There's a version of the "don't go grocery shopping while hungry" rule specifically for writers where you should never under any circumstances be allowed to touch your draft within 3 hours of reading a really good story. Because sometimes when you read something great your head goes "fuck this is so much better than my stuff I should make that more like THIS instead!" Look at me. That's the devil talking and you should close the document NOW.

I’m increasingly worried by all the people on my dash calling themselves insane for loving stories in the way humans have loved stories our whole history. “The brain rot is spreading” — you mean you were changed by art? “I’m not normal about this” — you were moved by it? You felt human emotions about it? “I’m about to be so annoying” — you’re going to talk about art? You’re going to be passionate? You’re going to think deeply about it? You’re going to feel love for the work of someone’s soul? You are not a consumer and art is not a product to be casually used! You are a human and stories are the beating heart of our humanity! You must feel everything and you must know that it is normal!

I’ve been in such a funk since the concert. I’m not even sure I enjoyed myself that much. maybe I did. I don’t know

Hey hi hello! I got a potential answer for you.

After ANY thrilling and/or happy experience, it's very possible for your brain to quite literally run out of the proteins and vitamins you need to make more happy chemical. People get dopamine crashes anywhere from a couple hours to a couple weeks after abormal but exciting events - whether it's a really good day, they did a lot of socializing, had a lot of fun hyperfocusing on a project, had an intense sexy time experience, a huge performance they were excited for, a date, a day at a theme part, etc etc etc.

Your brain goes into overdrive coming up with !!!!!!!! chemicals to keep up with your environment, then -especially if that was an abnormal experience or if you don't have the !!!!!! chemicals in excess very often- then you just run out for a while.

You can remedy this by finding other things that will be good, but not expect the !!!!! along with it. Instead of something you really really like doing, find something simple and calm and comforting. Snuggle with a friend and watch a movie, pet a cat, write a letter, etc.

Definitely get some vitamin d, chocolate if you can / like it, and take a multivitamin. Protein is important for regrowth and restocking, so get plenty of that too to bounce back quickly!

Love you much, I hope this passes very soon 🫂

WAIT WAIT THATS A THING???

LIKE….

THATS WHY AFTER THE EXCITEMENT WEARS OFF FROM ME DOING LITERALLY ANYTHING THAT MAGKES ME “!!!!” I JUST FEEL BLEH AND IMMEDIATELY CRAVE *THING* AGAIN

SO IM NOT JUST BROKEN

ME AFTER MY FRICKING GAY BOOKCLUB WHERE I SEE ALL MY FRIENDS ONCE A MONTH

OR AFTER WATCHING AN EPISODE OF THE SHOW IM HYPERFIXATED ON

WHAT

Yes!! It can also be extra bad for different types of neurospicy bitches. My adhd brain has directly proportional drops every day. If I had a meh morning I’ll have a good evening (if no other factors interfere). If I have a FANTASTIC morning I’m sure to have a mental breakdown that night. I don’t regulate those chemicals well at ALL, and have extremely predictable emotional crashes as a result of that.

I see and experience this phenomenon often when I actually do things. First hear about it in a LARP group - they called it drop, and I hear that term in theatre sometimes too. (This is why everyone goes to eat at a restaurant right after the event is over.) Point is, I'm glad there's like Science Reason backing up that emotional dead zone after an event. And now I'm gonna start meal planning for events.

There's a fandom term called Post-Con Depression for the emotional slump (and sometimes physical exhaustion) you feel after getting home from a fun convention. After squeezing out all the happiness you can produce for several days straight, you run out of happiness for a few days. This is a known phenomenon!

@queen-kass-the-writer

Maybe this also explains what we've been calling the "Post-Manuscript-Slump" after we get that final draft done?

Also the "Post-Release-Burnout" I experianced in March/April Lol

I do love it when a good piece of science backs up emotional/mental stuff

OH ESPECIALLY THIS. I know ADHD and other various conditions I have contribute to a lack of dopamine in the first place, explaining why I get hit so hard.

you know what trope drives me absolutely feral? Repetition. Just :

It's a really powerful tool to put emphasis on something important and/or emotional in a scene.

It's also one of my favourite tools to use so I have to be careful I don't overuse it.

One of my favourite examples of this in my own work was a flash fiction piece I wrote about a character, Reilly Mosswolf. His sister goes missing, and then turns up dead a few weeks later.

But I wrote the scene where Reilly's told that his sister has been found, and he's just a raw open wound full of regrets, so repetition was a really effective way of showing the spiralling of his thoughts.

It's on tumblr, if anyone's curious, and can be read HERE.

I’m sorry but what is it about hockey as a setting that has suddenly turned wildly popular am I just out of the loop why are there like 20 hockey stories on the top sellers list right now. Why is dark hockey romance a real category on amazon

...dark hockey romance

@queen-kass-the-writer When they say write to market.... ;-)

The frantic pace at which I’m speeding toward a finished draft is absurd 😭

Hey! In case it's something you need to hear: self publishing is perfectly valid both as first choice for your book and as a backup choice if trad pub doesn't work out. Both routes are just fine. Anyone who characterizes self-pub as lesser is, well, out of touch. Underground, self-made, passion project art has... literally always been cool.