Ten Healthy Writing Habits
The blinkety-blink cursor is doing its thing again—blinking. And I can't find a single word I want to put on paper.
I hit page return a couple of times. Now it's blinking in a different spot.
Maybe I've just had a rejection. Even the third this week. Conversely, I might have a pressing deadline. Or perhaps a story waiting to be told but it's only so many scattered ideas and thoughts at the moment.
I sit and stare at the blank screen. I get up and fix coffee. And return to stare at the blank screen. I raid the fridge, load the washing machine, eat half a dozen cookies, check my e-mail. All to no avail. The page is still blank. The cursor is still blinking--unrelentingly.
It isn't that I don't have anything to write. It's not that I'm exploring ideas inside my head and not ready to hit a blank page.
My diagnosis--I'm unmotivated. It's a disease of the will. Or perhaps it's an indication that I haven't been taking care of me.
I need a cure quickly. Here's some medical advise for the ailment.
1. A little bit of sugar makes the medicine go down.
If my will, or muse, or whatever you chose to call it, wants to act like an ill, fractious child, I will treat it as such. I bribe, cajole and threaten. No more cookies until you write at least two lines. No e-mail until you write twenty minutes. If you really settle down and do your daily quota you can go to the library (or bookstore) and get that book you've been wanting to read. Unless you get at it, you aren't going to be allowed to have coffee with your friend.
I'm unsympathetic to any whining and wailing.
I often find it takes a shot of self-discipline every morning to get myself started and then I'm usually okay.
2. Develop a strong support system.
In life we know the value of being part of a larger community. We've heard it said that it takes a community to raise a child. So I suppose it shouldn't come as a surprise to discover it also takes a supportive community for me to create a story.
I can't keep forcing myself to the page if I don't get some nurturing. I need to surround myself with friends who celebrate my victories and sympathize and encourage me when I've had a failure. This can be the local chapter, close-writing friends, on-line connections or maybe, for some, it might be family.
I collect affirmations too—a contest win, positive feed back from a critiquer or reader. I put these into a file and read them when I need to remind myself why I want to face the blank page.
3. Just do it. It's good for you
Exercise makes me feel good. It raises all those happy endorphins and releases bolts of oxygen to my weary brain and tense muscles. Yet knowing that, there are still days I have to make myself go to the gym. You'd almost think I had a thing about feeling better.
It's the same with writing. Nothing feels better than having written. Don't we all know it? Sometimes reminding myself of the satisfied feeling I enjoy at the end of a good day is incentive enough to get me going and staying until I've accomplished something.
4. Develop healthy surroundings.
How many workplaces have been shut down because of poor air quality? How many employers have been forced to provide better physical work conditions? Lots. Now look around you. What would you say to a boss about your environment? Does your chair fit so you develop good posture? Is your desk the right height? All these things can affect how eager we are to sit in front of the computer for long hours. And go a step further. Make your environment conducive to creating. Try candles, scents, music, posters, trinkets, whatever speaks to you.
5. Don't run on empty.
We all know the harm of anorexia for our bodies. But sometimes we starve ourselves creatively. Julia Cameron talks of filling the creative well. I need this often, and on an on-going basis. And while a day off is great, a trip to the museum is wonderful, or a week-end in the mountains refreshes like nothing else, I can't manage that kind of time away often enough so I've learned to replenish my creative well in shorter ways. Music, pictures of art, a grumpy stuffed toy that frowns at me from the top of the monitor and makes me smile, a spherical glass paperweight filled with gold bubbles makes me feel creative. Posters with motivational sayings encourage me. A talk on the telephone to a critique partner or writing associate also gives me my writerly fix. A trip to Tim Horton's simply to observe is a wonderful refresher.
You know what makes you smile, fills you with renewed passion, and gives you fresh determination. Build your own motivational centers with whatever works for you.
6. Walking is one of the best physical activities.
You don't have to open many women's or health magazines to find an article extolling the virtues of walking. No costs involved, your own time and convenience, alone or with a friend, it's one of the easiest and best exercises.
A walk is good for the muse as well. There is nothing in the world that compares to a walk for stimulating the creative juices. In fact, any kind of working out is a great way to refresh your mind as well as your body. Stretch. Run. Lift weights. Build in regular activity of whatever sort works for you.
7. Avoid repetitive strains.
Sitting hunched over the keyboard, using your wrists nonstop will sooner or later develop hip, back and wrist problems. So switch gears often. Get up and move around. Or simply lean back in your chair and stretch. If you already have indications of an impending problem get a book that teaches good sitting and working techniques or speak to a physiotherapist or occupational therapist for some changes you can make.
In the same way, repetitive activity can cause creative problems. In order to relax your muse, you might consider switching to a non-demanding project—something that isn't under pressure. Or load the washing machine.
8. Take a daily multi vitamin.
Vitamins for your muse? Why not? Collect motivational quotes. Read books simply for the pleasure. Read outside your genre simply for pleasure.
9. Regular routines reduce stress
Treat it like a business—dress for it. Have regular hours. Teach your muse that you are going to show up at the keyboard every day and teach him or her or it to meet you there.
10. Avoid stress by setting realistic goals.
You'd wonder about a person who drove themselves into a nervous breakdown because they set unrealistic goals in life. But how often do we do this as writers? I know I do. I hear a motivational speaker insist that if we set goals we will attain them. I've even read the testimony of a woman who set the goal of being published by the end of the year. I hate to admit I knew a moment of resentment when she actually achieved it. Because, in my mind, it's not a realistic goal. It isn't one you have control over. You cannot control publisher's and editor's choices. What you can do it write the best story you can, market it the most knowledgeable way you can, and promise yourself to never quit. So set realistic goals, create healthy environments and learn to exercise your mind and body.
Happy writing health. |
