It's okay, Owlgirl, just take a deep breath. In. . .  and out. There. Feeling better? It seems to me that you're dealing with writer's block and that's okay and definitely perfectly normal. Don't worry, you haven't lost your touch. I know the feeling; this happened to me over winter break too, where I couldn't write a single thing for my ski lodge or make characters for RPs, much less RP. What got me back into writing was poetry, and I think that was mainly because of how supportive everyone here is. So Owlgirl, I'd recommend you write anything— anything at all, and post it. It'll get you back into writing (sort of) and definitely more motivated. Hope this helps! You got this!!!

<33 September

Having writer's block so bad it makes you cry is definitely a problem. Don't feel bad about saying it. I don't think you've lost your touch. It just might take a little coaxing to get it back. And if it doesn't come back the same, you get to explore something new. I had artists' block like that once, also around winter break... Huh. I assumed it was a side effect of mild seasonal depression or something similar. I can draw again now. Watching sketchbook tour videos on Youtube helped.

Now: Have you been reading? If not, read something. A good book can provide inspiration. I can recommend a lot of books, but some of the best include Cabinet of Wonders, The Girl Who Could Fly, Tales From Outer Suburbia, The Egypt Game, the Flight series, Stargirl, The Little Grey Men, The Last Unicorn, The Humming Room and the Princess Academy books.

If that doesn't work, here's a prompt that just popped into my head: "This is me. And I am about to die." Do you like the idea of a magical girl who starts and/or accompanies a guy on a quest? Like a child goddess and a guy who's between jobs. Also, what's a lapwing? ...That was an actual question but could be a prompt. Something like invent your own meaning for lapwing and write a story involving it. And your week of volunteering might be inspirational. Miyazaki got the idea for Spirited Away while taking a vacation with family. Go out and do something; maybe it'll have the same effect.

If all else is lost, you can write a miscellany. Or just whatever you're thinking. Like, write down in full detail every single thought you have, no matter how unimportant. It's like in the Sea Of Trolls books, where Jack says he saw a bird, a something, a mushroom and a spiderweb in the hazel wood, nothing important, and the Bard rhetorically asks what could be more important than a bird, a something, a mushroom and a spiderweb. I just looked up lapwing and it turns out it is not in fact a sort of glider. I also had an idea once about a factory that made cities. I'm kind of just throwing ideas at you now. Sorry. I hope one of them helps. I'm going to stop talking now. Good luck!

Oh no! You're an amazing writer, and you'll recover. You're definitely not the only one who has suffered writer's block. Try writing a list of random words. Then take one of the random words, combine it with another, and write a story off of that. Here's mine:

cat, kitten, tea, teacup, CAPTCHA, meow, huh, what, how, who, Spanish, French, whatever, can, try, love, gross, trick, weird, tell, click, then, if, train, fly, soar, wind

Taking teacup and wind to write a paragraph:

I am a teacup. I spent most of my life sitting on a shelf waiting for something to haplrn. Nothing happened. So I decided that if I wanted something to happen, I would have to do it myself. So I leaned forward off the shelf, and I was flying! I flew out of the house and around town. Then I went off to Oaris, where I was found by a lady who looked very confused.

--

If you want, you can finish that story.

If you can write anything, post it on here so we can tell you how awesome it is! 

And if that doesn't work, do something else. Play an instrument. Go swimming. Dance. Listen to Hamilton!

Anyway, I hope this helps! Good luck, and remember, we're here for you! 

Oh gosh, Owlgirl. That sounds frustrating. Writer's block is the worst, but don't worry- you most definitely aren't losing your touch! Everybody goes through phases where they get stuck and literally cannot think of anything to write, but at some point, they all get through it. Here's my advice to you~ go outside for awhile and just...walk around and think. About literally anything. There isn't any rush- you don't have to do an entire charrie sheet at once, you could just jot down little bits of it in between volunteering or in the car on a piece of paper or your phone if you have one. But give yourself time to think through things. If you need inspiration, check out the old Croud Sorcery threads! They have all sorts of unused characters and ideas and little snippets to get your brain going. 

Ugh, I hate losing creativity. It's so frustrating to really want to write or make art and not be able to, isn't it? One thing that helps me when that happens is to get outside and try again. Get off the computer, grab a notebook, pencil, and eraser, and find a place to work. I don't know if it's rural or urban where you live, but even in a city you should be able to find a little park, or even a tree. I just walk until I find a place that calls to me, sit down in the grass and write. Or draw. It really does help me.

I know you've said you aren't a visual artist, but another thing that helps me lose my art/writing block is getting some colorful art supplies and simply drawing. I'm not trying to make it good, I'm using whatever colors I want. Tell yourself there are no mistakes. There are no mistakes at all. You can just get the colors on the page. Good luck, Owlgirl!