Comments | inkstaind_stars: Giving Yourself Permission Not to Write

inkstaind_stars

Giving Yourself Permission Not to Write

Aug 08, 2010 11:34

True confession here: Up until a few days ago, I hadn't written anything in months. (Not fiction, anyway.)

Part of it was my health--one of the reasons I haven't posted on here or the Blue Boards--and part of it was that my creative self? She dried up and withered away.

I'd been trying to resuscitate her for a while. I'd given myself deadlines and ( Read more... )

recovering your creativity, writing

Comments 7

ex_kaz_maho August 8 2010, 21:02:45 UTC

Oh, I totally agree with this! Clarissa Pinkola Estes writes a beautiful chapter about this in her book WOMEN WHO RUN WITH THE WOLVES.

inkstaind_stars September 17 2010, 05:07:17 UTC

Darn Livejournal! It doesn't ever send me email notifications. Sorry for the late reply.

Someone gave me the audiobook for Women Who Run with the Wolves a few months back. Sounds like I should give it a listen. :)

ex_kaz_maho September 18 2010, 21:24:13 UTC

No worries! You should totally listen to it; honestly, you won't regret it. :)

erinmblair August 27 2010, 06:53:17 UTC

I know what you mean. I am also a writer. Well, an aspiring one. I haven't felt creative for a long time. I still try to write, but nothing comes out. Then, there's a burst of imagination that comes once in a while when I do write.

I've been dealing with some health issues so I've been kind of uninspired. :(

inkstaind_stars September 17 2010, 05:10:09 UTC

Sorry for taking so long to reply! Have you tried following the Artist's Way by Julia Cameron? A lot of people dismiss it as being airy-fairy or treacly, but sometimes airy-fairy is exactly what you need. It's helped me a great deal in rediscovering my love of writing over the past few months.

Health issues can definitely put a damper on things. Hope you're feeling better now. :)

anonymous September 12 2010, 05:08:33 UTC

Hi, my name is Heidi and I love to write.

I used to forget where I was because I was so lost in my journals and invisible to my environment. I can't remember sensing tastes or smells...
all I remembered were sights and sounds. All I felt was my book and my pen...

Now, I sense everything. I feel bionic, but I struggle to write.

My question to you, Carrie, is how do I write again? Like I used to?

It irks me. Burns me up inside and makes me so angry. I can barely sit still.

I have writer's block.

Apparently my inner voices are not speaking to my writing hand.
That's a problem. I just feel lost.

I'm tired of writing shit, no matter what Ernest Hemingway says.

inkstaind_stars September 17 2010, 05:19:00 UTC

I wish I had solutions for you, Heidi. I struggle with it all the time myself.

Did something happen to change things for you? Is there a reason you sense things differently now than before?

Maybe you can channel that anger into something else. It doesn't have to be writing--a painting, a collage, a sketch--just the act of creating SOMETHING may help. Or maybe that anger will boil over sometime soon, will erupt into an epic piece of writing that ends your block.

Check out this article: Being Nice to Yourself Increases Creativity http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/finding-butterfly/201001/being-nice-yourself-increases-creativity

Good luck! Check back in sometime and let me know how you're doing.