How do you deal with burnout/no motivation?

R

random0918

Virgin
I’ve started about 4-5 different stories that I like and want to complete but after writing the first chapter/branch I just don’t feel like doing it anymore. Which is weird because I want to finish these stories, I want to see people’s reactions and what they add. It’s like I wanna finish the story but do no work.

What do you guys do to combat this?

Also can you write your stories when you’re not horny? I can only write while I’m horny and when I’m not I feel disgusted by what I’m doing.
 
Make a schedule for writing. Sounds weird, especially with porn, but set aside a period of time every day to write. If you wait for inspiration to come to you, you won't finish.

Some people find outlining helps. Sketch out where you want the story to go, break it down into chapters and scenes - boil the writing down into easy chunks, and you can actually see and feel yourself make progress.

Switch it up! Trying to write the same thing day after day can burn you out. So instead of writing all porn, take a writing break to do something non-porn-y. Write a review of somebody else's story, or work on writing a mystery or science fiction story, something different from what you normally do.

Fill the well. Read up on the background material for your story so that you know it backwards and forwards. History, wikipedia articles, other stories with the same genre/setting, etc. Or maybe something unrelated. Doing a story about time-traveling vikings and feeling burned out? Read about marines in WWII, or the English Civil War, or how they make taffy. Some of that stuff might spark your inspiration, but more importantly it gets your brain to change gears a bit, and that's as good as a rest.
 
random0918 said:
What do you guys do to combat this?
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Personally, I find the best way to not lose that battle is to simply not participate.

In short, I find it extremely useful to require yourself to complete a certain amount of work before you consider publishing a story to CHYOA. You begin with a premise - or at least, the vast majority of writers here do - and either start writing some opening paragraphs or start outlining the greater story. Then, when you run out of time or energy, you let the idea simmer for a bit. Does it linger in your mind throughout the day? Do people and places you see trigger your imagination? Do you lie awake at night, thinking about the characters you've invented? If so, you won't be forcing yourself to go back to whatever you've created so far and expand upon it.

I would avoid publishing a new story to CHYOA without at least a few chapters and a broad plan written. Maybe you just need to know where the story's going up to a certain point, or for a single branch. The point is, you've secured a clear pathway for your writing and you've ensured you have the motivation to travel it. Even if you abandon the story after that, you can at least say you've made something.
 
As someone who has a folder of 45 or more different story ideas, instead of 4-5, but only has one (in-progress) story on CHYOA I'd ask yourself the hard question of whether not you really like the story enough to see it through and/or manage the chaos (if it's an open story for others to add to)... OR if it was just a fun idea birthed during a time when you were "horny" but maybe it doesn't have legs for a full/longer story?

That or maybe write story-shorts like some authors because sometimes it's just the delivery guy with a "package" for a lonely housewife, and that's okay. Or you take on the role of story-manager/editor and setup the premise and have others add-on and take it from there. Maybe the delivery guy is part of a secret gigolo network or the housewife likes seducing unsuspecting men who come to her house? Endless possibilities.

Also, you might be suffering from shiny new story syndrome, which is something that affects a lot of us.
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Perhaps I'm not the best example since I've not published in over a week, but the reason I could commit so much to my story is it's full of choices. The choices led the main character down a bunch of different paths with different characters, and even seeing different sides of those characters. So once I ran out of steam with one bit I jumped to a different bit.

Edit: I also don't have to be horny to write but I definitely usually feel disgusted with myself to some degree, given the subject matter.
 
It happens. You do the same routine for long enough and eventually you just don't feel much of anything anymore. Experimenting can help deal with burnout, but sometimes you just end up losing any interest in the things you're doing. Not anyone's fault, be it friends you write with or viewers, but there does get to be a point where it just turns into work and you don't care about doing it anymore. Lately, I just don't really feel anything with writing and I don't really have an answer about it. Just everything seems like a pain.
 
Auraicide said:
It happens. You do the same routine for long enough and eventually you just don't feel much of anything anymore. Experimenting can help deal with burnout, but sometimes you just end up losing any interest in the things you're doing. Not anyone's fault, be it friends you write with or viewers, but there does get to be a point where it just turns into work and you don't care about doing it anymore. Lately, I just don't really feel anything with writing and I don't really have an answer about it. Just everything seems like a pain.
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That said, anti-depressants are sometimes a good idea
 
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Sometimes stepping back to do some spreadsheet work to plan plot ideas, possible branches, and a character bible can help.

Listening to podcasts on the craft of writing (like Dialog Doctor) gets me excited to get back to work.

Also, I find that the mental overhead of frequently jumping between big projects is a significant drain. Focus on one most of the time, do some lighter stuff on the side for variety.
 
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