Good morning writers and a very happy Sunday to you all.
I was struggling to decide whether or not to blog this week, as I’d taken a couple of days away from the instagram due to having a pretty terrible week. For a few reasons, some small, some a little bigger, I have had a lot of stress and anxiety and find myself dreaming longingly of a forest retreat or a seaside holiday. Alas, work and life calls and no such break is on the horizon, but I am feeling a lot better today and today’s blog topic was the only one that made sense for this week.
A bad week for writing, indeed.
We all know that writing can be an escape from reality, but sometimes reality stops you from being able to write. I was simply far too agitated to focus. However, I am an optimist. At least I tell myself I am, and that in it’s self is optimistic right? Either way, I always believe that with every bad experience comes some good. So, here’s 3 ways to turn a bad week into some writing positives.
1. Use Your Emotions
I couldn’t focus on my story, my characters, my plot…but I could focus on my emotions. In fact, that’s all I could focus on. So I wrote them down, little notes about what I felt physically and mentally. A single word here, a small sentence there. Undoubtedly one of my poor characters is going to feel this way at some point and now I have a first hand account of what it’s like. Your emotions and reactions are real, giving them to your characters makes them real too.
2. Apply Your Situation
As I said, I was struggling to focus on actually writing, so I did this as a mental exercise and didn’t actually take any notes. I applied the situation I was in to various characters and considered how they would react if it had happened to them. It’s interesting because it really pulls apart the difference between characters and opens up some personality traits you may not have considered. It’s also a pleasant distraction from your own reaction, at least for a little while.
3. Read A Book
Writer’s often struggle to find time to write and it’s just as common for writer’s to struggle to find time to read. I couldn’t focus on forming my own coherent sentences, but I could focus on those written by someone else. So, I took myself away from writing and settled down with a good book and it really helped me to relax and lose myself for a while.
While I hope you lovely lot don’t experience a week like this, I guess it’s sometimes inevitable. If/when it happens, I hope these tips can help you in some way.
Have you ever gone through something similar and tried something different? I’d love to hear your thoughts and advice, so please drop me a comment below. And don’t forget to let me know if you’ve tried the An Open Letter to My Protagonist exercise that I commented on last week.
Speak soon
and Keep Writing (if you can!)
M
x
It is inevitable. I’ve learned not to fight it too much. You’ve put forward some great suggestions. The key is to relax, step away, allow yourself a day off if you need to. Sometimes, plowing on just makes you more demoralised. If I find I can’t even focus on reading, I’ll put on a movie, it requires less concentration and can inspire just as well. Good luck.
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Hi David, thanks so much for your comment. I agree with what you say about movies, you can still appreciate structure and find inspiration.
Hope you’re well
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A very meaningful post was an absolute joy to give it a read, and a concerned fellow blogger I’m glad that you are feeling better now 😊
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Thanks so much for your kind words ❤
Glad you enjoyed the post 🙂
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Pleasure was all mine miss, may you continue to weave your charismatic magic with your beautiful words 🙂
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Beautiful words as always!
And, I have nominated you for Mystery Blogger award! Keep doing what you do! https://jadelmwrites.wordpress.com/2017/08/07/mystery-blogger-award/
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Aw thank you so much Jade ❤
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Some really great tips here for a struggle that is far too common. Love the way you turned your troubles into new ways to learn about your characters, and will keep such tips in mind for the next time I’m inevitably feeling this way. I hope the new week brings a good week of writing for you.
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Thanks, sweetie ❤
Always appreciate your time and your feedback! 🙂 Fingers crossed for some proper writing this week, hope it's a good week for you too!
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I hope your week improves! I found this post easy to relate to. If I’m really out of sorts, enough to shy from social media entirely, I find reading is the best way out.
I have also begun to think of my emotions in terms of what it would be like if they were lived through my characters, making a situation easier to bear by thinking about it in a detached way.
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Hi Marie, thank you for reading and sharing your experience. I love how our writer’s minds, while so unique, tick the same way! Hope all is good with you ❤
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Great post as always! : ) I also just wanted to mention that I’ve nominated you for the Mystery Blogger Award. You can check all the details out here: https://robinleeann.com/2017/08/08/mystery-blogger-award/
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Thank you so much! Touched 🙂
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You’re welcome! : )
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I love the theme of your blog! Writers do need inspiration, but there’s also that period when you just have to slug it out. (Thanks, too, for following my blog; I think we have a lot in common! I too am a hopeless optimist!)
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Thank you for your lovely comment ❤ I love your blog too, and your 'write' (hehe) we do have lots in common! It's great to find people who understand you 🙂 Happy writing!
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Mercury is in Retrograde. It’s a time for reflecting and intense emotions, not a time for creating something new. Also I was the exact same way this week about Insta and my WIP — just no desire whatsoever to create or post to the world. Great tips! Everything comes in and out with the tides. We’ll both be back at it sooner than we think 💙💙
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Thank you, lovely ❤
hope things are good with you soon! 🙂 xx
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