Perhaps it's more accurate to label it a strange thing.
I hope my writer friends chime in here. Doesn't it seem that the more we (sometimes force ourselves to) write the less we are plagued by the writer's block gremlin? And of course, the opposite is equally true. The less we write, the more we are intimidated by all those nasty blank spaces. The act of writing primes the pump.
When I'm stumped and the blank page is HUGE, and feel like the creative juices have evaporated, I find all sorts of reasons why I don't have the time to write. I have three children, two of which have special needs. Advocating for them, scouting out and implementing services and strategies, takes a lot of time. But the truth is, everyone is busy. There are always other things we could be doing. They're just excuses. They're just the voice we shouldn't ever listen to, telling us we have nothing original or worthwhile to say. Keep writing, move beyond the wall you perceive. It's an imaginary wall anyway. And you can break through it.
I keep hearing over and over, and it's just as true every time, writers write. Every day. That's what we do.
For all my writer friends, do you write every day? Do you feel terribly guilty when you don't? What are some of your strategies to make it part of your daily routine?
I think it's important to distinguish between career writers (or would-be career writers) and hobbyists. I write when the mood strikes me - never try to force it - and I never get writer's block. If writing was my career I'd accept that, like any job, it wouldn't always be fun. I'd buckle down and force myself to write daily, however I felt. You don't need strategies when it's an obligation.
ReplyDeleteI take my writing seriously, but I don't want it to stop being an enjoyable hobby. So, my strategy advice to non-career writers is to throw routine and guilt out the window and remember writing is a game. Do it because you enjoy it and you'll never struggle to make time, never have to find excuses, never face writer's block. :)
You raise some good points, Rose! Thanks for your post :)
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