Stuff Happens

It has been my intent to post on this blog at least twice a week. I’ve done fairly well for the past year, but it had been 8 days between my last 2 posts. Stuff happens.

 picture credit:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/content/image_galleries/
halloween_pumpkins.shtml?28

You see, the night after my November 5 post, I was attacked, whipped, and totally consumed by a violent monster: the stomach flu. I can now say that I know what it is to be demonically possessed.

Two days later, my 91-year-old mother got it, and two days after her defeat, my 17-year-old son got it. I went back to work on day 3 after my bout with the bug, but between overwhelming fatigue, the extra work I had to do to catch up, and the additional care-giving demands at home, I had nothing left in me to give to the writing call. Even if I had had posts already written, I didn’t’ have the mental energy to open the computer and click on the “publish” button.

 image credit:         

http://www.horsepowerandheels.com

/blog/2008_02_01_archive.html

My point is this: stuff happens that gets in the way of the pursuit of passions. We have to deal with it. But we also have to recover.

Recovery means no lamenting over lost time, no negative self-talk, and no succumbing to inactivity.

Creative thinking and production do not happen when I am sick, but the stories do not die. When health returns, we have to hone in on the sleeping stories and welcome them back into our conscious thinking. We have to honor those stories that flow in our blood and at least promise them our attention soon. 

My spiral notebook sits under my left elbow as I grade papers and prepare for the end of this semester with most of my brain and the activity of my right hand. Images, events, and descriptions that pop into my head as I work on the day-job work all get jotted down as they present themselves so that I can meet the demands and deadlines of my day-job while still paying homage to the pulsating passions that feed my soul.

This is just the strategy that currently works for me. If it is helpful to my readers, then go for it – give it a try.

Stuff happens. That is a fact of life. It is also a fact that we have to deal with it. Just make sure that when you deal with your STUFF, you continue to honor the STUFF that MATTERS!

Write on!

Mind Harnessing Strategy #2

The first strategy I came up with was rather eclectic and running on the high energy of a mind explosion. This second strategy is more subdued by comparison. It may require less coffee than the first strategy, and more control of conscious decision-making. (I know, I’m getting awfully close to the concept of “discipline” but think of it as a choice to grow, not to close anything off..)

OK. Here it is:

Take on the role of observer. Sit back and watch the thoughts and they appear. Just watch. Settle down and watch them dance around in front of your eyes. Smile at them. See which ones call your attention to them longer than the others. Follow one or two of them as they present their potential. Don’t worry about trying to capture them just yet; just watch and follow them with your mind.

When you have observed a bit, begin to jot down some ideas, images, impressions, whatever comes to mind. As other thoughts that are not relevant to the one or two that you chose come into focus, just let them come and let them go. Don’t stress over how incredibly fantastic they are because unless they grab you with an unreleasing grip, this simply isn’t their time. Even great things can be distractions when their timing is off, and when you are in the throes of a mind explosion, everything is great, and therefore, everything has the potential to distract and destroy. So let them go. You do not need to force them off the edges of consciousness or chase them away, just let them go.

Mind Harnessing Strategy #1

I recently wrote about the mind explosions I often experience in the mornings. It feels like I’m being so bombarded with creative ideas that I am in a state of major overload. An in the manic high that often greets me with the rising sun, I am absolutely convinced that every one of those ideas is a rare gem that I have to harvest from the walls of my mind and polish into the ever-ellusive masterpiece.


While the experience excites me, it also kind of disturbs me because I am simply not capable of extracting every single one of them and spinning them all into the diamonds they promise to become. So I’ve been thinking about the idea of harnessing my mind.


I’m not sure that is the best way to describe what I’m thinking of, but I sure don’t want to use the word “discipline”. So for now, mind harnessing will have to suffice.


Here is one strategy that settled on my consciousness one cold, snowy afternoon:


Write wildly and eclectically to capture ideas with no reason and no intent. Just grab and run. Do this by writing whatever you see and think; do this as a collection of random words and occasional snippets of more complete ideas, but don’t worry if nothing becomes complete. If time allows, change colors, but don’t be so concerned about writing in different colors for every different idea that you stop the flow of thoughts.


All of these things can be returned to later and explored as writing prompts. Beware of course, that later the original potential will be dissipated. Let go of that with the belief that whatever comes later is what was really supposed to come anyway.
Note that this strategy has to be prefaced with an understanding that even though the onslaught of ideas feels so fantastic and incredible, the result on paper will be puny and insignificant by comparison. Maybe, just maybe, by writing frantically in the midst of a mind explosion, you can experience the whirl wind in a new, more holistic way. Maybe by capturing bits and pieces here and there, you will feel the joy of dancing in a midsummer rainfall. Maybe jumping in with pen and paper will allow you to feel every cell in your body saturated with a creative quiver. Ooh! That sounds electrifying! I think this is a strategy certainly worth exploring!

Run-ons and on, and on, and on, and ...

A run-on sentence is one that has too many subjects, too many verbs, too many adjectives and adverbs, too much punctuation, or, to put it simply, too much stuff and way too many points so that your reader ends up getting totally lost and overwhelmed even though you think that what you are doing is providing your reader will all kinds of really good information, so good in fact, that you have to get it all out as fast as you can which is what results in the really long, obnoxious sentence that in grammatical terms, is called a “run-on”.

Phew! Take a breath! Now try to read that sentence out loud. YUCK!

Let’s rewrite it so that is becomes a paragraph with good, complete, yet simple sentences:

A run-on sentence is one that has too many subjects, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, as well as too much punctuation. To put it simply, a run-on sentence has too much stuff and way too many points. The result of a run-on sentence is that your reader ends up getting totally lost and overwhelmed. While you may think that you are providing your reader will all kinds of valuable information, in reality, only end up with long, obnoxious sentence that in grammatical terms, is called a “run-on”.

The old acronym comes in very handy as your basic rule to avoid run-ons: Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS)!

Fighting Writer's Block

Writer’s block is very real. No matter what kind of writing you do or for what purpose you write, writer’s block is very disturbing. If writing is your livelihood, writer’s block is worse than disturbing; it even threatens your ability to pay the bills and support your family! But even if writing isn’t your main source of income, writer’s block robs you of your very essence and therefore, it can be devastating.

One reason writer’s block is so terrible is because it is the opposite of something really great. When your writing muse graces you with her presence, you behave as a genius, frantically scribbling and tapping wildly at your keyboard; you produce amazing work and you soar on a natural high. Then comes writer’s block. You feel abandoned and everything about you is barren. Barren in your mind and in your spirit: this is writer’s block, the fall after a surge of great writing. This is writer’s block and the reality is it happens. It happens to all of us.

We usually don’t see it coming; writer’s block just drops in one day and suddenly, the mind is dull. When this happens, you basically have two choices. You can lay down your pen and go into sulking - a behavior that will no doubt send you into a downward spiral of low self-esteem and depression, or you can turn your dry spell into an opportunity for growth.

That’s right. Writer’s block can actually be good for you as a writer. I know it sounds crazy, but bear with me here and look at this obstacle with an open mind.

Like anything we do in life, we get into a rut, even with our writing. You write about the same stuff; you use the same words; you even write in the same style. No wonder the muse leaves for awhile! Don’t fret it, though, realize instead that this is your muse calling you to stretch your brain muscles a bit and strengthen your skills. Take advantage of writer’s block and use that time to try something new.

Here are a couple of ideas:

1. Reflective writing

Have a discussion with yourself about writer’s block via writing. Write out your struggle with writer’s block.

A) Give it a personality and tan on the heroic role of defeating the villain. Yell at it. Curse it’s will. Send it off to a place “where the sun don’t shine”.

B) Ask yourself what you have to gain by bowing to writer’s block. Answer yourself in writing, of course. If you have to wallow in self pity, do so in writing, but conclude your piece with what it feels like to give in to defeat. Hang the conclusion where you can see it and read it over and over until you are ready to rise up and get over it.

2. Revisit and Rework

Go back to pieces of writing that you have already completed and take a look at it from a different perspective.

A) Analyze the characters and/or ideas in the piece (do this analysis in writing, of course). Pretend you are a student in a literature or logic class and analyze with a critical mind.

B) Rewrite it from a different perspective. If it is in first person, write it in third person, or keep it in first person, but change the voice; if it is a narrative, make it a personal letter. Whatever you do, just step into another voice and tell the story from a different point of view.

C) Write it in a different tense. Make it an historical piece or turn it into a futuristic fantasy. Try putting it all in present tense – that is always a challenge!

D) Take one or two points in the piece and expand that section. You may even be able to take one point and expand it such that you can write another whole independent piece from that later on.

Writer’s block is very real and, like the common cold, it is unavoidable. So when it hits, hit back!

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