Don't Write Upset
Hello dear Wavers - I miss you. I miss writing the Rouge Wave every day even though there are days when it is a royal pain in the arse or I'm very busy. But I have learned something the past few days. I can't write when I'm seriously upset. I can't think straight, I lose my appetite, I am out of it when I walk down the street.
Being worried, upset, frightened or in grief seems to settle into my brain and short circuit the creative side. Maybe what is happening right now will later become fodder for a really beautiful script or story. In fact, I'm pretty certain of that. But not right now. Right now I can't think about anything other than what I am dealing with.
So I guess I wanted to ask Wavers - can you write when you're upset or distracted by major issues, losses or conflicts in your life? Does it take awhile to process and want to write or does being upset actually fuel you? Do you write long letters to yourself, or do you journal? Me, I have to just let it pass. Even if it seems like an eternity, like all writers I know that there's another chapter ahead, a new scene, a new beat - and I know I can get there.
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8 comments:
Julie, you have my best hopes that things will be okay for you.
That said, I'm actually the opposite -- when I'm upset or stressed, the best thing I can do for myself is to sit down and write. No matter what happens in the session, I always feel better.
I started writing stories at a very young age to escape, and to this day it remains the only thing that truly helps me cope when life gets bad.
When I write, I heal.
Hang in there, babe.
I, too, have a hard time being productive when things are crashing down around me. Also, I have an annoying chronic medical condition, and there are days (sometimes weeks) where large amounts of writing are just not going to happen. It's taken me a really long time to accept that fact and not drive myself into a frenzy when I'm unproductive, since that just makes things worse.
Noway, can't write at all when my head is somewhere else it's too distracting. What does help is exercise (I'm not talking, get in my cutest spandex and hit the treadmill) I mean, I walk out my door and just walk, or get on my bike and pedal my ass off, and think. Also, music helps for some reason. Writing is the last thing I do, it just feels like my fingers can't move fast enough to express any kind of pain or anger or sadness I'm feeling.
I must admit however, I'm a reluctant writer. I'm not a journal chick or someone who writes for fun or because I'm compelled by unseen forced. I just have stuff to say and it seems to be the best way for me to say it.
we love you and miss you, girl. Take as much time as you need, we'll be here.
Julie, as you know (or maybe not--I'm not sure I ever mentioned it), I wrote my fourth novel during the endless months when my marriage was coming to an end, certainly not the easiest of times. Though the book was successful on its own terms, people who knew nothing of what I or anyone else in my family was going through could see a subtext of unhappiness in the text.
But I had to write to ensure my own sanity during those times, and I think being anchored to a book-in-progress helped me to survive it.
The postscript to this is that twelve years later my wife and I got back together and we're now happier than ever.
As you always know, I wish you only the very best during these difficult times.
I've written pretty much through whatever life has thrown at me, whether as a coping mechanism, routine or habit I can't say. I just do. I may not write about the events, but the emotions, yes.
I'm with you, chickie – I can hardly form a complete thought, much less a complete sentence, when things are going badly. I suspect that's the reason behind the very lean writing output over the past two years.
Which is not to say that there's no creative output at all. Just that it takes different forms.
Hang in there. Take a tip from Winston Churchill: Never, EVER give up.
Sending good thoughts your way, Julie. Hang in there.
Upset-writing serves a purpose for me - to express raw emotion. But I rarely let others see those words. Later, after a bit of perspective, that's when I can really write.
Someday you'll look back on this...
I journal when I'm upset about something. It's cheap therapy. I don't think I can do creative writing when I'm upset, but I've never been moved to try. To write any kind of fiction that may involve my situations and feelings, I need to get some distance from it before it even occurs to me to write about it. But when I do, I find it healing. Hang in there! ~ Trina
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