Sunday, August 30, 2015

Writing Advice Time - Do Not Give Up!

"If I waited till I felt like writing, I'd never write at all."
-Anne Tyler

For me this is true and it isn't. There are moments where I'm just itching to write. I can almost feel the words trying to claw their way out of my brain. It's one of the reasons why I always make sure to carry around a small notebook and pen with me. I learned my lesson the hard way. There's nothing worse than being stuck on a beautiful beach with the sound of the waves acting as the background music to the most epic new story springing forth in your mind and have absolutely NOTHING to write these ideas down in (not even a phone because you decided to be free and one with nature without any restraints from the outside world - NEVER AGAIN - I'll enjoy the ocean with my iphone in my back pocket).
But then there are also times when I just do not feel like writing, at all. Sometimes just the thought of having to write makes me feel like my body is breaking out in rebellious hives. That's when I'll Netflix binge or hang out with friends or while away hours on Tumblr, anything to keep my mind off of the fact that I should be writing but I'm not. My advice for those moments is DO NOT GIVE UP. Binge on Netflix, hang out with friends, spend way too much time on Tumblr, but then sit back down at your computer or in front of your notebook and write...write anything. Start with a grocery list or a letter to a friend and go from there. Some of the best scenes I've ever written have come from moments where I was simply writing nonsense just so that I was writing something. 
Just because you may not feel like writing doesn't mean wonderful, engaging, informative work can't be done. You may surprise yourself.