I'm exhausted of literary

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jaus tail

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Hi,

I've written so many short stories, I feel exhausted now. I don't want to think of any more plots or concepts. It all seems like science now.

One character has a way of life, an incident will happen that will make him question his roots/beliefs/choice of life and either the character will overcome or succumb to depression.

It doesn't excite me anymore. Has anyone else gone through this?

The stories seem same with only some differences in character names and a behavior differences but other than that, it's all too similar and pretty much boring nowadays.
 

Fruitbat

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I do worry that I'll start writing the same story over and over again. I look for different (flash fiction) books, online courses that show different methods, forms, or prompts to prevent it (hopefully).
 

Maryn

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It sounds to me as if you might just be telling the one story over and over, with variations. Of course that becomes boring.

Instead, try something radically different. Why not make it not about your character's internal strife with past actions but about something someone else has done which s/he can only react to, not internally but with actions of her own?

Consider, too, a different genre, different length, different form--a play, essay, poem--and see if that doesn't shake something creative loose in you.

Maryn, who bounces between genres and forms at times
 

Xelebes

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Overcome or succumb to depression? Is that what the stakes are limited to? Play with some other stakes.
 

gettingby

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Read more short stories. Pick up some literary journals. I never feel like the stories I read are the same old thing and it helps kick off new ideas when I am feeling stuck. Seriously, reading more always helps writing.
 

mccardey

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Cheer up - there's a lot more to "literary" than that. You may have misunderstood the term (and that's a topic for a whole different thread) but why not try a cross-over definition? Literary thriller, or literary romance? Literary YA?
 

jaus tail

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Reading should help. I also need to get out of my house. Been sitting inside for a really longtime.
 

stephenf

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You can see the same things , running through the body of work of lots of writers . I like the P K Dick approach to relive the situation . Clear the scene with a big bomb .
 

Gringa

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Go outside. Experience life. You might come up with a memoir.
 

JustSarah

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I'm kind of in a similar situation, but for spec fic. There is only so many console cowboys before you get tired of it. I'm not necessarily wild about the above either, and I'm craving something in between.

I've actually considered a random plot generator I made, and roll dice with specific spec fic characters, then merging them with a universal concept that is applicable to todays social values. The characters are what makes a story a different story anyway, and rarely do I stick with the original plot.

It's not a permanent thing, but keeps things interesting.

Actually one of the fun bits, is randomly generated an animal familiar. And using such animal as a way to discover hidden subplots, and other deeper aspects about your character.
 
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chompers

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I don't have this problem, because I make a conscious effort to make sure I'm not writing cookie cutter stories. That's a pet peeve of mine.

Like there's an author (I've mentioned this before) whose plots seem to all be the FMC is in love with her brother-in-law. The stories are different, but the basic premise is the same. It's to the point where I'm wondering if SHE has a secret crush on her brother-in-law.

This is also why I tend to not like family series, especially ones where the siblings are in law enforcement. The stories are too similar. I don't know about you, but I went down a completely different path than my sibling. And yet these are all the same, just different MCs and different love interest and different baddies.

Make each one unique and stand out in its own way.
 
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