm asking is that there have been times when I felt like I was banging my head against the wall, completely unable to write a word. My solution, which may sound weird and might be unique to me, is to sit back and close my eyes. Then I put myself into the story and try to just speak through the voice of one of the characters. It starts me thinking about what's going on at that moment and allows me to paint a more vivid picture of the situation. Before I know it, I begin writing my thoughts and just sort of slip out of the character and continue to write.

[Theglasshouse]

I was tempted to eavesdrop today. I did record my feelings of my only real outdoor activity today. Sometimes feelings are better than nothing. I am keeping a small set of feelings concerning how my mother and father behave. Which could be material for a story. I guess as I journal their activities and how I feel when they react I will know them better each day in life and it can be used for writing stories. Also, I recorded the dialogue's subjects and added feelings in regard to those. So for example I did a journal entry about someone in my family is usually angry if you don't do what that person says. I recorded my private thoughts and feelings concerning this. Some writers keep a notebook and a journal for such times when they need to use their memory. My mother fears for example and is worried about the health of their son. That's one feeling about the fact that I have trouble giving up the computer at night and sometimes sleep a little later than my usual schedule of 11:00 p.m.

[Periander]

Interesting question.

Well, speaking for myself, much of the stuff that I write comes from my day to day life out and about in the world. My particular world has shrunk considerably since the beginning of the quarantine, so it has been difficult to find new experiences about which to write. Granted, the quarantine itself is an experience, but living here in the middle of it has felt like sitting in the middle of an empty page with a dried-out pen resting limp between my fingertips. Every day seems much like the next. If I manage to write at all, it seems more like a desperate defence against madness rather than an act of joyful creation. How does one keep from feeling lost?

But I still try to write something. Because I must.

[Theglasshouse]

I did some free writing after reading a title of a novel that was published no too long ago which is a metaphor. Automatic writing is writing what is on a person's mind (on any day) about any subject and can help. Even though it sounds like an essay sometimes, it's your thoughts or feelings on a subject (reaction). Free writing on a very intriguing title triggered the imagination. I won't be able to write it yet since I lack confidence. Since I am insecure about how to organize the sentences. So I imagine in 2 months is when I will be brave enough to show a draft of this story. I have often been inspired by titles of poems, stories, and movies. This would be the second time it has happened. Also, I was inspired by a writing prompt at a different website for a magazine. If you will the novel shows the concept in execution. I will write a different version of the story from a different perspective. This is from a plot and not a character perspective. The title of the story gave me the idea. Not reading the plot. I read the plot synopsis since now it is a new trope in its respective genre.

Imagining a story from another character's eyes can help you write and imagine a whole different story or storyline or premise. For example, in Lord of the Rings can you imagine Sauron's story? When you imagine a fairy tale such as Beauty and the Beast, Jack and the Beanstalk you can retell it from a different characters eyes and you can use a different imagination and if you decide to change the facts. Especially if you write the story to take place in a modern setting. That's how I get inspired by other stories. Every person is different. (some of my published stories were inspired by myths, one was inspired by Grimm's fairy tales)

I imagine we can borrow plots from myths, and try to use it as inspiration as well. But the character is what makes the story likable. You can borrow characters from myths too if you need inspiration.