Back into writing after hiatus

[crazyforkate]

From the ages of about 11-18, I wrote like a demon - plays, short stories, fanfiction, poetry, you name it. It was pretty raw, but looking back, some it was actually good. In college I had less time, but would go through sporadic periods of writing. Last year I was hit by depression and stopped writing entirely, especially since a failed project was very much tied to the problem. Only lately have I been able to start up again, with a couple of articles and a novel in the works. Now, it's like I've totally lost my confidence. Everything I write sounds stupid, and I can't produce more than a couple of sentences at a time, though I'm still getting lots of interesting ideas. Any advice for getting back into the habit, and working past the "stupid" feeling?

[happy atheist]

Just write. Don't worry about the quality, at least not right now. Get back into using that part of your brain, without being critical. It might take a while for your brain to remember how you used to do it, so think of this early stuff as warming up, or stretching. The good stuff comes later.

[aquitana]

Ariel Gore from Hipmama offers online classes that are very supportive, with a lot of constructive criticism. There are weekly assignments, so that gets you writing on a regular basis. Having to churn stuff out, you know it's not all going to be brilliant.

[BunnyBee]

I would really like to know how many FJ'ers have their own blogs! Writting our opinions is something we all have in common