The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day.
The Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
IWSG Asks: When your writing life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to dig down and keep on writing?
This happens to all writers at one time or another, doesn't it? You get stuck on a scene in your work-in-progress, you get a not-so-great review on your new book, or maybe the number of book sales has dropped. Creative people are often sensitive in nature and prone to depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. This often effects our writing life at some point. Of course, I encourage you to speak with your doctor if you suffer from any medical conditions. Besides that, I have some tips and tricks that I use to get out of my writing funk and back to the page.
- Take a walk. Exercise is an excellent way of super-charging your brain by getting all that blood pumping through your body. And you can think through your story while your walking. Sometimes if your stuck on a scene, this might help you sort it out.
- Take a long, hot shower or a nice scented bath. You need to relax. Unwind. Writers often put too much pressure on themselves to keep producing. Stress like that can block your creative well.
- Take a long drive. Escape. Go somewhere to get your mind off of your story. You need a break? Take it. You'll come back to your story refreshed and ready to get back to writing!
- Read something. A novel. A short-story collection. Read for fun. Enjoy reading. Sometimes you need to dive back into reading to remember what made you fall in love with writing in the first place.
- Read something inspirational. Something that inspires you to write. It could be a book or a magazine. Book reviews or articles about writing and marketing. For me, I used to read Romantic Times magazine (RT Book Reviews). I simply loved their magazine and I dreamed of one day seeing a review of my book in their glossy pages! Reading reviews of other books often inspires me to get back to writing. After all, my book won't be reviewed if its not finished.
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Happy Writing!
Tricia
All great ideas to get through the slump. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
I think creative types also tend to be hyper-critical of themselves and their work. We all need to remember to be kinder to ourselves. The world is hard enough on us. Thanks for the great self-care suggestions to keep going.
ReplyDeleteThose are some great suggestions! :-D
ReplyDelete