Good Afternoon Readers and Writers! I found myself unable to come up with a topic last week when I sat down to write my Monday blog post. I just couldn’t figure out what to write. Now, I admit that I left the post to the last minute. I’ve been working on my novel and special side projects, and time got away from me. But ideas wouldn’t come. I stared at my blank word document with my fingers poised over my typewriter keyboard keys and…nothing. Absolutely nothing. I tried doing Natalie Goldberg writing practices to get the writing flowing. I chose a topic, started my ten-minute timer, and put pen to paper. But the words that flowed out were not blog friendly. They exposed too much of myself, and I’m not ready to share those things. I need more time (and confidence) to post those words. After doing a couple of writing practices, I found myself drawn to rereading past writing practice journals. I fell into the patterns of my mind, and I realized I haven’t been sinking into myself when I meet with my writing practice group. I skim the surface with the chosen topics and refuse to enter deeply. I don’t want to get my feet wet, but that’s the whole point of Natalie’s practice. You’ve got to trust yourself and your process. You’ve got to dive in. Sometimes we need to step back and return to our centre. We need to remember why we started in the first place, and why we continue. Natalie’s practice has built (and continues to build) my writing spine. As I’m working on my novel, it’s become clear that I have a lot of world building to do. And it’s scary, but it’s exciting. There are so many possibilities, but I’m afraid that some of these new directions are taking my novel down a different path that doesn’t hold true to the story that’s there. At the same time, my novel has gone down this path before. Draft seven is only possible because I took a chance and followed it. I trust my process and where my mind goes with my writing practice, yet there’s a difference when it comes to my creative work. And I’m uncertain right now, and that uncertainty scares me. But it also makes me creep forward in anticipation because I know that I’m hitting something that’s waiting to be uncovered. ~ Mady P.S. Happy Valentine's Day!
1 Comment
Megan
2/14/2022 04:40:07 pm
Thanks for this insight! It truly is hard sometimes to agree with yourself on what to share...I tend to "overshare" without sharing. Revealing something dark about myself without casting a light on the entire issue.
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