Bec1d 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 Doing1d 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 threadBec14h ago
@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
Show threadHer Doing13h 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!!

Show threadBec
@Her_Doing Ah, this is very interesting! Lots of ideas, thank you – I used to do the three small good things as well but like everything else, that has fallen by the wayside. A good reminder to start with that again
12:32pmWeb
Show threadHer Doing2h ago

@teadrinker

If I may suggest ... please write down ALL the small good things, don't just stop at three!

For example, I just checked and just for the month of April, I have already recorded sixty-six small good things - that is 5.5 per day so far. 🎉

For one thing, the really good days balance out the ones not so good, but also that means it gives you a sense of just how good your life is, how much good you notice or accomplish, and all the tiny threads that make up the tapestry of your life.

We DO forget. They are *small* good things, after all. But it is SO lovely to look back on them months & years later and remember them all over again. 🥰

And sometimes to remember how much something 'normal' (like perhaps fresh bed linens or the first crocuses of the season) brings you so much joy,

If it helps - and to perhaps not sound like such a saint 😄 - there are some days I *only* record the sgts of the day - I am too tired, too busy, whatever - but I try to record the sgts as they happen, or AT LEAST in bullet point at the end of the day. Every day. At least one. (Even on the worst days, there is always *something* good.)

Also - bullet point means *they are recorded*. That is what is most important.

But often, they will put me in such a good mood, I will warm up, and write a few sentences or even a whole paragraph per point - which then puts me in a better mood at the time, and is more of a joy for Future Me to read. 😊

Good luck!