Activity

Bear with me for a moment as I tell you a little story about my day today.

I spent a long time this morning sorting through emails, replying to guild things, organising a lesson I’m teaching at a local school tomorrow, and doing everything else on my do-list other than writing this.

Why?

Because I had no clue what I was doing for this week’s activity/post. I wanted to make it something that could directly impact your WIP and help you in the now of writing. And I couldn’t think of anything for the life of me. Every time I sat down to try write it, I just kept getting more and more stuck.

Through the day, my to-do list was just getting longer and by 4 pm I was starting to scream internally because I just wanted to sit down and write my novel, not do all these other things. Then to top it all off my brothers asked me if they could show me something they’d been building out of dirt in the paddock next door.

(I know this is a really long story about myself, but hold your horses, there is a point to this. xD)

I was about to say ‘no,’ but then I paused for a moment and let out a deep breath. What was more worthwhile to me? My do list, or my brothers? Obviously my brothers should have priority, and I hadn’t done anything with them all day. So I said yes and we headed outside.

Fifteen minutes later, I was walking back to the house after having seen their creations and…my do list didn’t seem as bad anymore. Sure, I still had a bunch to do but it was okay. A few seconds later, I had the inspiration for this week’s topic.

Sometimes stress builds up and cramps our creativity. Even when you do get everything done and sit down to write, you just end up staring at a blank page with an equally blank mind. I know I’m not alone in this.

When this happens, it’s tempting to start stressing even more. To start doing more and more and trying harder and harder until we forget to breathe.

 

This week’s activity? Breathe. That’s it. When you feel stressed, just take a break. Go outside for five minutes. Take the time to notice the sky and the trees and the smells and the sounds. Or just sit back in your chair and close your eyes. Pray, reorient yourself, and let yourself relax. It’s not a sin to rest. In fact, resting is necessary to the creative process.

If you want, you could even come back to this topic and share something about that moment of rest. Some thought or feeling, or even something you saw or heard.

Keep your creativity healthy, friends. 🙂

 

@esther-sears
@parker
@caleb-e-king
@selah-chelyah
@writerpiper
@jessi-rae
@theswordinthebook
@thewirelessblade
@fctait
@faith_blum
@professorsjb
@spottedlivvie
@katthewriter
@lightning-spider
@skye
@_simplybee
@mairin-atha
@e-b-raulands
@jillifish
@ryker-dawson
@dakota
@warrioroftherealm
@brooka3
@scarletimmortalized