Writing doesn’t bring joy anymore

[Deleted member 1244]

What do?

Just stop.

Or...
Do reviews and feed back threads

 

[nemonusquam_]

Worthwhile endeavors require hard work and effort. Writing a story is one such worthwhile endeavor; these spells of inspiration are rewards that must be wrested from the Muses, like MatchaChocolate69 mentioned.

You have to climb the mountain in order to enjoy the view. At the end of the day, being a writer is a profession, and as such it can't be rose-tinted all of the time.

 

[Keene]

Motivation comes and goes. The only thing reliable is discipline.

Quoted for truth.

I wasted many years before I truly understood the power of discipline - of no longer relying on a short term dopamine hit or burst of motivation to do something - and instead start prioritizing hard, but achievable long term goals with delayed payoff and gratification.

 

[uCare]

You can write. Go write.

It's probable your passion was sharing and attracting attention to what was written. Showing off your work.

Try reducing the crowd to one. Ask a trusted friend to read a chapter from a story of yours. Make it a short and simple one that gets to an interesting point. Listen to them when they finish reading. A friend will help a friend.

 

[Jaystern]

The problem is I relied on those inspiration hits and I don't have them anymore

Then combine all your inspiration into one. It doesn't have to make sense immediately. Just feel what you were feeling in those moments and write. The opinions of others are valuable, but they will never replace yours. That's my opinion at least.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

It's called: YOUR BRAIN.

You do something. it is something "good". Your brain rewards you with a dopamine. This encourages you to do more. You do more, youget another dopamine hit. Eventually you reach the best you can be. The dopamine wears off.

You either:
1. Move on.
2. Learn to push forward, finding some reason to do X that isn't just your brain's architecture that is designed to encourage you to learn useful skills.
3. You try harder and harder until you give up, then you move onto something similar. You start doing whatever it takes to get your next high. Depending on the situation this can turn quite ugly. This is how people become Bullies, Corrupt politicians, and Addicts to Various forms of Vice.

Brain function wise, there really isn't any difference between an Addict, a Corrupt Government Offical, or a Bully.

 

[KuruKinaar]

I stopped writing and doing hobbies for 5 years for mental health reasons and life situations taking a toll on me. Sometimes, you just can't write or read when you want to, as much as it's a fun hobby. Really, put your mental health and in life situations first. Resolve and take care of them. It's also possible you just lost interest - it truly depends on what you want to do with it moving forward. You can always come back to an old hobby, it's not forbidden.