Choosing to Write

Sometimes we can make things harder than they need to be.

I've just read two different posts this morning about "choice". It made me realize how we try to characterize our actions in a way that will make us blameless—that's one of our specialties as human beings—so if things aren't going the way we want them to, we try to find something to blame. Something besides ourselves.

It could be fate, our insecurities, our obligations. It doesn't matter WHAT it is so long as it fills the requirement of letting us off the hook.

I'm not pointing a finger at anyone, because I do this as well. I couldn't very well recognize it, let alone write a post about it, if I didn't have master-level black-belt status.

Choosing to write can be hard sometimes. We want it to be as effortless as reading. Sometimes it can be that way, when the words flow out of us in a never-ending stream of brilliance. Sometimes the characters are well-behaved and delightful, so why wouldn't we choose to play with them?

But a lot of times writing seems too hard. We are trying to create something out of nothing, for goodness sake. That requires superpower abilities, something that deities possess. No wonder we would choose to "not write". We can even conjure up good reasons for that choice.

The problem is then your stories stay in that embryonic stage. They sit inside you and cause a great deal of discomfort, which grows, causing you to feel out of sorts. It's like a virus has taken over somehow. You try to make those annoying feelings go away by doing something else, anything but writing.

How could you possibly write when you feel like this?

The only way to dispel that sensation is to write. I joke all the time about avoiding and procrastinating, and they are valuable tools in the writing process—unless the avoiding and procrastinating turn into full-time careers. If that occurs, what happens to your stories? Your characters end up in some kind of purgatory, even though they have done nothing wrong, and truly deserve better.

I think most stories burst forth with a wonderful idea, and writers grab on to it with enthusiasm, and then when they realize they have to figure out the rest of it, they panic. They wrap the story in layers of "I can't do this". They are happy for the gift, but don't know how to make it keep on giving. They choose to give in to the fear and anxiety, not realizing those will grow bigger the longer they avoid trying to write.

So today let's choose to write. Think in smaller bites, and shorter timeframes. Write a sentence. Think of another one that could follow that. Take 15 minutes of your lunch hour, and sketch out a scene or a blog post. Combine writing with other tasks. I've worked through troublesome scenes during the tedious job of stirring risotto, or scrubbing the bathtub.

You don't need a huge block of time to accomplish a lot of writing. We like to believe that, but it's not true. What we do need is a huge block of commitment, as well as concrete evidence that we can do this.

Today I choose to write.

Comments

[Melissa]

If I didn't know that I didn't get to posting my WIP blog post this morning, I'd swear you were talking about me. LOL Yep, it has "choice" in the first paragrah and I had to double-check it was still in draft. LOL!

I guess this just shows how widespread this "choice" worry is. Sometimes I turn it around and say I didn't choose not to write, I just chose to do something else. But I still get those symptoms you were mentioning about discomfort and feeling out of sorts and I'm pretty sure it's those characters in limbo calling to me. I know it is...even if another part of my brain is telling me I really did have the flu earier this week. LOL

But I'm superstitious too so I'm definitely recommitting some smaller bites to the stories. :)

[Donna Cummings]

Melissa, sorry I caused you alarm! LOL There are so many competing choices, for our time and our energy, and it's hard not to feel like we're making the wrong choice, at least every once in a while. :)

I guess it would be hard to tell if the symptoms are from the flu or from writing discomfort. LOL (Hope you're feeling better, since there are some yecchy germs out there right now.)

I feel good about choosing to write today, since I managed 2k with my wordcount, and I'm happy with the mess of words that emerged. LOL I can actually see the story in there too!

[Britt]

It is truly amazing how much this is speaking to me at this exact moment. For so long I've had story ideas bubbling in my mind but my fear has kept me from moving on - from actually finishing or moving the story forward. And for the first time in two years, I finally sat down three weeks ago and just wrote. I wrote as if I didn't give a hoot what I wrote or who saw it and you know what? I finished my story last night. It's done. Completed. Finished. I cannot tell you how empowering that realization is - that I overcame my fear!

Oh, the fear is definitely still there, but now I know I've got the guts that it takes to overthrow it every once in a while. Now I want to write and it's getting easier to tell those nagging voices of insecurity to shut up! I'm not going to lie, it was hard as hell to stop myself from procrastinating and for the first time in years I was having intense anxiety - and I'm only 21!!! But that what happens when you deny the truest part of who you are as a writer - when you deny your stories from being told.
So thank you Donna, your blog still continues to keep me on my toes and get me through the writing week. I enjoy knowing that there's someone else out there that understands, that truly just GETS what's going on in this crazy writer's mind of mine.

Thanks!

[Quantum]

It must be really hard work tring to be a nine to five writing Goddess.
Creativity just doesn't work to order!

I find that my best ideas come while I am walking the hills surrounded by staggeringly beautiful natural scenery. Just try and explain that to an employer though. The employer is much happier if you sit at a desk staring at a computer all day long!

As an 'Energy Medicine' enthusiast I believe in a holistic approach, listening to your body and mind. If writing becomes difficult and hard work then your 'writing energies' are probably in dissaray. I don't think that the chakra or meridian for writing has yet been identified, but when it is you will need to massage the appropriate areas to get those writing energies flowing again.

An Energy Healer like Donna Eden or Carolyne Myss would probably look at your aura and energy flows and identify the problem .... at a price.

For me though, a walk on the hills followed by a stiff scotch usually solves the problem in a very enjoyable way.

Your body and mind will let you know when you are ready.
Then you can choose to write. *smile*

[Donna Cummings]

Britt, I'm thrilled that you finished your story! That's such a great accomplishment! *throws confetti* It's even more exciting that you did it after you knocked fear aside and just went for it. You're right about the fear coming back, but now that you know you can overcome it, it won't hold as much sway over you. :)

There's always something that will try to derail our confidence in our writing, so it helps when we know there are other writers out there going thru similar things. And it REALLY helps to hear stories like yours--where fear just couldn't stop you!

Thanks for letting me know that my blog posts help. :) There are some days I think I'm not coming up with anything new, or particularly useful. I'm glad you proved me wrong!

[Donna Cummings]

Q, my writing muse (I refuse to call Endora a Goddess -- LOL -- she's hard enough to deal with NOW) doesn't work a 9-to-5 schedule. Heck, neither do I. LOL

I would like to have somebody assess my writing chakras. :) It would be fascinating to see them on the good days and then compare them to the not-so-good days.

Until then maybe the walk-and-scotch method will have to work. If that doesn't do the trick, then maybe this new story I'm working on will keep me energized until I can reach the end. :)