C. S. Thurman

I’m pretty sure I’m going through a burn out. No it’s not quite the same thing as having writers block, but it’s pretty similar.

Burn out for a writer usually means that they did too much too fast and now their brain is trying to recover.

This is what I think I did to myself.

Either that, or I became highly discouraged. This can happen when facing imposter syndrome, which happens to me frequently as the only thing I have ever published is a short story. Sure I’ve posted things online, but nothing that I would call a finished story or something that I would say I would be proud of. That isn’t to say that my writing is bad. I’ve had plenty of people tell me that it’s good, or that I’m getting better at it. But it becomes super frustrating when I continually have nothing to show for it.

Imposter Syndrome is when the mind tricks yourself into saying that your not good at something, even when there are clear signs that you are. Everyone can get this and it is incredibly difficult to navigate without help. For writers, this is why it is so important for us to have a writing group that can help inspire us. To give us that confidence boost when life may be getting us down.

And I’m pretty sure that this is where I’m at. I have been writing and working on stories for over 10 years and have had little to nothing to show for it (Burn Out + Imposter Syndrome, great combo for productivity). Sure I have all those years to back me up that says I know something about the writing process and what it is I am doing as an Author. But what about my stories? What about them? In my 10+ years of doing this I have finished 3 books and started many. Currently I have 3 story ideas clamoring in my head for attention and none of them are getting done. Why? There are a million reasons I can give as to why I haven’t done them.

1. Life is busy and it’s hard to find time.
2. Work is stressful and during my down time I just want to relax.
3. Why should I bother when no one will probably like my story?

At this point my mind starts to spiral and I begin to lose hope. I still desperately want to write, I just can’t find the will to do so.

News

On that happy note, I am still chugging along slowly. Writing here and there. I am hoping to get out of this funk and get back into the groove soon, but there isn’t much else to report other than our family seems to have done a lot this summer and is still making plans for future activities this year.

Reviews

So I wanted to give my own review of a movie that I know has been given mixed reviews already.

That’s right. “Wish!”

Now here’s the thing. I’ve heard from a few people that the animation bothers them, and I hear you. For that I just ask that you listen to an animator explain why the film looks the way it does https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT5yzciQCJ4&pp=ygUOd2lzaCBhbmltYXRpb24%3D he gives incredible insight into the art that went into the product and has helped me appreciate it that much more.

But now you might be asking what did I think of the story? If you ever stop me on the side of the road I would not hesitate to say that it is worth watching. No it doesn’t have an amazing story. All things considered the story is actually rather bland and predictable. Does that make it a bad story. No!

Sometimes the simplest stories are the ones that have the most meaning. Yes I know there was no proper back story for the king, and that he went from being good to bad in a flash, but here’s the thing. Imagine the movie “Tangled” but instead of the Flynn Rider story of how Rupunzel came to be locked in her tower it was shortened and pieced were changed or left out? Could it have seemed possible that Mother Gothel could have done that same switch, where one moment she looks like a genuine mother concerned for her daughter, and the next she is seen for what she truly is. The villain. “Wish” could have been that more deep if instead of a song about Rosas we could’ve gotten a proper backstory about Magnifico and how he actually became a King and Sorcerer. Plus, all we have to go on for what happens when someone loses their wish is Simon, which isn’t saying much since it seems that many people are content.

But maybe that’s just my point? Maybe we’re all looking too deeply into a kids movie? Not every movie has to be an emotional sucker punch to the gut like “Frozen,” “Tangled,” “Inside Out,” or “Up.”

Did we need “Snow White,” “Cinderella,” or “Sleeping Beauty” to have these “deeper” stories? Or (for that matter) what about the Disney Renessaince we had with “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast,” or “The Little Mermaid?” We don’t have a ton or any back story at all for those villains other than it was easily identified that they were the bad guys. Did we ever question why Ursula wanted the Trident besides power? Did we wonder how or why the evil queen wanted Snow White dead?

Magnifico was a jumbled mess because we didn’t get more information. If we had that then I think it would’ve only taken a few extra minutes to deepen his story. His story was half an attempt to help the audience understand where he came from and why he got to where he was in life.

Again, I think “Wish” was supposed to be a call back (like its animation was supposed to be if you watched that video) to Disney’s hayday when stories were simpler, and everything was black and white. Good and evil.