Why Write? Why Not! 5 - Just Write (Final of this series)

 

This is the last of the series on Writing.  Because I think I've said enough for now and also, I want to share other things!  Things like adventures, life, and beautiful places.  So to wrap this up, let's talk about motivation and the dreaded writer's block.

A woolly sweater, a warm cafe, espresso, pastries oh and some editing!

Getting started - may seem like the hardest part.  You can spend a lot of time getting ready to write and never get around to it!  However, don't beat yourself up if it is taking a while for words to appear on the page.  

Be patient.  Forgive yourself.  Maybe the feeling just isn't right.

Like most writers, I have a folder of ideas and bits of writing. I often write by dictation as I drink my morning coffee, telling myself the story I see in my mind.  I send it to the word processing program and look it over.  Often there are some strange words that only my

Cards & booklets for the setting of my current project

phone thinks I say.  So that gets cleaned up and more details are added.  I print it out and take my manuscript everywhere I go. I edit by hand and at the end of the day, I am at the keyboard to add the changes.

 But like all writers, I have times when I get too busy, lose interest, or even feel blocked looking at the blank page. So how do I motivate myself to get back in the saddle and write on? (yeah, bad pun.)  First - my strongest suggestion - tell yourself it's okay.  Surround yourself with things that relate to what it is you want to achieve. Then get on with it one word or act at a time.

I used to keep a calendar/ledger book on my bedside reading table. In the column running down the side, I would write how many words I had written that day. (Bless the word processor for making this easier.) If I was about write zero, I would add a postscript to the day right there in the ledger book, something like: “I couldn’t write today, it was very hard. All my head wants to do is scream but that won’t help anything. Maybe if I tell you, my little writing journal, it will help me. Help me get through another day and allow me to put on the corner of this page that I have written some thing. And maybe one day something eventually will allow me to write again the way my husband believes that I can.”  

Then I tallied the words - for example that was 77.  Yes, there were days when I couldn’t even do that.  I know that if I look back 7 years to when my husband battled cancer and lost, there are months of blanks.  But knowing that little book was waiting for me to put words to pages, was a tiny push. I knew it meant a lot to him for me to succeed. It pushed me. A push can start an avalanche.

Find your push. The act of writing is writing, no matter what the subject. And it kept me on track. Ten books later, I no longer need the book-keeping.  I have pages and folders full of manuscripts.  I know what it takes is putting words on the paper or screen and I do it every day because it gives me joy.

You can do it. Whatever your project or how hard it seems, don't despair.  Your creativity is unique and doesn't need to be like anybody else's in the whole world.  

Find your inspiration.
Readers always inspire me!

Just Write. By which I mean create.  A book, a poem, a love letter, a garden, a shed, a beautiful meal, or anything that gives you joy.   It doesn’t matter what, you will know it when you feel it.  The driving passion will trigger a part of the brain.

And it all counts because even that angst I felt blocking me seven years ago added up and became some thing that added depth to the character in another novel later on. It’s something that sometimes inspires a poem or even... a blog!  

Thanks for reading my "scribblings" -  it means a lot to me.  You and the world you create every day matter to me. 

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