Two years ago, my muse and I decided to break up. I'm still not sure whose fault it was. We still got together sometimes and reminisced over a poem or an article in the Starbucks by the JRA Shinjuku station. Maybe, he felt deserted as I wrote letters to my fiance in India and produced numerous cover letters for job applications. I felt like part of me was missing. So, I asked him if we could try to write together again.
There was something I found daunting about starting to write creatively again. My muse and I were out of sync. I had to reflect and realize that I had not been giving my muse the time it needed. I no longer went to the movies alone or read poetry. Writing had become a chore associated with cover letters and resumes. I had stopped nourishing my writer's soul.
I started taking time for myself and my muse. I read books that made me want to write. I watched foreign films on Netflix that made me ponder humanity and cultural norms of other societies. I took my horse out for long rides in the forest alone. I started to claim back the part of myself that had been lost somehow along the way between family deaths, traveling and job hunting.
There are not many regrets in my life, but I do regret not writing the past two years at the volume I used to. There is nothing I can do to get that time back. However, I can share what I did with other writers to find my writing voice again.
1. Read anything that inspires you to write: books, poetry, comics, articles, reviews, music lyrics or even Facebook statuses.
2. Pull out that unfinished novel or poem and start editing it on any page. You might reconnect with the emotion that sparked the words you wrote down sometime in the past.
3. Watch movies that have depth and meaning that makes you think about the human condition and human truths.
4. Commit to a writing project with a friend as you are held accountable for your part. One of my best friends and I started a round-robin novel and use Google Docs to share and update our story file.
5. Travel to places that make your heart soar. The mountains of Vermont always make me want to sit down with pen and paper and write a poem.
6. Spend more time doing activities that move your soul and make you feel blessed to be alive.
7. Talk to other writers about what they are working on. Their enthusiasm can be a reminder of why you used to write.
8. Make a writing goal no matter how small to start off. Have one for everyday so you can get back into the habit of writing everyday.
9. Use your writer's block as a source of inspiration.
10. Take the time every day to write something everyday, no matter how short it might be.
What is something that you did to get back your writing muse when it disappeared? Did you do something to claim back your writing life that took you on a journey?
No comments:
Post a Comment