On this page I've gathered a couple of blog posts I've written over the years on writing and creativity in general. Some of these are so long that I've turned them into a pdf and epub.
Tap on the article that interests you to expand it, or click the link to visit my blog to read a recent post.
She calls them progress logs, but writing log feels more natural to me.
Here are the prompts I use for my own writing log.
I've worked on:
I've read:
I've learned:
Insights after writing today:
I added the I’ve read prompt because, for me, writing and reading are connected to each other, and in the month I kept writing logs, I read a lot of writing-related books, and I wrote what my takeaway from the books was.
I will keep my writing log on my blog each week.
Being honest with yourself about what you feel can be a magnificent help in times when you feel stuck. Letting myself share all my fears takes away their power over me.
Here is what keeps me from creating stuff today:
. Fear of getting more pain
. Fear that the end product will suck
. Fear that it will negatively impact my health
. Fear that I will mess up my art
. Fear that I will waste pretty supplies
And this is what keeps me creating:
. The sweet taste of victory over fear
. Eagerness to learn and play
. Aching to have adventures
. Loving myself enough to create
What are your two lists for today?
I asked myself the following question: Is this fear of submitting worse than my greatest fear?
Right at that moment, my greatest fear was for a dentist appointment that was coming up later in the morning.
Knowing my greatest fear at that moment diffused the fear-based thoughts on my art. I submitted my artwork within minutes after that.
This was exactly what I needed to get out of the fear space creatively. I hope that it will help you too.
Here are some other questions you could ask yourself.
* What am I afraid of doing?
* Why haven’t I done it?
* Is that fear worse than my greatest fear?
Joy teaches best when you feel its absence. When you feel that it is so far from your current moment in time, that you are desperate to hear its soft voice.
It's what drives me to open a book I've read before, because I know there is beauty to be found in the words.
It's what makes me turn the page in my journal and draw my teacup again and again.
It's what makes me turn to my blog and write.
Because when joy is absent, it's like lungs just after breathing out: you need to breathe in because you feel that you will suffocate if you don't.
This is a constant in my life, this inhale and exhale of joy. And eventually, I know that it is in me, even in the depth of the exhale.
I love that advice still, but I’ve just thought of a better one that is also more writing related.
My advice is this: write letters from characters introducing themselves to you or each other. This can also take the form of a diary entry or two.
This is especially useful for discovery writers (aka pantsers) like me. It is part of my process either before I start working on an idea or when new characters show up.
It helps me tremendously to connect to those characters and I reference those letters often while writing.
As a poet who writes fantasy fiction, this is an important step to connect with a character’s emotional state and driving force. This, more than any standard character profile, helps me write my character.
And through this, I’m able to paint my characters vividly with simple words. They have nestled themselves in my mind, so it’s easy.
Give the character letters a try. Would love to hear what you think!
If I get an idea for a scene in the book, no matter where I just write that scene. If I know where it has to go, I put it in its place. If I have no idea, I add it to a folder called scenes for somewhere.
The awesome thing about writing out of order is that it’s pure play. I compare it to a jigsaw puzzle. I love the fact that I get to write my book like I lay a jigsaw, gathering the puzzle pieces until I have a solid first draft. It is such fun! The best part of it is that I can’t get stuck in my plot anymore.
I can just write wherever I want to write and leave the parts I got stuck in for a later time. I’ve already noticed that I find my answers while writing somewhere else.
The ideas aren’t just writing-related, they are for other creative projects, or things I need to do around the house, calls I need to make, etc.
I am so easily distracted, that I just lose the ideas the moment I have them. That's where the notepads come in.
Having a notepad close by, open on a blank page is all I need to keep it. And even then I lose track, for instance when I don’t have the notepad open on a blank page, and start reading when I wrote on the page instead of writing it down.
I do experience that ideas come back when I repeat the actions that brought up the idea, but the best way to keep it, is just writing it down!
So keep a notepad in your bag, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, next to your bed. It can be the same notepad you carry with you around the house. Just jot things down.
And once a day process what you’ve written. Add things to your bullet journal for the next day, or to a monthly page. Add writing-related notes to your projects, etc.
Then turn the page for a new day of writing down thoughts before they escape your brain.
Cut the painting into squares, shuffle them, and glue them into your art journal.
Cut the painting into squares, shuffle them, and glue them into your art journal.