Getting Back Into Writing - The Ins and Outs

[harryheart]

Over the past couple of months, I've begun to get back into my writing a lot more now by developing plots, putting pen to paper and just generally giving things a go again after being out of writing Pokemon since the back end of last year and writing in general since Spring (that being other things bar work related stuff).

I've not been out of writing altogether as I have been writing dramas/scripts and children's stories for work related stuff, along with other varieties of writing so my perspectives may differ from someone who's been out of writing completely.

Now, all this got me thinking of a discussion topic. How does someone go about getting back into writing? I've really struggled with my Pokemon related writing, and I'm not 100% sure why, but I do think part of it is related to the creativity of it, and (perhaps) the length that it might take and dedication that then requires.

What'd I'd like to discuss here is some of the variations about getting back into writing. Specifics about Pokemon but also looking at writing in general.

What techniques could someone use at their disposal?
What may be some simple and easy ways to go about putting pen to paper again and not necessarily delving back into a novel related project?

Or anything else to be honest!?

 

[LightningTopaz]

Just write--it doesn't necessarily have to make sense or have a coherent plot

 

[kintsugi]

I haven't been writing long enough to disengage from it entirely, but I tend to go in cycles--sometimes, I'm super productive and write, like, 10k words or something, and then school and work and social life and school again and no writing gets done for weeks. Most of the time, though, I'm sort of in a middle state, where I want to write but can't get my headcanon in a row, at which point I end up doing nothing (and being full of that "gah, I should be doing something" feeling).

It's what I do during these stages that I feel will be most helpful, I guess? I find that writing anything is better than nothing, so sometimes I'll just write snippets--be it drabble, random situations, markedly non-canon events, or even things that aren't part of any story I'm currently working on whatsoever. For instance, instead of updating my fanfiction, I wrote a random snippet from another project where most of my canon players played mafia, which, while altogether impossible (because half of them are dead/hate each other/they just don't sit down and play mafia ever), turned out to give me surprising insight into how certain characters might react to, say, betrayal.

Not sure what advice to give to pokemon fanfiction as a category, but I think it would be largely the same--just write, I guess, and see what comes out?

 

[Misheard Whisper]

1. Do NaNo
2. Write horse***t
3. ?????
4. Profit.