Stagnation and Doubt

I have stopped writing.

 Ok, no - that would be physically painful/impossible for me. I have, however, stopped working on my WIP and haven't really worked on any of my current side projects. I have been writing tons, but most of my writing is falling into the spheres of journalling or exposition.

I am experiencing creative stagnation. I don't think this is as painful as typical writer's block where the writer has something to say but just can't say it. I just can't disappear into my writing lately. Part of this is because I recently had a revelation: I don't write as well as I need to. I often fall into the common traps of one-dimensionality and too much 'telling'. I want my stories to have the impact they deserve, and I have come to believe that I am (at least currently) not the best person to write them.

But the more I put it off, the more crippling my doubt becomes. I now doubt every single thing I have ever written. I doubt my ability to communicate clearly - much less weave a web of dreams around my readers.

 I have written in a sporadically prolific manner since junior high school. I wrote reams of poetry and piles of songs only to fall silent for long periods. I have had long periods, some lasting years, where I haven't written creatively at all. During each famine, I have doubted that I would ever write anything again.

The difference is that I have never doubted the worth of everything I've ever written.

Until now.

Writing heartbreak

Vicarious experiences.

How many times do we fall in love or hate in the process of reading a really good book that provides vicarious experiences?

I have started writing a heartbreaking short story....well the concept is heartbreaking, we'll have to see if I can pull it off to the point that I break a reader's heart as well. The technique for creating vicarious experiences is unclear...often you don't realize that you've created it until after a reader has pointed it out. I want my readers (if I ever have any) to completely enter the world I weave around them. I want to create the magic that I've felt so often...I want to create the escape that I have sought in books all my life.

So, reaching out here...anyone have any ideas on how to leave your readers sobbing, laughing, reeling.... Living in your story with your characters...rather than just reading their experiences?