Groups / Mother Writer! / How Do I Write Again?
Hey Mother Writers,
I need some advice.
Back in the day my creative juices were well-oiled. Ideas would flow from out of nowhere. I'd sit down with pen and paper and I could fill pages. Now, when I try to write nothing comes out. Sometimes I get so frustrated that when I do find time to write, I come up with a million other things to do so that I don't have to face the page.
Part of the problem is that the past few years have thrown one challenge after another my way -- from losing my job and losing both my dad and my child's father to cancer, to becoming a single mom to a child with special needs. It's all been overwhelming and severely life altering. I know all this has somehow stifled my creativity. Plus, I don't get out as much as I used to so my life is insanely boring. Sometimes I fear that my creativity has been washed up and that it's over. On the other hand, I refuse to give up on the gift God placed in me.
What tips/advice can you all give on how to revive a writing life that has been smothered by life stuff for so long?
Thanks in advance!
Thanks for the feedback on working towards a specific goal, Sophie. Point noted. However, I must counter the part about making excuses. I didn't mention those incidents to say, "woe is me." I was simply using them to explain why I may be having a hard time writing. They are not excuses NOT to write, because I have been trying to write. This post is about getting the words out and on the paper.
But again, thanks for your feedback.
Here're two writing prompts for you for today: The first: You must finish this sentence in a metaphor, and then continue to write one paragraph in any way you want, but only one paragraph, no more, no matter how much the muse may strike:
"Losing two men in my life to cancer is like ..."
The second prompt, which you may complete any way you want, and continue as long as you want, is: "What most people don't realize about raising a special needs child (unless they too have one), is how it gives you an amazing opportunity to..."
We all have slumps, every last one of us. And Pain, and Motherhood, and Aloneness are all big drains on our time and energy, but also among the richest sources of material.
Good luck, BIC, and write on!