Monday, July 27, 2009

Tomato: Help?

Bonjour, everyone! Sorry I've been MIA lately, but I've been struggling lately with writing. Blog posts, journaling, even little notes... I'm just not wanting to write lately. What's that about? I signed up for SARK's Juicy Journaling, and I've only managed to do Day 1, and that's because I forced myself. I don't want to force myself to do something that's supposed to be a fun and creative outlet. It's like I dread it. Why? What's going on? It's kind of freaking me out...

Help?

5 comments:

  1. I find sometimes that I just lose my desire to write. Lately I have been noticing that morning pages help a lot. Have you ever tried them?

    I also find using tips from this article by Gala Darling helps a lot http://galadarling.com/article/how-to-beat-writers-block

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  2. sometimes to get into writing, i find that i need to take myself out. so maybe a lunch break or a cafe on the weekend would be a nice place to play in your journal. I think that sometimes a couple hours of immersion (where you can really just give yourself 20min to get over the initial dread/resistance and then let yourself start playing around) may sometimes help when trying to start a new habit.

    your blog posts are great--definitely take into account that some of your writing energy is going there. :)

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  3. I went through something similar last week. For some reason I was scared of writing. It takes lots of energy and lots out of yourself to write and it can get scary. Specially journaling. There is a point where you find yourself face to face with your more intimate 'you' and that's tough.
    There is also the issue of time. With a full time job which takes most of your energy there is very little left for writing and exploring.
    That's what works for me (sometimes...)
    1. Write everyday if you can. It doesn't matter if you write only a paragraph, just start with the objective to write ONE sentence. It doesn't matter if you think what's you've written is rubbish, just write with no pressure of 'writing good stuff'. Some days will be good others not as good, but every day is necessary.
    2. Walk or swim or cycle or run.
    3. The most important thing: DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP. We all go through different fases. Your love for writing soon will come back.
    4. I LOVE READING YOUR POSTS. Just by reading them I wouldn't have thought you were experiencing the block you are talking about. Maybe try to post a bit less often, so you have time and energy to develop your other writing...
    They are just suggestions. I know you will find your own way and will be hearing from your success very soon.

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  4. I agree that sometimes when I don't want to write, the best thing I can do is take myself out. I often realize too late (ie once I am uber frustrated) that it is time to refill the well. Forcing it is only going to make it that much more frustrating. I think an artist date or just simply allowing yourself some time off might be a worthy goal. Another thing I find helpful is making a giant list of all the things I might want to write about at some time in the future. That way I feel like I am making some progress without actually doing the writing.

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  5. Hang on, little tomato! Help is on the way!

    What about trying Tiny Writing for the week? Just sitting down with pen and paper, giving it just a few minutes, and if it still doesn't sit right, give yourself permission to move on. Your posts don't have to be long or profound; sometimes just a short quote that made you thoughtful or a youtube video that made you laugh is more than enough. The same thing goes with Juicy Journaling. You can always go back and do a day of the program again later on if you want to dive more deeply into it.

    Between the posts, journaling, commenting, tweeting, and LIFE you're doing a ton of writing. Don't forget to respect that, and to respect your need to write lightly for a week or two.

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