When words don't come.
It's been a long....
...day?
...week?
...month?
...year?
X....All of the above.
Sometimes I feel like my mind is being pulled in six different directions. School, work, family, this, and that, and the normal-getting-my-ducks-in-a-row-adult-life stuff.
And the writing that I used to love, but just hasn't been a priority lately. I've had neither time nor inclination toward writing. And that scares me, because I've heard the old adage "use it or lose it" more times than I could count.
What if I lose it, my joy and affection for the written word?
On the other hand...what if I don't? What if a break is just what the doctor ordered? What if it's okay that sometimes writing is just one more thing to worry about?
But I wish it wasn't. I wish to go back to the days of yore, when responsibilities were few and words were many.
But maybe that's just now how it works in the real world. Maybe we have to realize that the things we love are worth fighting for.
Or maybe we have to learn to lay them aside for a time, but not a lifetime.
Maybe we need to look at our perfectionist self in the mirror and say "It's okay if I don't do it all."
This is for all the writers that find themselves in a dry spell, whether by choice or frustrating writer's block.
You don't have to do it all. And you don't have to write it all right now.
A wise author friend of mine shared with me what her wise mother told her. The gist is that sometimes words need to come out. They don't need to ever see the light of day, but sometimes they need to come out. And that's more than okay.
...day?
...week?
...month?
...year?
X....All of the above.
Sometimes I feel like my mind is being pulled in six different directions. School, work, family, this, and that, and the normal-getting-my-ducks-in-a-row-adult-life stuff.
And the writing that I used to love, but just hasn't been a priority lately. I've had neither time nor inclination toward writing. And that scares me, because I've heard the old adage "use it or lose it" more times than I could count.
What if I lose it, my joy and affection for the written word?
On the other hand...what if I don't? What if a break is just what the doctor ordered? What if it's okay that sometimes writing is just one more thing to worry about?
But I wish it wasn't. I wish to go back to the days of yore, when responsibilities were few and words were many.
But maybe that's just now how it works in the real world. Maybe we have to realize that the things we love are worth fighting for.
Or maybe we have to learn to lay them aside for a time, but not a lifetime.
Maybe we need to look at our perfectionist self in the mirror and say "It's okay if I don't do it all."
This is for all the writers that find themselves in a dry spell, whether by choice or frustrating writer's block.
You don't have to do it all. And you don't have to write it all right now.
A wise author friend of mine shared with me what her wise mother told her. The gist is that sometimes words need to come out. They don't need to ever see the light of day, but sometimes they need to come out. And that's more than okay.
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