I've lost all talent I ever had

[DarkInuLord]

Over the course of a couple weeks.

I have no idea how it happened. But it happened a bit before I stopped coming to the forum here.

I can't draw. If you look at my notebook from middle school-high school, lots of my stuff was pretty good. If you look at the one I have now, only the very first drawing in it is any good, the rest just get worse and worse, to the point where I tore the last few drawings out and burnt them.

I haven't written anything since my last uploaded story, which remains unfinished because every time I try to start again, all I can think of is garbage, nothing worth using, I wouldn't put people through the torture of reading the trash I typed out.

Today I was sitting here, I felt creative. I looked at my drawing book, decided against wasting another piece of paper. I opened up wordpad and started thinking up a new story. Decided against wasting my time on something that wouldn't be worth reading. I even looked at some of my games, since I do random modding in my spare time, decided against that because the last three times I tried, I completely messed up my games.

I've obviously lost any 'talent' I had at keeping people entertained as none of my friends have spoken to me all week except for one, and my girlfriend hasn't even been ONLINE in over a week.

So... I can't draw anymore, I can't write for shit anymore, I break any game I try to mod, and people hate me.

The only thing I'm good at anymore is a game called Dawn Of War, and the only reason I'm 'good' at it, is I've memorized exact stats for every unit in the game. What little interaction I've had with people is playing this game with the same group for the last couple weeks. I'm still undefeated, but even that's going to end, they're all getting better and I might lose soon. So I won't even be able to say I'm the best anymore.

I can't even talk properly, hell, I speak so little in real life I stumble over my own tongue when I do speak.

I am good at absolutely nothing.

Life is grand.

Oh, well if you count bitching about how terrible I have it as a talent, I guess I have one.

[Goddess of Passion]

I know how you feel... almost. I never had any talent - or had I? I never finished a fanfiction, mod or drawing so far. My drawings still look like kid's scribbling's, my few short stories and poems... I don't know. But don't you do this for yourself in the first place? Why do you think everything you try is junk? Well, I know this feeling. I don't have much time at the moment, and whenever I try something my head feels empty.

But you shouldn't give up. Try playing computer games or watching films you love until you feel the urge to do something creative. Don't try to force yourself, though. That's what I try at the moment... Hope you will feel better soon.

*hug*

[Calanthee]

Dear DarkInuLord,

Don't get down on yourself, everyone has a dry period once in while, daily normal life can get its nasty claws wrapped around your throat... and it cuts off your creativity for a while and chases your muse away for awhile. Poor baby!

Try to focus on one creative thing at a time, good, bad, or indifferent, and follow through with even if its sucks in your mind. The mind is like sore muscle, eventually it will get itself back to normal and the soreness will go away.

Don't give up, Promise yourself, Cal

Evil gaming can be insideous adicting it warps the mind... but lol its also fun! An adict

Some time when we are too focus on one aspect of creativity... it constipates the mind, try something different, bake a cake, go dancing, sing karoke....purge yourself and do something totally different from what you normally do... even if your friends laugh... true friend will understand!

[DarkInuLord]

I think I 'purged' myself in another way this morning.

I have food poisoning for the third time in two months. Which is funny, because we all eat the same food here, and I'm the only one who ever gets sick.

Coincidence? I think not.

[Psychostorm]

Just relax, you can't loose talent. You just need the proper motivation. Go and enjoy another fellow artists works and maybe you will get the motivation to bring out your true talent again. Part of being an artist is the ability to appriciate and learn from other works of art. You never know what will motivate you. Maybe it will be a book, a movie, a fan fiction, some hentai, some bestiality porn, some incest rape website, some necrophilia.... ok, well you get the idea.

[Jyet]

You could also try a new hobby; learn how to play an instrument, experiment with photography, etc. What others have said about watching or reading something you enjoy also holds true - if you experience someone else's creativity, you'll probably be inspired to create something of your own. And remember, if you aren't happy with your work now, it gets better each time you make an effort. Try to pick out what you aren't happy with and improve it the next time.

[Guest StSE]

Dark, you don't 'lose' talent - you just simply get uninspired. Or, out of practice. LOL... I look at things I drew back in highschool, and then my first drawing since then - and, well, two decades of not practicing drawing? Well, ahem, it shows....

One of my good online friends, who happens to also screenwrite. Also hit a 'dry spell'. So she got bored one night and asked me if I wanted to IM role play. Well, after explaining it to me (Ok, D-n-D started after I was too old to even THINK it was cool!) - we did it! I was the obnoxious Rattrap (Beast wars Transformers) she was Thundercracker (G1 Transformers).. I must say - it was a BLAST!!!

Well, now she's inspired again. Granted, it's all SI TF stuff - but hey, she's writing!

So perhaps you should find another one of us that don't have a nightlife. (well, I kind've do, if you call breaking up the fights between the kids a 'night life') And role-play IM? It is fun, and gets your mind out of the slum...