inspiration and the manufacture thereof
The other day I had the chance to get together with a bunch of friends who also write to hang out over Discord and do some focused writing, which was really nice. I was writing on my e-ink tablet that has a keyboard, so largely I was just occasionally tapping push-to-talk whenever there was a bit of conversation and then largely staying focused on a single screen.
It was probably the single most productive writing session I've had in... months? A year? I've felt like the well has been dry for so long, but I think part of that is that it's so easy to get distracted. But having a place to be where my sole task is writing and concentrating on one task is... really nice. The group's planning on meeting once a week, and I'm really looking forward to it!
I also started outlining something I've been trying to work on for a while, since I think I work a lot better when I have a solid outline in front of me—regardless of whether I know the story in my head. Even just having a loose outline helps a lot, and I wanted to get this thing done by the end of the month, at least in first draft format, so maybe I'll buckle down on it tomorrow. I think I can at least feel better about all of this... the other day I think I was a little depressed about the future of my creative work, but I was reminded that part of it is being part of a community with other people who are similarly excited to make things.