I think that

Chatterbox: Down to Earth

I think that

I think that the CB is the reason I can't write a story anymore.

I've come to rely on other people to help develop the story through RPs.

Now I can't turn my ideas into a story.

I need to build up my writing skill again (I used to be good).

What should I do?

I go to the CB when I'm bored, I guess I don't have much else to do.

I spend so much time on the CB that it has negatively affected my writing skills.

Should I leave?

Should I stop RPing and just write on my own?

I really don't want to leave.

But, would it be good for me to leave?

I think I'm the only person who has ever complained on the CB about CB.

Can someone help me with my writing skills?

Maybe I'll ask my teachers and friends.

I don't know what to do.

I'm sorry about this inner debate.

I won't reveal who I am.

Thank you for the help, if you offer it.  

submitted by .
(September 12, 2016 - 7:24 pm)

Either make RPGs, or single writers.

submitted by Gared
(September 12, 2016 - 11:11 pm)

Don't join any RPs for a while, maybe write a book on BaB, just let your creative juices get a chance to work on something by themselves.

submitted by Windswift
(September 13, 2016 - 7:54 pm)
submitted by Top
(September 13, 2016 - 7:28 pm)

Thats very... Odd. I have found my writing skills are actually increasing with CB. Please don't leave. Maybe just stay away from inkwell? 

submitted by Daisy
(September 13, 2016 - 7:43 pm)

Yeah, same. My writing actually improved seven grades during one year, due to the CB. But it might be good to take a break for a couple of months to help your brain out.

submitted by Cho Chang
(September 14, 2016 - 10:08 am)

You definitely aren't the first person to complain. It does sound odd... but it is possible your skills of personlaizing your story might grt dull. YOu can always read RP's, don't have to join them. IF you join one, trying spinning your own tale out of it in your head, a seperate story from what the other RPers are doing

submitted by Novelist, The Secret Forest
(September 14, 2016 - 12:45 am)

What I do to get my creative juices flowing is take a bunch of characters in my head and put them in a weird school. Then the characters try to get back into their own world. For example, The Feline swaps places with another tom. Then he's really confused, even though he has that tom's memories. I then see what reactions The Feline has in this new envoirment. It's weird but fun.

*shudders* I hate your swappings. They're not fun at all.

Well, they're fun for me, but not for you.

Hmph. No fair.

I'm your creator, so I can do whatever I want with you. 

submitted by The House Owner, age 32, Paris, France
(September 16, 2016 - 7:18 am)

I decided not to leave, but I'll explain more. I've come to rely on other people to come up with ideas and help write the story. I'm going to try The House Owner's idea.

submitted by .
(September 16, 2016 - 3:31 pm)

Aw, I feel honored. Thank you, .! I'm also very happy that you're not leaving, for many CBers have.

submitted by The House Owner, age 32, Paris, France
(September 16, 2016 - 7:58 pm)

I felt the same way for a while. I've learned to completely separate my normal writing from my Rp writing.

submitted by Brookeira
(September 17, 2016 - 8:03 am)

Just write a single writer, or join one! Check out the threads on Kyngdom! They all have amazing writing. 

And OMK (oh my Kyngdom) I just got my magazine!! 

submitted by Icy, age 12!!!, The Forest
(September 17, 2016 - 2:59 pm)

I'm going to jump in here too...First of all, it may help to know that what you're experiencing is perhaps more common than you think and affects artists of all stripes in one form or another at one or more points in their lives. It is the "moment" when you realize that the muses have abandoned you, leaving you with nothing but a terrifying void to deal with the best you can.  How do you to fill that void? How do you begin to move on...?  

I do not pretend to have all the answers. Truth is I am still learning this myself. And no, I do not consider myself a writer. But I do "dabble" in fiction and poetry (strictly for my own "amusement" mind you) and know some of the issues that writers face. I am also deeply interested in the creative process, seeing it as the closest thing to magic that this world has to offer.  Something from nothing... That is magic... That is truly beautiful...

But perhaps by offering my thoughts on the matter, you will find something that will help you even a little bit?  Just bear with me though. I have a tendency to ramble. I will try to keep to points but lines of thought will often intersect, making boundary-keeping difficult.

Creative Process & the Artist: I absolutely love "listening" to various artists talk about their creative process, whether the artists deal with lines/colors, words, or pure sounds.  And here's what I've found: That while some artists share certain techniques with other artists in this regard (e.g. a set writing schedule), when looked as a whole, no artist's process is exactly the same. What this means is that the creative process is not a one-, two-, three-, four- size fits all. There are as many different ways to create as there are artists. Your job is to find out what works best for you.  This is not an easy thing to do.  Rather it is plodding work, a series of hits and misses as you try different techniques, keeping those that work and disregarding those that don't.  But more than finding the techniques that work for you, is finding out why certain techniques work for you and not others. In other words, if you are mindful throughout the process, you will find out things about yourself that you didn't know before, allowing you to create your own techniques from scratch or at the very least identify more quickly those techniques that will and will not work for you. For me, the process made me realize how much of a visual person I am, which is why brainstorming as a first step to writing invariably led to a lot of mental head banging in the past. I sort of have to visualize what I want to say first, conjure up a vague image to stand for a part or even the whole if you will, before the words come flowing. I still brainstorm but never as the first step.

Inspiration:
Yes, the muses have gone, and they didn't leave a calling card.  But that doesn't mean that you can't go looking for them. And it certainly doesn't mean that you can't find new ones to replace the old ones, and by this I mean trying things you may not have tried before to spark your imagination again.  This should be fun. The House Owner made one suggestion.  Maybe other CBers will give you more, either here or on a separate thread made specifically to discussing this very subject. Speaking for myself, inspiration invariably comes in the form of images around me: the figure by the bus stop gazing at a point in the distant, there but not there. She looks tired.  I wonder what she is thinking... I wonder what she is feeling... Sometimes the image comes riding on a song, a character that reminds me of something else, which reminds me of something else, which reminds me of something else... I let my mind run until I stumble on something that makes me want to stay and poke around. You probably have your own games that you play similar to this that you never thought about using to spin a story. Start playing...

Writing:
Have you ever taken one of those click pens apart just so you can figure out how it worked and then put it back together again? Guess what? You can do the same to stories. (I learned to do this in 6th grade; my teacher was pure awesomeness!) The thing with stories is that if they are well written, we often forget how much crafting went into creating them. You see the whole but not the little pieces that make up the whole. You forget that the "pieces" are there for a reason. You forget that even the shape of it is such  to better tell the story. By mentally "dissecting" the story, you reveal these individual "parts." And here it may help to come up with a list of questions to ask yourself about the story. They can be general questions which then generate more specific questions.  Now I don't necessarily mean that you should do this exercise with every story. But do it occasionally for stories that you think are good to learn about how certain writers have crafted their stories.  You said that you used to be good.  Find one of your own stories to analyze. Or go read one here, but I suggest really making this into a task by itself. Play or work but not both. You really need your wits about you to analyze a story.  Plus, playing is more fun if you are simply focused on playing, and it has the added benefit of giving you practice in writing. So do both.  I'd also second Gared's suggestion about picking a one-writer piece to analyze just to simplify the process.

Okay, going to stop here.  Hope some of the above, helps.   :)

~River

submitted by rvr
(September 18, 2016 - 8:32 am)

To the Author of This Thread

I understand what you mean. Your fancy suffers from lack of exercise-- or use. Like a tool that was designed for a marvelous purpose, but is surrounded by so many other useful objects that it never gets used for anything besides loosening screws.

Personally, I think that the Chatterbox is beneficial for me as a writer-- because it gives me something to write for, and helps me to stop nitpicking at my work and just publish it before the deadline. But then, I only get on for Saturdays.

Perhaps you should just lower your intake-- don't come here when you're bored. Instead, work your imagination and get it back in shape-- write, read, go on a walk, watch the world, get in contact with people you can touch. Heading for the Chatterbox, where everything is virtual and there's enough like-minded people to keep you engaged, is a wonderful break sometimes-- but, as with any other thing of value, it's not very healthy to consume too much.

It's like impulse buying vs. purposeful purchasing-- when doing the former, you walk into a store without anything in particular in mind, see something, freak out, and buy it. Later, you never use it and you come to regret it. With the latter, however, you know what you want/need and have come to that particular shop for a certian purpose-- you buy what you planned and leave, your time and money fulfilled.

So, in the end, my advice is to balance your time and find out what's best for you. I know you're imaginative enough for anything.

submitted by Esthelle (Es-thel-ay, age Anonymous, Rivendell (I wish) ;)
(September 24, 2016 - 3:03 pm)