In Gail Carson Levine’s instructional novel, I think it was called Writing Magic, but don’t quote me on that, she said that even when you are absolutely stuck, just keep writing. No matter what, she said, keep writing. My teacher in my creative writing course used to say that too. She’d always say it’s time to write and if we can’t think of anything, write about how we can’t think of anything. I did that once. We had to write slam poetry and I had no idea what to write so I wrote about how I didn’t like the situation by making a satire of what slam poetry is and then saying I didn’t write one even though I just presented it as a slam poem. My teacher gave me full points, even extra for having memorized it, so it ended up okay. The point is, I am now sitting here after forty-five minutes of staring at a blank sheet of paper and decided to write about how I don’t know what to write. I’m sorry if this bores you, but to be honest, I’ve never actually written about a blank idea so I wanted to try this for myself.
I really do want to write something. I went to Hope College over the weekend, the college I am attending in the fall for a major in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing, and I realized how I really need to get going. I looked around at the ten students who claimed they were also creative writers, and I became so determined to practice, to be able to stand just as tall as I read my work to the class. However, I know that being a writer means practicing – a lot. I am aiming towards realistic fiction, and in that I’m really starting to find my voice, but I still need to work on it. I just wish I knew what to write. I detest blanking out, with every fiber of my being. Normally, I see several items, moments, or reactions that I want to write about so badly, but then it all slips away. Even if I write something down to remember to write about it later, I can’t seem to remember what I was going to say, or why it was so special to me then.
I truly believe that nothing is more annoying to a writer than the inability to call out words, or at least words of significance or meaning. I miss my warriors and knights, but I just can’t seem to involve them personally with the readers. I should work on that as well. For now though, I really want to practice realistic fiction. Then again, why can’t I practice both? Well anyway, I’m stuck; for now though, it feels good to be writing, even if the entire passage is about nothing.
This post reminded me of a good book for you - The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I don't have a copy that you can borrow because I use my husband's, but here is a review of it to give you an idea of what it is about:
ReplyDeleteAmazon.com Review
With the basic principle that creative expression is the natural direction of life, Julia Cameron and Mark Bryan lead you through a comprehensive twelve-week program to recover your creativity from a variety of blocks, including limiting beliefs, fear, self-sabotage, jealousy, guilt, addictions, and other inhibiting forces, replacing them with artistic confidence and productivity.
This book links creativity to spirituality by showing how to connect with the creative energies of the universe, and has, in the four years since its publication, spawned a remarkable number of support groups for artists dedicated to practicing the exercises it contains.
From Library Journal