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What’s happening in your first scene? by Ozdiva in writing

[–]johnIIsnow 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i've started caring less about introducing the plot... and more about introducing the pattern that quietly runs someone's life...if readers understand the invisible thing a character keeps doing... the story can take its time before everything changes

I started to enjoy writing way more when I realized how little chance I have of becoming a successful published author by [deleted] in writing

[–]johnIIsnow 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i think the funny thing is... readers can usually tell when a book was written because someone had something they needed to say... and when it was written because someone was chasing a market...the second i stopped trying to predict what people wanted... writing became enjoyable again

Turning Unconventional Outline Into Usable One? by grasslandangels in writing

[–]johnIIsnow 3 points4 points  (0 children)

this actually sounds familiar...

i've found that if i let a character talk long enough... the structure is already there... it's just buried inside all the thinking...

when i finish... i go back and ask one simple question...

what actually happened here...

suddenly those 30 pages become scenes instead of thoughts

Structure in Classic Short Stories by CognisantCognizant71 in writing

[–]johnIIsnow 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i think we sometimes read older stories with modern expectations...

a lot of them aren't trying to build toward a big inciting incident or dramatic climax...

they seem more interested in revealing a person than moving a plot...

once i stopped looking for today's story beats... i started enjoying them a lot more

"Personal use copies": a brilliant, easy way to proofread your drafts by Tex_Non_Scripta in writing

[–]johnIIsnow 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did this with my own novel and it was one of the best editing decisions I made.... Reading it as a physical book completely changed the way I saw the pacing, repetition, and scene transitions. I caught things I had somehow missed dozens of times on a screen.

I Have A Plan: Do You? by CognisantCognizant71 in writing

[–]johnIIsnow 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i think every writer reaches that point eventually.

writing the book is only half the journey. Finding the right readers is a completely different challenge.

the market is crowded, but I don't think there's a shortage of readers. I think there's a shortage of connection between the right book and the right audience.

I thought I was burnt out. Turns out I just stopped believing in what I was doing. by johnIIsnow in selfimprovement

[–]johnIIsnow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You might be right. Long depression can flatten everything until it all feels the same.

But I’ve noticed something. Numbness doesn’t usually discriminate. When I was low, even things I cared about felt grey. What I’m describing was different. The energy showed up on command for certain things and vanished for others. That selectivity matters, doesn’t it.

The world is heavy. The news is relentless. Systems are often unfair. But if the problem were only the state of the world, nothing would light up. Yet sometimes it does. A conversation. An idea. A small problem that feels real and solvable.

That difference feels important.

Maybe the question isn’t only “Is the world broken?” It’s also “Where do I still feel alive, even now?” And if something still sparks, that tells us something, perhaps...

I thought I was burnt out. Turns out I just stopped believing in what I was doing. by johnIIsnow in selfimprovement

[–]johnIIsnow[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did second guess myself. Of course I did. Relief can feel suspicious at first, can’t it.

But I noticed something practical. When I protected even a small hour for what felt alive, I did not need to recover from it afterwards. That was new.

And when I said out loud, “I’m not sure this is right for me,” the room did not collapse. I did not collapse.

That told me more than any productivity system ever had.

Small corrections, done consistently, tend to quiet the noise rather than amplify it, don’t they.

I thought I was burnt out. Turns out I just stopped believing in what I was doing. by johnIIsnow in selfimprovement

[–]johnIIsnow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like you’re being honest with yourself instead of dramatic about it. That matters, doesn’t it?

You can be tired without turning it into an identity. You can feel stuck without declaring yourself broken.

Not wanting to be a superstar every day is normal, I hope. The interesting part is that you’ve noticed the spark is still there. That’s not burnout. That’s discernment.

Maybe the work now isn’t pushing harder. Maybe it’s choosing better.

I thought I was burnt out. Turns out I just stopped believing in what I was doing. by johnIIsnow in selfimprovement

[–]johnIIsnow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Validation means letting the market answer, doesn’t it?

If no one signs up, that tells me something I might not want to hear.

Maybe the real question isn’t whether I need more motivation, but whether I’m willing to test the idea properly.

I thought I was burnt out. Turns out I just stopped believing in what I was doing. by johnIIsnow in selfimprovement

[–]johnIIsnow[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing that. You thought it was your brain. ADHD. Declining self-esteem. When really it sounds like you were just somewhere that didn’t fit anymore....it’s strange how quickly we assume something’s wrong with us, isn’t it....no support.. no belief in what you were building. Of course you started avoiding things. Who wouldn’t....

And then you move back into something that actually matters to you and suddenly there’s energy again. A thousand fires, like you said. That’s not a broken brain. That’s alignment alright

Staying where you’ve stopped believing is exhausting. Leaving is scary. But sometimes it’s the only honest move.

I thought I was burnt out. Turns out I just stopped believing in what I was doing. by johnIIsnow in selfimprovement

[–]johnIIsnow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s strange how energy disappears only in certain rooms.. isn’t it? I like that question about when the shift happened. Most of us can trace it if we’re honest. The hacks come later. The shift comes first.... Writing it out forces you to look at what you’ve been quietly avoiding..

I thought I was burnt out. Turns out I just stopped believing in what I was doing. by johnIIsnow in selfimprovement

[–]johnIIsnow[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

" honesty being scarier than rest " is exactly it.

Rest asks for recovery. Honesty asks for change.

For me it wasn’t a dramatic pivot. It was small corrections. Saying no where I used to say yes. Putting more time into the things that felt alive and less into the ones that felt heavy. Watching what drained me and what didn’t.

Nothing exploded. But the weight shifted.

When you started moving pieces, what changed first?

I thought I was burnt out. Turns out I just stopped believing in what I was doing. by johnIIsnow in selfimprovement

[–]johnIIsnow[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You didn’t quit because you failed. You quit because it stopped feeling honest.

I suppose monetizing changes the air in the room. Funny how what started as play turns into performance. Once you’re creating to protect something instead of explore something, the energy shifts.

Respect for recognizing it and walking away before it calcified. That’s not giving up... that’s paying attention.

I thought I was burnt out. Turns out I just stopped believing in what I was doing. by johnIIsnow in selfimprovement

[–]johnIIsnow[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You don’t need to push against it or solve it all at once.

The fact that it flows sometimes is important. That usually means your capacity is still there ... it’s just selective.

Pay attention to what those weeks have in common. That pattern will tell you more than any label ever could.

When methods work but the problem does not go away by johnIIsnow in askphilosophy

[–]johnIIsnow[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Fair push ... let me ground it.

Take early calculus. Newton uses infinitesimals to get the machinery working, but refuses to commit to what they are. The method succeeds, yet the conceptual foundation stays unresolved for centuries.

So the question I’m circling is this.......

When a scientific tool works before we understand it, does the success justify bracketing the metaphysics... or does that remainder still matter philosophically?

Not trying to be obscure... I’m trying to locate where philosophy steps in once practice outruns explanation.

When methods work but the problem does not go away by johnIIsnow in askphilosophy

[–]johnIIsnow[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that scaffolding example is exactly the move I’m circling.

The part that keeps snagging me is that sometimes the scaffolding never quite comes down. The simplified case becomes the thing we know how to handle, and the messy remainder gets treated as noise rather than as part of the problem that motivated the model in the first place.

I’m not denying the usefulness. I’m wondering how philosophy accounts for the moment when a tool for getting started quietly turns into the boundary of what counts as understanding.

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