Being a writer is freaking hard. I’m not sure if it’s the actual act of writing that is difficult or the getting stuck in your head part. This is something that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, so I wanted to spend today’s blog post talking about the struggle of being a writer.
I’ve discussed in the past writer’s block, writer paralysis, all the of various things that can inhibit you as a writer and what to do to overcome them. But what happens when you can’t take your own advice? Taking your own advice and practicing what you preach is one of the hardest things to do, even when it’s something you really want to be doing. I love creating stories and delving into the worlds I create, but lately it has been feeling like such an effort, which causes me to second guess myself.
Last year I felt like I had good momentum going with my writing. Not just with creating content for the blog, but with my other creative projects as well. Then, last October, I had surgery. I thought I could use the time recovering to get a lot of writing done, but I severely underestimated the toll going through a major procedure takes on your emotional wellbeing. I didn’t post any new content on my blog until last month. I didn’t do any other creative writing during that time either. Even thinking about doing either of those things felt like such a mental effort.
The biggest thing I am struggling with right now is finishing something. I have three short stories I have been working on that are currently unfinished. When I get stuck with one, I just move onto another. I need to go back and finish one of them, so I have the satisfaction of completing a project, but it’s SO hard for me for some reason.
However, things have been looking up lately. I got a planner for 2020 to help plan out my goals. For each week, I set myself one major goal and if I complete it, I get a reward. I don’t always meet my goal for the week. If I don’t, they get moved to the next week and I don’t get my reward. I try to keep those goals writing centric and try to write every day. Even if it’s five minutes devoted to some random prompt, at least it’s something. With those, you never know when you will use it. I recently submitted a 101-word story that was in response to a prompt I did last year. Like I said, you never know when a previous idea will come in handy.
The reason why I wanted to make a post about this was to be honest with everyone. I know when I’m going through a rough writing patch, it’s hard when I see a fellow writer talk about how much they’re writing. Don’t get me wrong, I am beyond happy for them, but it makes me think I’m doing something wrong or I’m on the wrong path. The truth is, it’s neither of those things. Struggling creatively is all part of the process! Being kind to ourselves and allowing for these moments of doubt is the most important thing.
I wanted to include the 101-word story I wrote a couple of weeks ago. It did not get accepted to the site I submitted it to – they called it “poetry prose” rather than a story. What do you think – should I turn it into a poem?
The leaves fluttered down gently onto the worn dirt path, creating a carpet of bright reds and yellows. It felt cruel to step on them as I walked along, my muddy boots crushing them. It was like I was disturbing a perfect moment in nature and I hesitated before setting my foot down on my next step.
The trees lining the trail towered overhead, creating a canopy. A few raindrops began sneaking in between the protective branches. But onward I went, stepping from rock to rock wherever I could as to not disturb the sea of foliage that lay beneath me.
This is great! Reminds me of Ralph Waldo Emerson. You should do more of this. The collection could just turn into a book later. You could call it “A Collection of Nature Poems” by Shannon McPherson.
That’s a wonderful idea! I will keep that in mind 🙂