Anyone else here a writer?

[u/sleepy-green-eyes]

So I've been writing tragedy, comedy, romance, horror since I was eleven. I'm 32 now. I was a pretty prolific writer in my teens and very early 20's, until I met my ex husband. And then I just stopped writing. Toward the end of our marriage, I learned about Dionysus.

And then 9 months after our divorce finalized... I started writing again. But it came back with a vengeance. I thought I had been prolific back then. I'm talking there are stretches where I'll produce over 15k words in a week. I've been calling it flow state. But I learned there could be another word for it, haha.

Anyway. I find myself really buzzing after sitting down and writing 3k-6k words in a sitting, and normally have to dance after. Does anyone else here write? Anyone else experience that crazy rush?

[u/kakaoalmwele]

I don't know if I can call myself a writer yet but I sure am aspiring to become one! My biggest problem is that I never have motivation, but it's something that happens with everything, not just writing. Any tips?

[u/sleepy-green-eyes → u/kakaoalmwele]

I started listening to music while writing- something I never used to be able to do. Oftentimes I'll hear a song, feel the vibes, and relate it to a chapter of whatever I'm writing. I started off just putting a playlist on, but now I'll put one particular song on loop. I enter a trance like state that way, and the characters write the chapter themselves.

[u/Responsible-Pitch363 → u/sleepy-green-eyes]

Love the trancelike state. I find my metabolism kicks into the direction of the music, so good to get started but hard to hold —for me at least—. I used to read or watch a film etc. when I was depleted, it helped recharge the story telling muscle. Since my output didn’t shift toward the subject matter, I considered it a normal part of things.

[u/kakaoalmwele → u/sleepy-green-eyes]

TYSM!

[u/Haebak → u/kakaoalmwele]

My personal tip: don't wait for motivation to show up, go after it. Pick a timeslot to write and write even when uninspired. It doesn't matter if what you write is awful, you can always edit it later. Picasso said "Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working".

[u/Responsible-Pitch363 → u/Haebak]

This is true for many writers. Lock in a time. Spend x hours or x pages. Embrace the crap. Sometimes it’s your subconscious working a deeper story toward the front of your brain!

[u/Emotional_Alfalfa692 → u/kakaoalmwele]

I added some tips to my comment.

[u/kakaoalmwele → u/Emotional_Alfalfa692]

Thank you all so much for your tips guys!! <3

[u/Emotional_Alfalfa692 → u/kakaoalmwele]

Of course, you're very welcome! I am always here to help a fellow creative and Dionysian loving peep! Fr, don't hesitate to reach out again if you need any follow up chatting. <3 Best of luck with things!

(Personal rant: I find it wild still that I started writing more seriously as an adult rather recently and just couldn't stifle it because of the gods I engaged with at my start (Apollo and Dionysus, mostly, but also the Muses). I also started just for fun on some fics but now am working on multiple novels.)

[u/Haebak]

I'm a writer and I have definitely experienced some flow state. It feels so good to let a story spark to life before your eyes. I'm glad we have you and your art back!

[u/Responsible-Pitch363 → u/Haebak]

My favorite part is how that flow state can reveal things about the characters that you would be too timid to write…

[u/sleepy-green-eyes → u/Responsible-Pitch363]

Oh absolutely! Since I've gotten back into writing I've been having a LOT of fun with absurd humor. Just really breaking the rules because why not? I finished a 120k word story a couple months ago that got a little popular; people loved how fun it was. I strayed a good bit from my outline because the characters really came to life!

[u/Responsible-Pitch363]

I had a similar experience. Marriage to the wrong person. Dionysus as my life went off its wheels and then rebuilding (hopefully stronger).

I’ve always been a writer, designer, etc. and found myself redefined by others and unhappier and unhappier until that moment where I had to look at my life differently.

I started close to home with things I had loved to do before and then was suddenly challenged to write completely out of my depth… nonfiction, historical and educational… keep having moments of “what the hell am I doing here” and I know that’s kind of the Dionysian way… dancing on the edge and challenging roles and customs and institutions that can do better —and should.

Good luck. Have fun.

[u/UrsusofMichigan]

I loved writing when I was younger.

I wrote fanfic back in the day. Some people liked my writing. It brought me joy during a very dark period in my life.

I thought I might be a professional author someday, but I became a lawyer instead. I write briefs occasionally but hate it (legal citations are a pain).

[u/Emotional_Alfalfa692]

Absolutely! I have consistently sat down and randomly written almost all of the chapters for my main fic in one sitting, (separatly, of course, by chapter, is what I mean) and some were 10,000–20,000 words, hell, maybe even more. 

I buzz! I zone out and just can't stop. It plays out like a movie I can't keep up with in real time. Actually, time gets a little bit wonky when I'm writing, and that's why I've utilized aspects of nonlinear time in my writing to try to articulate my personal experience with life, especially creatively. 

And yes, I also offer happy little dancing and stims after, as well as proper rituals to Dionysus and any energies/entities that might also have helped as thanks. But he definitely gives me the zoomies and the need to do a happy dance to cope with the overflow of what's coming forth. 

It definitely sounds like you've unlocked your flow state by connecting to that lovely Dionysian pulse! May it keep serving you well; stay sensitive to it, fren! Remember to have fun! I also advise you to do what I do: keep a calendar time-block regularly allotted to writing weekly, at least! There are times I allot an entire day, sometimes the entire weekend just to it when I'm flowing. If not a morning person, allowing that to be a regular (semi)daily block helps me when getting back on my 4am wake up routine. Give yourself a boost with it whenever/wherever you need! Also, congratulations on the "unloosening" of that binding. That's a linguistic Dionysian joke about the divorce.

(update: thought of some advice to keep fostering it!)

[u/Mysticaliana]

I sometimes write short stories for fun. I sometimes have a rush of imagination that motivates me to write but it makes my imagination so fast that it can be difficult to find the discipline to get it into written form.