Tag: writing

Damn You, Whispering Voices!

Posted on by Shun-Luoi

Those whispering voices in my head just won’t shut up.

“That blog post isn’t good enough to publish.”

“People won’t like that photograph.”

“Everyone else’s photos are way better than yours.”

“Don’t hit publish yet. Keep working on it until it’s better.”

“You don’t really have much of value to write about.”

“You really aren’t all that creative.”

Damn you, whispering voices! #shakesfistatsky

This year I’ve been working hard to develop new creative rhythms in my life. Given that it has been a month since I last published a post on this blog, it’s evident that I have a long way to go.

I could look to inspiring quotes to keep me on track.

“It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.” — Myquillyn Smith

If we are not willing to fail we will never accomplish anything. All creative acts involve the risk of failure. — Madeleine L’Engle

“Real artists ship.” — Steve Jobs

“The only way to find your voice is to use it. It’s hardwired, built into you. Talk about the things you love. Your voice will follow.” — Austin Kleon

Amazing quotes to create by, for sure. But perhaps Anne Lamott’s advice is most helpful for such a time as this:

“How to write: Butt in chair. Start each day anywhere. Let yourself do it badly. Just take one passage at a time. Get butt back in chair.”

Anne Lamott

Despite the fits and starts, I’m not going to give up. I’ll miss a day here. I’ll miss a day there. But I’ll always get up the next day, put my butt in chair and write, one passage at a time. Not only that, but I’ll also draw, color, cut, tape, remix, glue, sing, photograph, print, build, and dance. I’ll keep pressing forward to build stronger creative rhythms and output.

And in the spirit of creating, below is a photo of the first page of my new journal. H/t to Snoopy (and The Nester) for the reminder that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.

This “paper and pencil” notebook is my semi-private home for writing, drawing, and creating collages. I won’t often post photos of my journal here on this blog. So, follow me on Instagram for periodic snapshots of my journal and other visual work.

05.01.19 — May Day! May Day! May Day!

Keep Writing, in Bite-sized Chunks When Necessary

Posted on by Shun-Luoi

The past few weeks I have been busy preparing to move my family into temporary housing. It’s a long story. But the short one is our landlord is selling the house, and we had to be out by the end of March. Every day consisted of work, packing, trips to the storage unit, driving my kids to their normal activities, and squeezing in time with my family. It was a busy time, and culminated last week in a final push to move out of our home, clean it up, and hand the keys back to our landlord.

You can probably guess about how many days in that time I sat down to write.

The good news is it was more than zero. The bad news is it was a grand total of one or two days at best. So much for my daily rhythm of writing.

I could rationalize the reasons why I didn’t write. And some of the reasons—ahem, excuses—were understandable. But the bottom line is I didn’t get it done, and with the standard excuses I let myself off the hook. On Sunday, as we wrapped up the move, I reflected on what I could have done to keep up a daily rhythm of writing.

I may not have had thirty minutes or an hour every day to sit down and write. But I did have five minutes here or ten minutes there. And I could have taken those bite-sized chunks of time to write bite-sized chunks of content.

We’ve all experienced those times when we didn’t feel like we had the time to write. But we must find ways to keep writing. I have listed a few bite-sized writing prompts below, based off a quick brainstorm. Try them out the next time you feel too busy to write.

  • Write for five minutes about what you are experiencing with your five senses. What do you see around you? Describe what you hear. What do you smell? Touch something and describe how it feels. If you’re eating or drinking something, what does it taste like?
  • Write for five minutes using Merriam Webster’s “Word of the Day” as a prompt.
  • Write for five minutes about a value by which you try to live your life.
  • Visit The Most Dangerous Writing App and write for five minutes about…writing.
  • Write a list of the things you did or experienced today, both the mundane and the unusual.
  • Write a list of 5-10 people you admire, with a quick statement of why.
  • Do copywork. Pick one of your favorite books or poems, select a passage, and copy it down. Bonus points: get off your computer and write it by hand.
  • Ask your kids (or anyone nearby) to give you a character(s), a scene, and a situation. Write a quick story, in five minutes, based on those prompts.

Whether it’s writing, drawing, reading, thinking, exercising—anything you pursue as a regular rhythm—you’ll face those times when you feel too busy to keep it up. Those are especially the times you need to keep at it, even if only in bite-sized chunks. Those bite-sized chunks of time and creative output will help you sustain the rhythms that are important for your wellbeing.