Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!
Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
The awesome co-hosts for the October 3 posting of the IWSG are Dolorah @ Book Lover, Christopher D. Votey, Tanya Miranda, and Chemist Ken!
Click here to view everyone in the Blog Hop.
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October 3 – How do major life events affect your writing? Has writing ever helped you through something?
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The Highs and The Lows
I missed September’s post. It was a busy week, and the first Wednesday came and went before I realized I’d missed it. Perhaps a good example of how life in general affects my writing!
This entire year has been an example of how major life events throw me off track. I’ve hardly written anything since NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) 2017. That’s almost a year! I’ve posted about why before, but in short, a long-term (10 year) relationship ended. Following that, I decided to move back to Tennessee, which just happened at the beginning of July. Then, I started a new job in August and work saps out all of my creativity. This year has been one major life event after another, and I’ve hardly written a damn thing!
That being said, I’m finally coming out of my slump. I still haven’t written much, because of work mostly, but I have written some. I’m working on a short story I hope to post to my blog soon. And, I am SUPER EXCITED about the project I’m planning for NaNoWriMo this year. I haven’t worked on something brand new in a long time, but I have a plot bunny I’ve been chasing for a few weeks that feels great. I may actually use the month of October to do some plotting for NaNo for once. I’m a total pantser (flies by the seat of my pants when writing if you’re unfamiliar with the term), but I actually want to plot this one out a bit. Highly unusual for me. Perhaps a good sign.
Despite my major life event writer’s block, writing has been there for me as an outlet during tough emotional times in the past. I’m an introvert, and it helps to articulate thoughts and feelings in writing, even if it’s private. While I haven’t spent any time working on prose or fiction this year, my poetry and songwriting has had a place in helping me work through some of the emotions I’ve faced this year.
This is one that sits unfinished, but was something I started while in the midst of emotional turmoil at the beginning of the breakup.
I look in the mirror unsure who I see. A shell of the woman I used to be. The flame’s all but burnt out. The song in me dead. My eyes full of tears and my heart ripped to shreds. I cry out in darkness unsure what I’ll find. Hoping for something to quiet my mind. Rekindle the flame. Put a song on my tongue. Open my eyes and breathe life in my lungs.
So yes, writing has provided an outlet for me at times. I just typically tend towards poetic outlets for those things more than prose. I typically write romance or romantic subplots in my fiction and spent months blocked from writing relationships. And since I feel that my characters are really the heart of my prose, I just stopped writing.
I’ve latched onto a plot bunny I’m excited about for NaNoWriMo, so I hope that my Major Life Event Writer’s Block is coming to an end. We will see what November holds!
Thanks for dropping by!
Rosie J.
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