Tag: Blogging

Which Writing Season Are You In?

As writers, we all go through different seasons. There are times when we have so much to say and times when we stare blankly at a screen. We have moments when we want to shout our stories from the rooftops to help and inspire others and times when we turn inward and withdraw.

As with many things in life, writers go through seasons. Sometimes certain seasons last longer than others and sometimes we bounce back very quickly.

Thoughts

I have noticed that life circumstances have the greatest impact on me when it comes to which season of writing that I am in. What is happening in my life, my mental state, and the amount of sleep that I get are just some of the things that keep me going or stop me as a writer.

It can be very difficult to not let life affect our writing. Sometimes it feels easier to shut the computer down and not look back for several months. Sometimes it’s easier to start a story but leave it as a draft. On the contrary, we may be bursting with ideas and in a great writing flow!

Reflection

As I reflect on my season of writing, I notice a few things. I am currently in a season of persistence, but not at full capacity. Several years ago, I had all of the time in the world to write. I never had to worry about time management in regard to writing, except for when I was at work during the day. Today, I am a busy mom of very young children, and finding time to write or do anything for myself for that matter is extremely challenging.

I know there will be a day when they are all in school and I will have more time to dedicate to writing, however, in my current season, I am juggling writing and taking care of my dear kids. I devote as much time to writing as I possibly can. I usually write early in the morning before my kids get up and also at night after I put them to bed. This observation is not all that I have noticed about my current writing season.

The last few years have been quite a journey for me, I have faced numerous challenges, joys, and surprises. Life ebbs and flows. I am very sensitive to change and stress, so my mental state fluctuates with whatever is going on in my life. When too many unfortunate things happen at once, I get very overwhelmed, and I shut down. 

It’s times like these that I have to really push myself to keep writing content instead of going into hibernation mode. A break is great every now and then, but balance is key. Most days I cannot wait to share and write, I want my work to hopefully impact at least one person positively. I want to make a difference in this world.

Question For You

I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on where you are as a writer and how far you have come. Which season are you currently in? Are you fearlessly getting content out as fast as possible, taking a break to see where life takes you, or are you possibly somewhere in between?

It’s important to note that just because we are in a current season, does not mean that we are stuck there. We go through many different paths as writers, and they all help us grow and blossom!

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Writing Rut? I Hope This Helps

When I first started blogging, I wondered how in the world I would come up with enough topics to write about. I remember thinking to myself that if I had kept going for years, wouldn’t I run out of things to say?

I have been blogging on WordPress for four years and on Medium for only six months. In those four years on WordPress, I have experienced writer’s block a few times. I had to take a break from WordPress for several months a while ago after some things happened in my life. After this, I then vowed to keep going strong no matter what life threw at me and I have ever since!

My Thoughts 

Usually, I have so many thoughts and ideas that I can’t get them down fast enough. I typically write down a title and a brief description so that I don’t forget what I wanted to say. I then attach a picture and save this in my drafts.

There are times, however, when my mind is blank, and I cannot come up with anything to write about. Often this happens when I am tired or very stressed out. If I am experiencing a lot of anxiety or I am not in a great mood, that truly affects how clear my mind is and it can make writing very difficult. There are several things that I do to get my thoughts flowing again. Here are some ways that I get ideas for my next blog posts!

Coming Up with Ideas

  • Think of past life experiences
  •  Write about your thoughts and feelings
  •  Ponder over questions that you have about life
  •  Sit in nature and let creativity find you
  •  Be inspired by comments that others are sharing
  •  Reading other stories often trigger a story idea of your own
  •  Write about daily happenings in your life
  •  What can you teach the world?
  •  Let us hear about an interesting or odd experience

Get Started!

Most importantly get started! Pick up a pen or get out your laptop and let your mind wander and take you somewhere. If all else fails, if you have older work that you haven’t published for the world to see, you can get that out in the open. You never know who might be needing to see your story!

I truly hope that you have found at least one of these tips helpful! As writers, we go through many seasons, some full of thoughts and others where we become quieter and more introspective. It’s important to listen to our bodies, but also know when to keep following our passion. An idea will come to you sooner or later and you will be on your way again!

Your Words Are My Escape

There is a person that can take me away, paint an image in my head for me to get lost in, and a person that can help me escape reality for a bit.

Who is this person, you might ask? That person is…YOU!

There are a few ways that we can get lost in another world. One that can take us away from our daily lives and routines so that we can unwind and relax for a bit. Reading, writing, art, and watching TV come to mind instantly.

Reading Your Work

I spend a lot of time enjoying the work of others. I love to read what other people have experienced, and what they have learned in life, and I love lighthearted reads as well. I enjoy learning about other people and learning about their deepest thoughts and feelings.

I find it amazing how we can all come together as a writing community and learn so much from each other. The support that it offers is amazing. It is a huge blessing to be able to share your thoughts with the world and to have that reciprocated by others doing the same.

Thank You

I want to say thank you to those who have written about their lives to help and inspire me, those that have shared their beautiful and heartfelt poetry, and the writers that have shared their traveling experiences that let me venture along with you! I want to say thank you to those who shared their delicious recipes, who shared family memories, and traditions that made me smile and reminisce.

A big thank you to those who help me realize that we are all works of progress and that I am not alone, the ones that bring humor to remind me to laugh and not take life so seriously. The lovely writers who are also photographers who take breathtaking photos to share with the world!

There is so much talent within this community. You all have helped shape me as a person and as a writer. I enjoy all of your talented work and I appreciate how you let me escape reality for a bit each and every day! You are making a difference!

How I Overcame My Recent Writer’s Block

Writers indeed love to write, it becomes part of our souls, and most of us would feel lost without it. What happens when we no longer can think of what to write, or how to write it?

As writers, I am sure that many, if not most of us have succumbed to writer’s block. It may feel like you don’t know what to write, how to say it, a lack of motivation, just feeling blank inside your mind.

Causes of Writer’s Block

It seems that writer’s block creeps up on us during times of high stress, lack of sleep, when we are very busy, and even when we consistently write without giving ourselves a break.

In my mind, writer’s block is almost like a coping mechanism for our brains. It is a way for our minds and bodies to tell us to slow down and take a breather. Sometimes writer’s block may simply exist without a reason that we can think of.

My Experience

I have dealt with writer’s block several times in my life, including the most recent being within the last week. I love writing so much, I thoroughly enjoy it and it drives me to create more and more content. I often write at full steam because I have so many ideas and thoughts that I can’t seem to get them out fast enough.

Last week, slowly by slowly, my mind started thinking slower, my ideas didn’t come to me, or they didn’t flow. I would sit in front of my laptop staring at a blank white screen, my fingers ready to fly across the keyboard, but instead, they paused. It was almost like my brain wasn’t focusing. The passion was strongly there, but my brain was working against me.

I was in overdrive; I didn’t take the time to slow down and rest. I didn’t take the necessary breaks to allow my mind to recover from creating content and to keep up with life in general.

How to Overcome Writer’s Block

I have found several great ways that get me going again when my brain stops working in my favor:

1. Don’t force or fight the feeling. If you feel resistance from your body to write, then listen to it. Pushing yourself, in my opinion, makes writer’s block last longer.

2. Rest for as long as you need to. Make sure to do activities that help you relax, unwind, and rest your mind.

3. Try not to dwell on the fact that you are stressing about not writing. This will only make matters worse; you need to save mental energy for that next masterpiece!

4. Create a list of ideas or drafts that you would like to write about one day when you have the mental capacity and drive.

5. Get plenty of sleep and spend time outdoors! We can’t function very well on little sleep, also spending time out in nature is a great mood-booster and one that will help get your creativity flowing again.

Can You Relate?

Writer’s block can be very challenging, especially if it lasts for a long period of time. The most important thing is to listen to what your body is telling you and resist the urge to keep going and pushing through the feeling. Some persistence is great, but sometimes your body is telling you to slow down for a reason, partly due to being overloaded. Have you ever dealt with writer’s block? How did you overcome it?

Know that with everything in life that nothing lasts forever, sooner or later, you will be back doing what you love, and you might even come back stronger than ever!

Why the Difference?

One of the greatest things in life is the love and support of family and friends. Why do we treat our loved ones so much differently than we treat ourselves? We should make taking care of ourselves mentally and physically our utmost priority. We cannot give much of ourselves to this world if we are not whole.

Most of us are very hard on ourselves, I know that I am. I’m told this over and over again, yet I don’t see it myself.

Imagine that you made a mistake on a project that you are working on at your job. You might tell yourself “I can’t do anything right; I am such a failure.” Flip this situation around. A family member or friend is in the same situation, they just made a huge mistake on a project they were working on. What do you tell them? Would you tell them that they cannot do anything right and that they are a failure? Probably not. Instead, you might tell your friend that they did the best that they could do and that they are only human and it’s natural to make a mistake now and then.

You and your significant other just got into a fight and you start saying to yourself “I am never good at relationships,” you keep telling yourself “I am a terrible communicator.” What if a friend was going through this, what would you tell them? Maybe you would say that they should take some time for themselves to regroup and try to remedy the situation, maybe you would tell your friend that relationships aren’t easy, that constant effort is needed, and this doesn’t make them a bad person.

Do you see the differences in how people typically speak to themselves versus a loved one? One’s internal dialogue is so very important because we start to believe what we tell ourselves. Negative self-talk is very detrimental to us and those that we have a relationship with.

Why is it that we can so easily support the people that we love, but we cannot give that same grace and support to ourselves? Why is it that we can quickly build someone else up, while so easily tearing ourselves apart?

We are so hard on ourselves due to human nature; we know all of our faults and weaknesses and we tend to not have patience with ourselves. We also know about our pasts, and we carry parts of that with us. Whether we like to admit it or not, it does affect our confidence. We like to place other people on a pedestal, while we are the ones that are flawed as we strive to be perfect, something beyond human capability.

The next time that you are dealing with something in life, and you find that you are being hard on yourself remember to stop and ask yourself what you would tell a loved one that was in your exact situation. You give so much kindness, hope, and empathy to others, be kind to yourself…you deserve it.