Bec18h ago

There was a nature writing workshop today at the library and I went along. It was great – run by a local poet and afterwards, I bought his book as I'd had to miss his launch a few weeks ago.

We talked about verse, meter and the importance of punctuation (or a lack of it) in poetry. Then we had some writing time and I managed to get some words down. It was a good feeling.

I really want to prioritise creative practice but also, that well feels so shallow at the moment – even reading! Reading is hard work, let alone the kind of reading I want to do to. I need an energy for this that I somehow just do not have right now...

It leaves me feeling very thick in the head – I don't mean in a derogatory, insulting sense, I just mean my head feels thick, wooden, full of density and no space. And definitely not the right words, even if I can think of any words at all

#writing #tired #NatureWriting #CreativeWork

Show threadHer Doing16h ago

@teadrinker

If it helps, I keep records in my journal of everything that makes me stop for even a moment - an illustration, a line from somewhere - if I can't write it in my usual places, I take a screenshot (which conveniently has the date built into the image name) and add it later.

A lot of times it is 'This is good & I want to remember it' - it will just be a line from somewhere (Joanne Harris' daily Shed tweets are good for this for me) & I'll write a line of what it made me feel, reminded me of, the story idea I have, or whatever.

If I am up for it, maybe I'll draft some backstory - but usually not & that's okay; it is just to capture the idea.

Then when my brain *isn't* so thick, I can go back and pick through. Nothing is lost. If anything, it has been simmering in my brain all this time, shaping me, even if sub/unconsciously. 😊

I am a big believer in 'Chop wood, carry water'. I may not be able to do X (I often can't), but I try to do *something* AROUND X, so I am always heading toward my goal, even if I have to shuffle and take detours.

Free advice is sometimes worth no more than what you paid for it - but I hope you can take something from this, even if just 'you are not alone' in feeling this way right now. 💛

Show threadBec
@Her_Doing This is a really good approach! A friend recently told me that journalling is her gateway drug to creative writing and I suspect this could help for me too. If nothing else, it could be a small, easy practice that leads to more later, when I have the energy for it
1:28amWeb
Show threadHer Doing4h ago

@teadrinker

I have my journal divided into sections, all with bullet points (with different icons).

I can't write a one-line bullet point to save my life 😄 but it is arranged like that to stop myself thinking I *have* to write long entries and being too paralysed to even start.

Also, the divisions help me find specific things later.

Right at the top is Small Good Things - every good thing that happens in a day.

Daily thoughts - my own thoughts on stuff

Daily inspiration - really good quotes or thought-provoking things I've read that day

Story ideas - anything that I went 'Ooh, that gives me an idea'

Etc.

Sometimes every single section has multiple entries, sometimes only a couple of sections have anything at all. That's okay. I always try to write *something* even if it is only a single small good thing.

(I ALWAYS write in the small good things that happen. It might be the only thing I have time for, but I ALWAYS do it.)

Also, I keep everything in Obsidian, which is easily searchable by word, but also by icon. So if I want a reminder of all the small good things in my life, I can just do a search for 💛 & they all come up, nothing else.

Story ideas are 🌱 and so on.

(If a story become something serious and starts being fleshed out, drafts are created & stored somewhere else, but it is always nice to see when the seedling of an idea first sprouted and what prompted it. 😊)

This is what works well for me, and I hope it gives you some ideas - Good luck!!