More than a chore!
I’m not sure when it happened, but I realized yesterday that I view writing like I do exercising. It’s this thing that I want to do, but have to psych myself out to get going. Most days my sneakers stare at me, taunting me, much like my keyboard has begun to do. Running is something I love to do, but the actual lacing up and getting out there is the hardest thing sometimes. However, once I get going I lose myself in the pavement beneath my feet and the music blaring through my earphones.
Not a day goes by that I don’t think about writing. I want to write, but sometimes I treat it like a chore rather than a passion. But, the writing is just like running! Once I get going, get my fingers moving, it’s a lovely thing that melts away stresses and worries.
So, I have to figure out how to get past viewing writing as a task to tackle and remember it’s so much more than that. It’s my life! I must get back to living.
Any ideas? What do you do when you get to this place?
I know how you feel. I spend way too much time trying to decide should I write? Should I blog? Should I edit? Not to mention all my other creative pursuits.
ReplyDeleteI think the key is motivation. I find it's always easier to tackle it when I have a buddy cheering me on. Wordmongering, editmongering - those both help. Or even contacting a writer buddy and asking if you can set up writing dates.
I'm here for you darling if you need that buddy :)
Just as I feel as though I am getting stuck and all those drafts seem impossible let alone writing something new, I come across an interesting blog hop that challenges me :)
ReplyDeleteI am in exactly the same place with both running and writing. At the moment though making time to run is much easier then making time to write. When you find the magic potion to make them both easy to get started can you please let me know
ReplyDeleteFairy wishes and butterfly kisses lovely
I feel so much the same! I keep waiting for inspiration to put fingertips to keyboard (for something other than blog posts), but have come to realise I have to actually force myself to sit down and start writing. In the end it just takes accepting that the first paragraph is painful, just like the warm up stage of a run (I guess, as I don't run!).
ReplyDeleteLillie dear Lillie, I put off my writing till I'm in exactly the right frame of mind or until the deadline is only moments away...this is NOT good planning either! I shall take your words to heart. I love writing. I LOVE writing! Silly to waste so much time thinking about why I'm not doing it. I'm going to be like the company who makes running shoes you might like. I'm going to be like Nike and: Just do it!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see more of YOUR writing :))
We share passions, and I have a similar approach to writing and running.
ReplyDeleteA friend once told me, when I was bemoaning a lack of creativity and energy to write, that there are fallow times and harvest times. Writing is like gardening in some respects. Sometimes the field needs to stay fallow in order to nourish the next crop. She helped me understand that sometimes it is important to be still and wait. It doesn't mean nothing is going on.
As an aside, I recently read William Maxwell's "So Long, See You Tomorrow." What struck me, besides the interesting writing, was that there were years when he didn't publish anything and years when he was prolific.
I know it is hard to trust that the writing will come. But it does. It always does.