Has anyone done this, and did it work?
anonymous
April 14 2009, 19:44:18 UTC
I love this meme. But I think I need a break. I have suddenly found myself unable to just ignore the things that annoy me (I don't troll, but I get annoyed to the point where I'm actually angry and start plotting random bashing fic, which is bad).
What I want to know is: has anyone here taken a 100% break from the meme and come back feeling happier and filled with new enthusiasm? I'm afraid I won't want to come back if I leave, or that nothing will have changed once I come back, so if anyone has any positive or negative stories about meme breaks I'd love to hear them.
Re: Has anyone done this, and did it work?
anonymous
April 14 2009, 19:58:32 UTC
I think it depends on what annoys you. Some things aren't likely to change, some things may seem like less of a big deal if you take a breather, some things might be helped by making use of alternatives like the safe-meme (which needs some love anyway).
I've taken breaks before, and the stuff that drove me up the wall seems to have died off. Dunno how helpful that is, but it's one good outcome anyway. :)
Re: Has anyone done this, and did it work?
anonymous
April 14 2009, 20:09:27 UTC
(OP) Sadly, I doubt that the thing that annoys me will ever go away, and it seems like "it" is just getting worse. Nothing the safe meme can help with either, and a meme without people is no fun. *sigh* I guess all I can do is leave and hope that I'm a better person when I come back.
Re: Has anyone done this, and did it work?
anonymous
April 14 2009, 20:31:55 UTC
Would it be possible for you to say what's bothering you? I mean we're all anon, it's not like anyone can harass you over it later, and maybe discussing it in a more detailed way will be helpful?
There ARE people on the safe meme, for what it's worth. I read both, and the safememe has a couple works-in-progress going on already. It's just a matter of getting enough of a variety of requests that more people see something they want to write, since every meme has to start off small. Just pointing that out though, obviously you should do whatever you feel will work best for you.
Re: Has anyone done this, and did it work?
anonymous
April 14 2009, 21:56:33 UTC
(OP) I'll go ahead and admit that it's the behavior of an anon who isn't anon to me. I realize that I'm being irrational, but I get annoyed every time they make a request now, and since they request a lot, I'm annoyed quite often. I'm afraid that I'll suddenly snap and go off ranting on the main meme, which is why I'm thinking of leaving for a while. But I don't want to leave for good, which is why I made this topic, to hear if someone had ever taken a successful break.
One of those works-in-progress is mine, by the way, but I haven't seen any activity at all over there for while now, so I just figured everyone had left for PAGE THREE. Maybe I should go make my first request on the safe meme and see if it can get things moving again?
Re: Has anyone done this, and did it work?
anonymous
April 14 2009, 22:07:02 UTC
Ack, yeah that would do it. :( I would first suggest maybe talking to the anon-who-isn't-anon if you guys are on speaking terms, but otherwise a break might be good, if only to give you a breather from the behavior that's bothering you.
Heck yes, go post a request there! :) I've only got a couple works in progress myself and I've been tossing around the thought of trying to write outside my character/rating/plot/etc comfort zone, so...obviously I can't promise anything, but I for one will definitely take a look. And maybe it'll help to spend some time on a meme where the person that's bothering you isn't posting - it's not quite leaving the meme entirely, but it'll give you some breathing space.
Re: Has anyone done this, and did it work?
anonymous
April 15 2009, 11:28:46 UTC
I've been tossing around the thought of trying to write outside my character/rating/plot/etc comfort zone
(random anon) Maybe we could all make it a challenge to do one fic like this in the next few weeks or something? Like a brain-clearing exercise. I know I haven't written anything that didn't feature my preferred character in a while.
Wouldn't really matter which meme it was on I guess. I like the thought, anyway. Wanted to say that. :)
Re: Has anyone done this, and did it work?
anonymous
April 15 2009, 12:41:24 UTC
i kind of understand you quite well, I got paranoid when one of my RL friend got hooked in One piece and started to participate in this meme. I'm art-anon, so it's harder for me to hide myself. So when this friend started to pointing me my works here and commenting on them, and what's worse, talking about them to other people (and please, mind you, I drew some stuff I told earlier, in RL, I'm not comfortable with, because being anon makes you do those things :) ) I just started to hate this meme and stopped even chekicng it for few months. When the friend got bored, I'm back. Now I have the energy to fill the requests, to enjoy the meme again without the feeling I may snap any time. If you feel like you need a breake- go for it.
Re: Has anyone done this, and did it work?
anonymous
April 14 2009, 20:06:17 UTC
I think things are pretty okay again right now. I have quite a lot of enthusiasm back, people are asking for things I can write, and I like that this place kicks me into gear and makes me write. You can always ignore one person acting out.
Re: Has anyone done this, and did it work?
anonymous
April 14 2009, 20:17:47 UTC
(OP) For me it's the complete opposite. I have zero enthusiasm, it's been weeks since someone requested something I thought was both interesting and something I felt I could write, and I'm stuck on my half-finished fics. And I was able to ignore everything until a few weeks ago, but now it just makes me so mad.
Re: Has anyone done this, and did it work?
anonymous
April 14 2009, 20:07:51 UTC
I took a small break for a couple of months because the meme started to really annoy me. I only filled maybe two or three during that gap (which, on a random note, threw off my average of one fill/week since the meme started XD). I still got the email alerts but I hardly participated in anything...
Oddly enough, I actually came back more enthusiastic and wanting to fill more. O_o Not quite sure why, maybe it's because of all the new prompts that piled up and it kept me busy and I kind of built up a tolerance for the stuff that would normally piss me off.
Re: Has anyone done this, and did it work?
anonymous
April 14 2009, 20:22:38 UTC
(OP) That's good to hear! I've been thinking of not having the meme on email alert for a few weeks. I'm hoping that not seeing the things that annoy me at all for a while will make it easier to ignore later. Thank you!
What I want to know is: has anyone here taken a 100% break from the meme and come back feeling happier and filled with new enthusiasm? I'm afraid I won't want to come back if I leave, or that nothing will have changed once I come back, so if anyone has any positive or negative stories about meme breaks I'd love to hear them.
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I've taken breaks before, and the stuff that drove me up the wall seems to have died off. Dunno how helpful that is, but it's one good outcome anyway. :)
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Thank you for your input.
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There ARE people on the safe meme, for what it's worth. I read both, and the safememe has a couple works-in-progress going on already. It's just a matter of getting enough of a variety of requests that more people see something they want to write, since every meme has to start off small. Just pointing that out though, obviously you should do whatever you feel will work best for you.
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One of those works-in-progress is mine, by the way, but I haven't seen any activity at all over there for while now, so I just figured everyone had left for PAGE THREE. Maybe I should go make my first request on the safe meme and see if it can get things moving again?
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Heck yes, go post a request there! :) I've only got a couple works in progress myself and I've been tossing around the thought of trying to write outside my character/rating/plot/etc comfort zone, so...obviously I can't promise anything, but I for one will definitely take a look. And maybe it'll help to spend some time on a meme where the person that's bothering you isn't posting - it's not quite leaving the meme entirely, but it'll give you some breathing space.
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(random anon) Maybe we could all make it a challenge to do one fic like this in the next few weeks or something? Like a brain-clearing exercise. I know I haven't written anything that didn't feature my preferred character in a while.
Wouldn't really matter which meme it was on I guess. I like the thought, anyway. Wanted to say that. :)
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Maybe it's just writers block? I've had that a few times on here and it is frustrating when suddenly prompts stop prompting the ideas anymore.
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Oddly enough, I actually came back more enthusiastic and wanting to fill more. O_o Not quite sure why, maybe it's because of all the new prompts that piled up and it kept me busy and I kind of built up a tolerance for the stuff that would normally piss me off.
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