Monday Mug 26
This week flew by much like all the weeks in my life lately. So many things have happened since I last checked in with you. There were beautiful things and events that have been very difficult, so sit down with your mug because I have some things to talk about.
The Farm
Things on the farm have been in high gear as it is Spring which seems like a busy time long with Summer. But we had to put improvement projects off because of the constant rains. We did sort cattle, and in the process, I was almost taken out by heifer.
I was safely on the outside fence with a hole in it, but we really didn’t think anyone would try to jump through because the hole was barely big enough for a cat to fit through. Well, we had a pretty wild heifer, and she didn’t like being moved from one pasture to another, so she jumped through the fence right at me. Now I tried to get the cow to go back in the holding pen at first but then realized being trampled by a cow wasn’t worth it that day.
We also have a calf we call Houdini that keeps escaping in new ways almost daily. I was outside talking on the phone at dusk and saw a calf down in a field it shouldn’t be in. I thought it was our neighbor’s calf. After asking my brother about I realized it was, in fact, our little escape artist. My brother and I walked down to the field and searched for him in the growth around the creek. We looked for about an hour seeing places where he had gone trying to track him from location to location. To no avail, we didn’t find him.
As we came back up the hill, our homes sit high on top, surround by our cattle. There was Houdini in the field eating grass like everyone else. He is such a trickster. Both of us rolled our eyes and slowly trekked back up the hill.
The Plants
Yes, I want my plants to have their own section. I have picked up gardening over the last few years. I worked in a garden center for a while, and my mother has always loved plants. It took me quite a few years, though, to get into it myself.
I have some hanging baskets I planted before mother’s day. I planted marigolds which I’m not too fond of the smell of, but I love the bright yellow and orange. The other baskets have geraniums in them, and I have found geraniums do well in these baskets.
I still have a lot I need to plant, but I haven’t chosen the flowers I’d like to see this year. If you have suggestions, leave them below. My indoor herbs are doing well. I have lavender, sweet mint, and cilantro. I haven’t done herbs inside previously, but this has been a cool spring, so I thought I would give it a try.
The Writing
There are so many things to share. I have been attending a writing meeting at least once a week since January it has helped me a lot this year. It is structured and helps ease my mind when listening.
I have been sharing my very rough free writing with people. This has been something I never thought I would do. I have insecurities like any writer. I recently came across an article about doubt in The Writer magazine. I am also reading Jeff Goins’s book You Are A Writer.
The article shared these ideas about why a lot of writers have self-doubt. It was refreshing to see that even professional writers have doubts and deal with different fears that all of those in the field deal with. One of the doubts that stood out was negative feedback can make a writer lose interest in writing. The comparison game was also an aspect talked about in the article. I have been guilty of this in the past until my writer friend started telling me how she would go over a poem or story multiple times to see what jumped out and how it worked. Seeing how a story worked is more productive than envy.
I have learned Jeff Goins’s book so far is being a writer is all about practice. It is not the first time I have heard this advice. It is the way that people demystify the world of art. Whether this is dance, music, writing, or art, to name a few disciplines, the general conciseness is that many people are thinking that you have to be talented to be a writer. In real life, though, most people have found it is a lot of just practicing and repeatedly writing to improve your skills. I have enjoyed the book so far because he is very straightforward and tells you how it is. I appreciate the honesty.
Until the next mug, just write.
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How Often Should You Write?
Do you need to write every day or not? This is the big question at some point and time a lot of writers out there ask. I think the better question is, really, what does your writing mean to you right now, and what do you want it to be in the future?
Is writing your therapy?
Did you write because someone said you were good and it was nice to be good at something?
Have you decided to be the best-selling author?
Do you want to just be published in a couple of places?
Always wanted to write the book stewing in the back of your mind?
Do you see now how it is hard to answer that question?
I think it is easy to say yes, write every day no matter what is happening. Writing daily is a great way to get practice, play, and your voice to really come there. There are so many benefits. You can also get larger projects done faster.
Something to consider if you feel like writing daily isn’t sustainable all year to pick challenge months for yourself. I do this through writing communities such as Camp NaNoWriMo, StoryADay, and NaNoWriMo in November. During these times, I plug into the community and report daily to push myself. For the rest of the year, I stick to a different schedule.
My other schedule flows better with my daily life and the obstacles I am faced with. When I look at my life and some of my friends’ lives, writing daily maybe just isn’t always in the cards. Our lives might be overwhelming with illness in families or the busy season at our jobs. There might be children or other people that need us just a little bit more right now.
In the end, I think either path can be significant. You shouldn’t beat yourself up for what course you are choosing. We are all different. No one writes the same way at the same time. Experiment to find out what works for you. Just remember to make time for yourself and your dreams. Even if you only get 5 minutes, just write.
Monday Mug 25
Hello, my writer people! I am so happy to be back. It never seems to fail that my February goes by so quickly each year. This year I lost a couple of weeks to the bitter cold, snow, and ice. There are many things to do on a farm in this type of weather and none of it in a heated area. I am sitting here with my mug of coffee because now it apparently puts me to sleep. (I never saw that one coming.) Though I think this speaks to the lack of sleep in my world lately.
Something I want to talk about tonight is the things we once used, which might work again. No, I’m not telling you to get back into that lousy relationship, so don’t go there. I am talking about planning. I’m a bit obsessed with planners and all stationary. I had using this daily planner for a couple of years now to keep my stress levels lower. When I saw a day at a time, it was wonderful because I was just focused on that day. It kept me more in my present moment.
However, I started to put some of my daily tasks off to the next day, not realizing how full the next day was. I realized this year I needed to go back to a weekly planner to make sure I wasn’t overloading myself. A planner I used to love and use often was a passion planner, but I had a couple of bad experiences. I was too picky when it came to size and bleed-through. There was nothing else on the market that would meet my needs, so I got a passion planner this year, and it was amazing! There was no bleed-through with my zebra highlighters. I absolutely love it, and I continue to feel more accomplished!
My writing is going great right now because I am taking the pressure off myself to be perfect. I have decided to come back to the art of playing with writing so my inner child can have some joy again. The scheduled I am on right now is writing every other day for 10 minutes to an hour. The writing I have been doing has been all prompt-based as of late because of the isolation I am still living in. When I was going to the office and out in society daily, many events sparked ideas for me, but I find prompts working for me now. I get these prompt through Instagram and share a lot of what I find on my page. You can find them here. I finished The Artist Way, and I felt so much better as an artist.
Writing groups I am involved in right now are Story A Day and a Patreon group for Tammy B. In both of these groups, I am learning from other writers and learning about writing in general. Tammy’s group has great education around publishing, being a writer, and fun prompts. Story A Day had conversions about what is going on in the short story world and focused on community. It is nice to be able to answer questions and to ask questions. There is so much knowledge out there, and it is nice to bounce the information off other writers. I would recommend anyone not in a writing group or who doesn’t have writing connections to reach out and find some.
The big event I am attending this month is going to the AWP Conference virtually. I was so excited about going to this event in person because it was scheduled for my state this year. However, I am even more excited about the virtual option because I won’t miss a word of what is being said. I hope you are having a great year so far, and like always, just keep writing.
(This blog has affiliate links, and as Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Monday's Mug 24
I am sitting down with my mug of hot chocolate tonight to just share with you a few of my thoughts. First, I would like to say Happy New Year! I am so happy that 2020 is over and we didn’t start 13/1/2020. I felt great on the 1st day of the new year and had a lot of hope for what the future could hold. It was also snowed that day, which was terrific.
But maybe you are not feeling great about 2021 right now, and I know what that is like. For the last 3 years previous years, I have struggled with hope. It was a big reason I took some time off. I knew that if I didn’t work on myself and get through some of this crap, I was never going to be the creative I was meant to be.
Community
I started to heal myself was by reaching out to friends who were real friends, and it took me a while to find them. I knew I needed people in my life that would allow me to talk because when I need to process things, I need to talk.
Many people don’t know how chatty I can be once I start to open up. I had been hiding who I was for so long I needed to be authentically me, not the one with a cloak or done up face. There was no need to perfect, and with that came the ability to cry or laugh or just be random.
Are any of these people living within a 100-mile radius of me? Nope. I think you can find friends all over the world, but I would stress to be cautious. I am not advising you to be friends with everyone you met online.
YouTube, TikTok, and Books
The second way was working through The Artist Way. I had an accountability partner for the duration of it this time, so I would be sure to finish. I told them what chapter I was on and the parts that were speaking to me.
I attribute a lot of my success to the morning pages that have transformed themselves and me over time. I continued to read books in the areas I struggled with, like self-discipline.
YouTube is a great place to find motivational speakers like Tony Robbins, Tom Bilyeu, or searching for inspirational videos. TikTok has a lot of great videos as well. Just search for inspired, positive, or affirmations. What these videos can do is give you positivity when you might be surrounded or talking to yourself in a not so lovely way.
Where do I find community?
So as we come into this new year, there are many places to look for the community, especially for writers. Not only are there podcasts, YouTube videos, social media accounts, and tons of positive people on TikTok, there are groups out there forming.
NaNoWriMo has writing groups all year long.
StoryADay has a community on its website and has a membership that opens at the end of April.
Stop Writing Alone has Facebook groups and usually hosts a Happy Campers group during Camp NaNo in April.
The Accident Inspirationalist has a Patreon for the community as well as workshops.
Let me know if there are any another writing communities you would like me include on my site.
(This blog has affliate links and as Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Monday's Mug 023
Hello, Writers of the World.
Welcome back to Monday’s Mug! I always love to be drinking from my mugs daily, but Monday is the day I like to catch you up on what has been happening since we last talked. Tonight I am drinking hot raspberry tea. I have enjoyed the cold chill in the air lately. Things have been pretty peaceful this last week, but I will share about my quiet week.
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I had been experimenting with soups lately. I love soup and made taco soup for the first time ever. I can’t handle many spicy foods, so it was the perfect opportunity to make it to my family’s taste. A wonderful mom that became a friend over soccer practices this year shared the recipe with me. While on this subject of food, I made pumpkin bread and cupcakes this last weekend for our treats. I watch The Great British Baking Show and enjoy baking as well as learning about it.
While we sip from our mugs, I would share with you my Artist Way progress. Morning pages are becoming more of a priority for my life. While I have been handwriting them for the last two months, I will be typing them in November. I have been pushing to make my writing more of a priority. Writing is essential to me than I realized, and being a writer is far more important to me as well. Through my morning pages, I have worked through some religious beliefs and political frustrations. These pages allow me to vent and get everything off my mind to start my days fresh. Due to our recent time change, I am waking up earlier to do writing in the morning. I never thought this would be possible for me because usually, I am a late-night writer. While my creativity does still peak in the evening, I find the morning time great to relax and get my writing groove on.
Would you like to refill your mug?
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I have been thinking a lot more about my writing, in general, this week. I was able to be part of a sprint this last week. It was only 30 minutes of writing, but I can accomplish my goals last week by getting that 30 minutes in. I have also decided to do NaNoWriMo this year. While this has been a more challenging year for my writing, I finally feel like I understand what I am doing. I think I am seeking out the creative life I have been looking for and encouraging friends to thank for it. This is a way a writing community can change your life. This is how your life changes because you let people in and allow them to speak life into your problems.
Just keep writing.
Who Has Time to Write
I hear myself saying I don’t have a lot of time to write. Yes, my life is crazy busy like everyone else, but so? I say over and over, “there are not enough hours in the day.” I have an endless to-do list just like anyone else. I can’t seem to possibly focus on writing for any amount of time without being interrupted. There are too many people needing things from me to keep me from doing one thing I want to do.
I’ve been dealing with this problem years before Covid-19 and all the 2020 craziness. I don’t say no often enough because I love helping people and teaching them. A year ago, I started to lose hope. There was one year in there where I struggled to have any hope at all in life. I was frustrated by my lack of motivation and the overwhelming feeling of not getting enough done.
I started watching YouTube videos about self-care and reading blogs about it. One of those books, videos, or blogs had Mel Robbins in. I honestly didn’t even know who she was until a few years ago. Thank god for the YouTube black hole of information. Robbins is a big believer in morning and night routines. I have never been a person who had either, but I know I like a rhythm throughout my day. There are times I like to work on specific projects. I wanted things to change in my life, and I felt the best way to do this was a night routine.
I have a few minutes before bed for myself. During this time, I hadn’t been doing anything consistently. Sometimes I would read, watch TV, or journal. So I decided to think about the thing I wanted to change the most in my life: writing more often. I hadn’t been consistently writing for a while. The story and book ideas have been there, but no stories were getting on paper. So I set a timer for ten minutes to write.
I know for the first few weeks, I couldn’t believe how long ten minutes took! I was continually looking at my watch. Soon I realized just how much I was getting done in the 10 minutes. Stories were finally reaching the page, and I was allowing myself to dream again. Dream again of finishing the novel and of getting stories published.
I was starting to create. I found when I was trying to edit; I did it faster the next day. If I allowed the writing to sit for sleep, then I could see my mistakes easier. If I know I am having a hard day or my night will be longer, I move my 10 minutes up to lunchtime.
Now I find more often than not; I can get a lot more done by writing, even just a few minutes a day than I was before. I now have a morning routine of walking now. It is a beautiful way to start my day. I even wake up early on the weekends so I can enjoy this quiet morning time. There are days when it rains and storms, but I move the time of my walk or mediate day if I can’t get out. When I was walking, I have found a way for me to clear my mind and move. Meditation allows me also to clear my mind even when I am not able to do everyday movements.
Instead, on those days, I have a dance party in the living room, turn on com crazy music, and just dance it out. There is nothing better than movement, meditation, and a timer for my writing routine. If you have days, you get stuck its s okay. Talk to a writing friend that day or a writing community. If you have signed up for NaNoWriMo, you can have groups that can talk all year round. Just remember to give yourself 10 minutes. So much can be done in just a little amount of time.
It is so much better than being overwhelmed by everything.
Just write 10 minutes.
Monday's Mug 022
Hello, Writers of the World.
Welcome back to Monday’s Mug! I always love to be drinking from my mugs daily, but Monday is the day I like to catch you up on what has been happening since we last talked. Tonight I am loading up on my pumpkin spice coffee. Yes, I am a lover of fall and almost all things pumpkin. The weather here has been all over the place. It is hot, and it is cold. The only thing consistent is the lack of rain. The family is picking up black walnuts and hoping to get them turned in by this weekend.
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I had to take an extended break again. It has always been difficult for my mental health when I take time away from writing. I picked up a couple of websites and social media accounts I am running. These have been an excellent experience for me outside of my comfort zone. These different accounts also took away some of my writing time until I got the hang of posting regularly on the sites. The busy times for these businesses are winding down, so I am also excited about the slow season.
While we sip from our mugs, I would share with you, I started doing The Artist Way. For those who do not know what it is, you know how exciting it can be to complete this book. For those of you who may not know what this book is all, it helps you heal yourself as a creative. There are ways the author gives you to work through creative blocking emotions. It took me a lot of time to finally do The Artist Way. I read many blogs about morning pages because when anyone talked about the Artist Way, they mentioned them. Morning pages seemed to be the only thing people focused on. This book is deep and makes you do some serious reflection. My process, though, hasn’t always been easy, but I‘m excited about writing again. I am doing the morning pages as well. These pages have helped me implement the work personal work I needed to do. Morning pages become like a friend and are a great place to experiment with your creativity as well.
Would you like to refill your mug?
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I have been thinking a lot more this week about my novel. I have decided after this partial book has been sitting for almost two years, I am ready to start writing on it again. I am starting work in November. Currently, I am reading through my draft. Soon I will create a reverse outline thanks to the help of a friend’s advice. I have been going over different novel structures and finding a plan I would like to follow. I don’t like the idea of a super structured outline; however, this will help me stay focused.
Just Write Today.
Your Weakness is Your Strength
I remember looking down at my spelling test, not seeing 100% but 80%. The tears began to bubble up inside me and come out in front of my classmates. Eye rolls and cry baby chanting began, and in these moments, I was labeled as too emotional. At first, I saw this as a plague because it was linked to the high exceptions I had for myself. In general, I expected to “be the best” and “change the world.” This was not a simple feat for my 7-year-old self.
As I fast forward my life to my middle school and high school years, I still found my emotions challenging to control. When I had disappointed myself or not been the best in a classroom for my role model teachers, the tears came. If I got low grades, I mean anything less than a B because I had a least lowered my standards to a B, I would cry. There was no one there willing to help me with the amount of anxiety I felt. I was always told I was making something out of nothing and calming the hell down.
Throughout those teenage years was when I really began writing without the influence of anyone else. I wrote little stories and poems to get me through my hard days when I knew no one would understand. I knew that if I told anyone what I felt, I would cry and be embarrassed. Friends would tell again to calm down and chill out and still offered no help or solutions. I poured myself on the page because the page didn’t tell me I was too emotional or too sensitive.
During this time was when I trained myself to be the sounding board for others. I would ask people all kinds of questions until I knew them better than anyone else with offering up any of myself. These talks kept me focused on others instead of my terrible days. I never vented or spoke of my terrors. The focus on others buried these events deep. They no longer existed when my energy was going to help someone else.
It wasn’t until after I was out of college that I had seen the benefits of being too sensitive, even just a few years ago. Granted, most of my relationships start with I’m a crier. I cry when I’m happy, sad, tired, and angry mostly. If you can’t handle crying, please move on because it will happen, and you cannot fix me. This is who I really am. Hence, I am still single, but I understand using this gift of emotion to help me as a writer.
When I have gotten critics back about my work, perhaps they ask for more details in my setting. There might be a little something about brushing up my dialogue. However, readers always have felt whatever emotions I invoked in them. Emotions make readers care about the characters and draw them in on their journey throughout the story.
There are so many things that people will call out a weakness in you. There is so much within you that you can use for good and your benefit in life, and stop letting others stop you in your path. Today I may have cried with every show I watched, but it was because I felt connected with these characters at my very being. If I am crying while I read your writing, consider it a compliment.
Top 3 Things to Revive Creativity
When I am in hustle mode, I overwork myself. I have given too many yes to projects because I have interests in so many things; it is hard to say no. Then it happens. I sit down to write and my creativity back. Exhaustion is likely because my projects keep me up late or take up any downtime I might squeeze in. I get in a funk, and my creative well is empty. I have written down these top things to do when the well is dry, and I need a fast pick me up.
1. Online Art Museums
One of the fastest ways I get inspired is by going to an art museum, but the closest museum I have is an hour away. It is not too far to go, but when I am on a deadline, or I cannot go places, I turn my computer into my very own museum. You can search online art museum exhibits, and it will bring up pages of results. Pick the top 3 to visit or refine your search.
I take a few deep breathes while I look at the images. Then I allow myself to think if I were telling a story about this object, what would it be. It is a great prompt to get the writing going again or just your mind to flow again.
If you feel this will take too much time, then go to YouTube and search for art museums.
The search and exploring should take a max of 30-45 minutes.
2. Netflix Shows
I know that Netflix can be a dangerous place for anyone because you can quickly lose track of time, but sometimes in a creative desert, it is wise to give the mind a break for a while.
In this case, I recommend two ideas, either watch an interesting documentary one that I recently got into was Down to Earth. It got me thinking about different parts of the world and societal changes.
The other idea is a show you know you will get lost in. Allowing my mind to let go is a more difficult task for me. I recently found myself taken away by the Umbrella Academy because I am more a sci-fi, dystopian, and fantasy type person.
Only watch one episode do not exceed 60 minutes.
3. READ
Reading should be a given to any writer, especially, but sometimes it is challenging to get yourself in reading mode. If you are not already in the middle of a current book, then I would suggest short stories or poetry. Either of them can pack a creative punch to the dry wells.
I go after 100-word stories or poetry if I just need a little shot of creativeness. I will read three or four poems or micro-fiction stories. Don’t make it hard. You can search for hundred-word stories, best short stories, or poetry.
If reading is still not doing it for you, I recommend going to YouTube and typing in spoken word poetry.
These are my top three things I do to help get myself back into a creative mode. I recommend setting the alarm or timer for each of these because it can be easy to get lost on the internet.
There are always seasons when the creative wells run dry. It is important to get rest. If you find yourself zapped more often than not, it might mean you need to offload projects or take some time off.
My favorites to get you started.
In the meantime, just write.
Monday's Mug 020
Hello, Writers of the World.
Welcome back to Monday’s Mug! I always love to be drinking from my mugs daily, but Monday is the day I like to catch you up on what has been happening since we last talked. Tonight I am drinking mint tea with honey. I love the refreshing smell of mint. The family spent a lot of time outside this last weekend, getting the farms slicked up again and mowing the yard. I pulled weeds out of a flowerbed, and I’m trying to get it ready for planting. This evening was mild. We spent time outside again tonight playing with our cats and dogs. I has been a good week, and I am still hoping for a little cooler weather. What is your favorite thing to do outside?
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I don’t remember a lot about last week. In fact, there were a lot of things I forgot about last week. I forgot errands, events, and what other people were doing that would affect my day. I’m a severe planner and write everything down. There were some minor things I couldn’t recall. I think a lot of it has to do with journaling. I haven’t been journaling as much, and it helps me empty my head daily. Do you enjoy journaling?
While we sip from our mugs, I would share with you, and I am continuing to build relationships with other writers. Not because I am expecting anything from them but because it is nice to have some writers in my life. It has been fun getting to know them better, some for longer than others. I find myself opening up more to the writing community, much like a kitten coming out from under a hiding place, wondering how safe it is. I am finally a few more steps out now that I have started to interact.
Would you like to refill your mug?
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I have been thinking a lot more this week. I’ve been listening to different podcasts this week. I have been jumping around a lot. I used to listen to podcasts the way I watch a Netflix series. I had the impulse to listen to the podcasts in order. I quickly gave up on the order mindset and even more recently decided to look at it like reading. I have started dozens of books but never finished because I didn’t want to go any further. I feel this way about listening to podcasts now. I will only keep listening if I am really interested, not because I think I need to finish it.
While we sip from our mugs, I would share with you, and I am trying to celebrate my life more. I have been influenced a lot by the StoryADay podcasts because their theme this month is a triumph. I haven’t been good about celebrating in any way my life aside from a couple of birthdays. This stems from my high expectations concerning my work and how it changes the world. However, slowly I am still trying to celebrate my writing. I am celebrating my downtime too. I say yes to many things and, at times, more than I should be, so I’m celebrating when I complete tasks as well lately. I have to say it has been helping me get out of my COVID funk. I am excited to see what celebrating my life long term will mean for my joy. What are you celebrating?
Until next time just write.
Monday's Mug 019
Hello, Writers of the World.
Welcome back to Monday's Mug! I always love to be drinking from my mugs daily, but Monday is the day I like to catch you up on what has been happening since we last talked. Tonight I am drinking water because it has been sweltering and humid here these last few days. All my fall feels are being pushed to the back burner, and summer has decided to show she means business. August usually is the hottest month we have, and sometimes I seriously consider moving further north. Do you enjoy the weather where you live?
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you last week was especially busy I had four meetings this last week. I haven't had that many in a couple of months now, but they were all exceptional. The first one was with StoryADay SuperStars. We usually have an online get together once a month, and this time I actually got to attend. It was excellent to interact with some writers I haven't before. I appreciate listening to where everyone is and what their interests are. Towards the end, I really started to open up more about things going on in my life and who I am. As quiet as most people think I am when I feel comfortable enough, I won't stop talking. Is there something about you people assume but are wrong about?
While we sip from our mugs, I would share with you, I was a part of a write-in a friend hosted. This event was online at night, and it totally up my alley. We had a little prompt, and I created a short children's story—afterward, we did some writing sprints and had breaks to talk to each other. There were writers I had never met before. Still, it was fabulous to meet new people and expand my writing community. It made me feel great to see my friend stepping out for me and helping me by writing in at night to help me get back in the groove of writing. When it comes to writing, there were a lot of things I have been struggling with. Being able to find a write-in at night has been one of the items at the top of my list. Is there something you have been struggling with a lot this year.
Would you like to refill your mug? I know I need to.
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I had a meeting about social media. I have been educating myself about social media for a while now. I enjoy helping others navigate the platforms and to share the knowledge I have learned. There was a day trip to the lake yesterday, but I didn't go swimming or go out on the water. Actually, I make myself ill driving to the lake house. It was a great day of sharing and building relationships with a team I am a part of for a single mom's group I help out with.
While we sip from our mugs, I would share with you the thrill I have had for writing has started to grow again. There are days now I can focus on writing, and I am picking up more story sparks. I am trying to work on my consistency and keep promises to myself about what I am ready to accomplish. There has been a lot of mindset changes underway, and there are so many times now throughout the day, I am excited about writing a new story. I am so thrilled about this because my mind has been under construction for me a lot this year. Is it easy for you to keep your promises to yourself?
Let me know how you are doing in the comments below.
Until next time just write.
Embrace Yourself Writer
It takes me a little bit to remember what it was like in my world before the internet. Days lasted forever because I was outside, always running, playing, and making up stories. I would spend hours staring outside my window, watching the wind blow through the trees. Now I look at trees in pictures on my phone. My world revolves around the internet, even my job relies on it. I got caught up recently in the comparison game on social media. I had to tell myself daily, jealousy isn’t worth it because no one’s life is perfect, and I only see the highlight reel.
So when I was struggling with the comparison game, I’d come across hundreds of posts, blogs, and videos about loving who you are. With all this time at home lately, I have been overly reflective of my life, and I was considering the following...
How many of us, especially artists, take self-love to heart?
Do you believe people when they say you can dream big dreams?
When someone compliments our work, does it get through to our hearts? Do we even know how to take a compliment?
Comparison is one scab I have been picking about often now. This year, in particular, because I have been online more than have been ever, I am comparing myself to everyone out there.
My social media reads...
He is writing 2500 words every day!
She just published her first poetry collection!
They are making thousands of freelancing and off their blogs how!
These posts would be motivating for some people, but for me, all I am doing is comparing my life to theirs. No, I have no idea what their home life is like or other commitments. I am strictly looking at how much they produce and noticing I am not producing that much. Kindly I remind myself of the writer I am and to go at my own pace in my own time. I have to tell myself I will work a little every day to chip away at what I am trying to accomplish.
The next scab I am picking is you don’t know anything. In the grand scheme of the world, it’s true, I know very little. Even when I focus on writing alone, I am sure I have only skimmed the surface. I feel this way because I have a degree in creative writing.
Have you been to a university library where there are floors and floors of books?
There are millions of blogs posted daily as well.
How could I ever consume that much information?
Only an AI could read all of the material being put out there now. Again gently, I realize in my own life, I am an expert when it comes to my struggles with writing and getting in my own way.
The last scab I have been picking is that no one will read this or give a crap. There is some truth to that statement. Many will read this blog and never click on my site again. I know I am not alone because we all go through times where we question what we are producing.
However, I have to remember the one. The one is the person we all write for, but sometimes we forget about them. They are the ones that will say yeah me too. I have been there, or I am there right now. And even if they don’t get anything else out of this, they will know they are not alone fighting to be a writer.
It is easy to get lost in all of these mindsets as a writer, but I’m going to ask you to fight them as I do.
Your story really matters, write it.
Your creative mind matters, be kind.
Your writing could save one person from loneliness.
We were not all made to write 2500 words a day, or publish our book tomorrow. That is okay. No, really, it is okay.
Be the writer you were made to be.
I’m calling out to you struggling writers be kind to yourself because we still need you.
We really need you.
Stop self-loathing for wasting so much time.
Give yourself a break, wake up tomorrow with new hope, and try the next day again if it all goes to crap.
Start with 5 minutes and then work your way to 10 minutes.
Give yourself 10 minutes of self-care in one day.
Accept who you are as a writer and allow yourself to be that writer, not the one you think you should be.
In the meantime, let it all go and just write.
Monday's Mug 018
Hello Everyone! Welcome back to Monday’s Mug! I always love to be drinking from my mugs daily, but Monday is the day I like to catch up on what has been happening since we last talked. Tonight I am drinking an herbal mint tea and loving it. So, tonight we would definitely be outside enjoying this mug because it is colder weather here and I love it!! Have I ever told you Fall is my most favorite season of the year? What is your favorite season?
While we sip from our mugs, I’d tell you it been a long time since I checked in with everyone. July was a busy month with family medical issues. It was stressful waiting for answers only to have more tests to be run and more waiting. Even now, a month later, we still have no answers about what is going on. I know I am a little cryptic here, but I need to work on my patience is the moral of the story.
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you have been doing a lot of reflection these last couple of weeks. I have been talking personality test, which I love and reflecting on myself as the person I have become now. I was marked as an INFJ, which I have been for years that really didn’t surprise me. I took an enneagram test and found out I was just as much a 1 as I am a 4. These all made sense about who I am as a person. I am a perfectionist striving to be creative. I have not quite figured out that path. It isn’t like I base my life on what these tests say; it helps to understand who I am more. Do you ever take tests like these?
While we sip from our mugs, I’d tell you I haven’t been writing much. Not writing is driving me crazy. I have been redoing websites, and while it has been a creative outlet for me, it is not the same as writing. I love creating a website to be visually pleasing. Write though has been my lifeblood for so long that it has been strange without. It’s like I am walking around without the watch I wear daily or whatever you have daily, and you forget it at home. I was on a kick at the start of July writing. I had gotten back on my favorite site 4thewords.com and was busting through the ceiling of what I was trying to do just get the words out.
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you haven’t got to be part of writing groups much lately. I have had internet problems a lot this last month, so tonight was the first night I had gotten to see by StoryADay people in like two months. It was great to see people’s faces and to get to know them better. I think I talked a couple of people’s ear off towards the end of the call. I miss talking to people, but my favorite way is one on one.
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you right now I don’t know where my writing is heading. I still want to be published, but I haven’t been making any process towards that. It is like saying I will run a 5 k, and I only walk 10 minutes a day. Again I think I am too hard on myself because I have to process many life events, and then I wonder if I am too easy on myself. Perhaps soon, I will find a balance and overcome my struggle.
Until next time just write.