Roadblock.

So, I'm having trouble writing again, which is probably no real surprise. No shortage of ideas, really, but when I actually sit down to try and write them...nothing.

Of course, that gives the impression that I 'sit down and try to write' a lot, which I really don't. I'm not sure why I'm having so much trouble with it lately. I think part of it may be that I'm hoping to write for an audience, but when I write things that are specifically targeted for an audience, I barely get a response. Even when I write things that aren't intended for a wide audience, like blog posts and the like, I don't get a lot of response, silly WoW stuff aside, so that doesn't really encourage me to write.

It's kind of demoralizing to write that down, to see it in text, and realize that I'm the kind of person that I've always been annoyed by.

It doesn't help that I don't feel like I'm as smart as I used to be. I think that's probably true, as well--much like anything, intelligence needs to be used to be retained, and I don't really use mine for much except work anymore. My mom would disagree, she listened to us talking about World of Warcraft while she was here the weekend before last, and she asked us if we realized how much of our brains are occupied by all the strategies and tactics and the like that we use for the game on a daily basis.

And that? That's an even more depressing thought than the fact that I am bothered by a lack of comments, because damn. I work and I play WoW, and that's all there is to my brain anymore? Not so good.

I suppose all this really means is that I need to get off my ass and start writing more than I have been, whether it's on the fanfic that I've been neglecting, or the random pieces that pop into my head when I listen to music, or even just navel-gazing blog posts like this one. I need to get back to that place where I can write for myself, and not because I'm expecting comments or story reviews or attention.

Makes me wonder if maybe a self-imposed NaNo month would be a good thing. It doesn't necessarily *have* to be November, after all--Chris Baty's book says as much.

Hell, if nothing else, that'd probably get me caught up on my damn fanfic.