Venting thread

[/nɒtɛndəduːd/]

More than three months of massive writer's block, and no end in sight.

what are you writing about?

oops. I just realized that this post is from 7 years ago. my bad

I am really bad at looking at fine print. my bad again.

though I am curious, what are you writing about?

[rotting bones]

More than three months of massive writer's block, and no end in sight.

One advice I heard is to break the stream of the narrative by introducing new themes and/or characters. Easier said than done.

[Raphael]

More than three months of massive writer's block, and no end in sight.

One advice I heard is to break the stream of the narrative by introducing new themes and/or characters. Easier said than done.

Problem is, I already have a pretty clear idea of what the characters and themes are supposed to be for the whole story.

though I am curious, what are you writing about?

First contact with aliens in a mostly utopian future Earth, as seen from the perspective of a fairly minor participant for whom the whole things coincides with coming of age.

[Ares Land]

Maybe a change of approach could work? Like, writing a detailed outline instead?

[rotting bones]

Problem is, I already have a pretty clear idea of what the characters and themes are supposed to be for the whole story.

If you're sure that's what you want to write, wouldn't you have written it already? Consider the possibility that you are bored with your preconceived plot. It might help to explore the story from another angle. If the subplot gets boring later, you can merge it with the main plot or kill it off GRR Martin style.

Not that this is necessarily the right approach. Just remember, if you're not having fun writing the story, that may be visible in your work.

[Raphael]

Thank you, I'll think about all that.

[Travis B.]

Agh, an obvious bug I missed that I really ought to have caught ages ago, especially because I have code elsewhere in the same source file that properly handles the very same use case that triggers the bug. Of course, that only gives me reason to put out a new release sooner, which I was going to do at some point as I created a bunch of words for waiting for task notifications and then atomically fetching the mailbox contents and setting new mailbox contents.

[Man in Space]

I have a colonoscopy on Tuesday. The insurance is balking at covering the voiding agent. It’s not like I have a disease that can cause cancer (and it’s not like I’ve already dodged that bullet once), am I right? (/s)

Also, the insurance had better actually cover the procedure this time. Last time thanks to a snafu somewhere I ended up paying six kilodollars or so out of my own pocket.

[Raphael]

I have a colonoscopy on Tuesday. The insurance is balking at covering the voiding agent. It’s not like I have a disease that can cause cancer (and it’s not like I’ve already dodged that bullet once), am I right? (/s)

Also, the insurance had better actually cover the procedure this time. Last time thanks to a snafu somewhere I ended up paying six kilodollars or so out of my own pocket.

That's really messed up. Good luck.

[Travis B.]

The health insurance industry is evil.

[sasasha]

Good luck, Man In Space.

I hit a depression after the initial shock of losing my friend. This is fine and natural and I’m ok. But I’m so unfocused. My brother came to stay and I could barely think what to say to him. It’s easy to just want time to float away in whatever fashion it most easily can, very hard to put demands into that time; practically everything I demand of myself is failing rn, so I think I just have to wait until my motivation system is up and running again (as much as it ever is). I need to job hunt because this grief was like drinking a truth serum and suddenly I was just like hell no, I am not doing this about one of my jobs. So I do need to find some focused willpower soon, or being able to pay rent will start to float away in whatever fashion it most easily can, too!

In the meantime, here has been fun and helpful, thanks y’all.

[/nɒtɛndəduːd/]

Good luck, Man In Space.

I hit a depression after the initial shock of losing my friend. This is fine and natural and I’m ok. But I’m so unfocused. My brother came to stay and I could barely think what to say to him. It’s easy to just want time to float away in whatever fashion it most easily can, very hard to put demands into that time; practically everything I demand of myself is failing rn, so I think I just have to wait until my motivation system is up and running again (as much as it ever is). I need to job hunt because this grief was like drinking a truth serum and suddenly I was just like hell no, I am not doing this about one of my jobs. So I do need to find some focused willpower soon, or being able to pay rent will start to float away in whatever fashion it most easily can, too!

In the meantime, here has been fun and helpful, thanks y’all.

I have never really been close to even the people I've been the closest to, and so I understand where it is that you come from. it is good to mourn those who have passed, for then we will not forget who they were and what they did for those around them, but at the end of the day, death is a thing for us all. at a point, you have to let them pass. (I'm not saying this is advise strictly for you, Raphael, but for anyone it might reach.)

Not sure if this post I put in the contradictory feelings thread helps much, but I saw your post and thought I'd put it here, too. hope things get better.

[sasasha]

Thank you, /nɒtɛndəduːd/, that’s really kind.

[alice]

I found some annoying bugs in my SCA, which I now have to fix rather than doing something else.

[rotting bones]

A lot of packages I need seem to be missing from Maven Central.

[Raphael]

A lot of packages I need seem to be missing from Maven Central.

Good luck getting that sorted out.

[Lērisama]

There is a highly boring piece of work I need to do. I can't bring myself to stop procrastinating and actually do it for the life of me.

[Raphael]

There is a highly boring piece of work I need to do. I can't bring myself to stop procrastinating and actually do it for the life of me.

Ah, that feeling. I'll try to send you motivation.