From sizzle to fizzle?
Ask - collage by Drew Myron
As January comes to a close, has your resolve faded? All that pop and sizzle gone to fizzle?
For weeks, I've heard the zealous plans of overachievers: This year I will write a book! I will write everyday! I will get published!
My head aches. My heart sinks. Big goals may be good for some but I can't take the pressure. Bite-size tasks work best for me.
I take heart in knowing the race to accomplish is best achieved in small daily steps. Like an exercise routine, I'm aiming for consistent effort, not exhaustion. To that end, I've culled ideas from friends and colleagues to offer key ways to feed your writing life.
Three Ways to Re-Ignite
• Write in Short Bursts
A friend of mine writes in small slices. In line, at the grocery, in the waiting room. "I have written something poemish every day this week," she tells me. "I tend to want to wait until I have a length of time open before I dive in [to write]. This year I am writing in the short bursts as well."
• Make a Collage
My favorite kind of art project is one requiring limited artistic ability. Collage is the answer! Simply page through magazines and clip words and pictures that draw your eye. As you arrange images on a blank page you may be surprised to discover themes and ideas that will spur a poem, a story, or more.
• Pick a Word
At the start of every year, many writers take inventory of their lives and goals and choose one word to guide them through the year. This can be a fun and powerful process. Choosing a word forces you to focus while also providing powerful direction. Molly chose persist. Auburn picked certainty. Sage's word is, um, not printable. When you open yourself to possibilities you allow conscious and unconscious forces — some might say the muse — to direct your steps (and words).
How about you: What are you doing to feed your writing life?
How do you create and maintain a writing routine?
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 8:35AM
Reader Comments (5)
Love this post. Writing in short bursts - yes to that! I have often been guilty of waiting for The Time To Write. Also love the idea of making a collage to spark poems. Might have to try that..... break out the rubber cement (yes, they still sell that stuff....I couldn't believe it either). And P.S. thanks for the link.
Hey Molly -
I like the idea of short burst writing. I often convince myself I need big chunks of time to write, and then when I have it I fritter it away on everything but writing. To borrow your word, I must "persist" in using scraps of time to write.
After maintaining a daily poem habit since July, my discipline fell apart after the death of a close friend earlier this month. I'm taking the rest of January to recuperate, only writing when I feel like it, and the rest of the time letting my soul grieve.
On January 1st, I picked "trust" as my word for the year, specifically referring to trusting myself to do what was right for me. I'm trusting that my voice will come back full-force soon, and that this break is necessary.
Oh this is good, but my short bursts of inspiration usually come while driving. I do love collage though, and would love to start doing that again. Thanks for the inspiration. As for the word for the year, mine would have to be overachiever, because I decided to do a theme post every week, based on a different word each week. You can stop by and see how well (or not well) that went this week. Cheryl :)
http://createabeautifullife.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/the-lost-day/
Cheryl - A word a week, I like that idea. Overachiever, indeed. : )
Allyson - I'm so sorry to hear of your friend's passing. "Trust" is an excellent choice, and a concept I am always striving to put into practice. Thanks for stopping by. Nice to see you here.