In the last few weeks I’ve seen my pace of ideas slow down, and I’ve found myself going back to the meme trough. I’ve started borrowing DVD sets of TV shows I haven’t seen yet, such as Stargate SG-1 and Battlestar Galactica. For being a sci-fi fan, I’m relatively unwashed as far as TV series go. Thankfully the office I work in is ripe with fellow sci-fi fans who have full shelves of TV on DVD.
I’ve found myself reading more as well. I’m not sure is just the ebb and flow of things, but it’s been less about output lately and more about input. I need to restock my brain with some memes. At the same time I can’t help but wonder if this ‘research’ is prolonging the inevitable completion of my work.
Do you go through similar cycles? Is research an addiction for you? Procrastination? Or is it merely a refilling of the well?
There’s both, but it’s a fine line. You’ve gotta fill the well, but that mean beast of procrastination can fiddle with the water meter and make it seem empty, when indeed it’s full.
I just have this thing where sometimes while working on a part of one of my stories, things just go blank. When that happens I tend to back off a bit and restock the idea pit.
Pushing straight through and hashing out whatever random thing is usually a frustrating experience that only produces low quality results.
But then I tend to beat myself up over not pushing full steam ahead. You’re right it’s a fine line.
I go through cycles. I can’t work out the later half of my novels when I start. I don’t really know everything that’s going to happen in those first chapters, and so many surprises pop up. So I get the first half written and I get a little stumped as I try to figure out the second half. Once I get past that point though it’s high flying through the end (normally).
I tend to view what you’ve described as procrastination, and so I never indulge. But I always feel so rejuvenated after I see a well-done film or re-filling the well in some other way.
Clearly, I need a little more balance in the “filling the well” direction. Working on it.
To me it’s a diminishing returns thing in both directions.
If I’m fighting to come up with ideas for something, I do think there is such a thing as ‘trying too hard’ — if it’s not working, it’s not working. If you’re drawing a blank, then you’re drawing a blank.
Better to just own up and face it than to try and deny it. In situations like that I find it’s best to just take a break, read some books or watch movies that might inspire you, reflect a bit and come back with a renewed perspective.
On the other hand, if you seem to be in perpetual research mode and never really getting anything done, then additional research isn’t going to do you a lot of good and it’s better to just get started, buckle down and get some work done.
I agree with the diminishing returns thing. I can tell I need a day (or two) off when the writing. just. doesn’t. come. out.
I read all the time so that helps.
Usually when I’m getting sick of the research I say “to hell with it” and go back to writing. By that time I’m ready to skip that part, put a place marker for whatever tidbit I’ve spent the last four hours searching for, and write the next scene. A lot of times I’ll come back and realize that tidbit didn’t even need to be there.