Do not be afraid to bleed
Do not fear tears
and emotions
and all that will arise
when you simply
let go
Let it flow
like tsunamis from your soul
let it crash upon the page
splash upon your heart
and evaporate from your being
Pull the stitches
from your wounds
and feel the ache
all over again
Within that pain is beauty
within that pain is freedom
within that pain
is poetry
I’m not a professional… yet! But I know what works for me. Maybe if you are struggling with writers block or story plotting or any other issue, maybe my battles can be your successes.
I read somewhere that there is no such thing as writers block, only distraction. I 100% agree with this. I find that sometimes when I sit down to write, I’ll just stare at the page and nothing comes out. Why? Because my mind is on a thousand other things and my novel stands no chance of conquering this.
What have I done to over come this?
I write at work. As you can imagine, there are a lot of distractions. What I do as routine now is (once my work is done, of course)
- I put on my headphones, to cut out background noise. I’ve developed a play list that works for my style of writing. When I start listening to the play list, my head really gets in the game. It’s like Pavlov’s bell. I hear the music and the creative juices flow freely.
- I read the last few pages of what I’m writing. If you aren’t working on a novel, maybe something more brief, try reading items that are related. Are you writing a short love story or love poems? Google it, get in the mood. Once you are there, start writing.
- Another problem I had was my cell phone. If I was totally in the zone, a text message could ruin it for me. I no longer check my texts. If it is important, THEY WILL CALL.
- Shut yourself off from outside distractions and deterrents. I realize I just wrote a post about how distracted I got today, but I learned a lesson. No breaks unless I’m done for the day.
Some things that can take you off track.
- A new, unrelated thought might pop into your head. Suddenly, your mind has wandered off an created another brilliant story. Don’t stop!!! Write down your ideas, then get back to your main focus. If you think it might help, include what your listening to or what might have brought that thought into your mind so when you revisit it later, you can get back to the moment you dreamed it. Same thing goes if you remember that you need to pay a bill or make a phone call. Just jot down a quick note to get it out of your system and carry of with the task at hand.
- Something is bothering you and you can’t take your mind off of it. Write about it. Something useful is a Black Letter. If you are mad at someone, write them a letter you have no intentions of sending where you say everything that is on your mind. If it’s just a frustrating situation, type off a diatribe. Once it is out on paper, you feel so much better. Even if you don’t get to the point where you can write today, tomorrow you will be there.
Hope this is helpful, it has helped me. Except for today, but I did learn something today, so I win.
