It is once again time for the monthly AW Blog Chain. I just joined these last month and I had a ton of fun so I figured I'd try it again.
This month's topic? Growing up. Had to jump on this subject as I have a whole lot to say. ;-)
Let me say right off the bat... .*sings* I don't wanna grow up cus I'm a Toys-R-Us kid
Seriously, I don't. But who does though right? Growing up and realizing you're an adult is no fun. BUT, being an adult doesn't necessarily mean no fun anymore. Yeah, there are more responsibilities when you become an adult, but there's also more fun in some cases.
Me though, I have the mind of a teenager and I could care less. I laugh at everything, I goof around a lot, I'm more than a little weird, and I get excited very easily. That's what I love about my life though. I am responsible but at the same time I still have fun. I can't imagine going through life without any of the above traits, that quite frankly annoy people I know to no end. *shrugs* The way I see it, you can't deal with my sometimes childish humor/behavior, you're not worth my time. I'm not going to walk around all serious all the time. You have to have some fun in life or you'll go nuts.
I have three nephews ranging from 3 to 11 and I run around the house with them like I'm just one of the kids. It's fun to play with them, and all my friend's kids too. I don't have kids of my own so I cherish the time I spend around other people's kids. Watching them grow up is one of my guilty pleasures. Even though they're not my children, I'm very proud of them when I see them.. how do I put this... just becoming the people they are. I hope that makes sense. I don't think I'm explaining myself very well on this matter. Put simply, I love watching even the smallest things, down to their different day to day activities.
Now, when I think about my childhood, I always smile. We may not have had the newest clothes, electronics, etc. like those around us, but we always made the best of what we did have. I grew up with three older brothers (two of them being step-brothers) so I was a bit of a tomboy. Still am actually. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Not only did it, quite frankly, keep me protected from people of the male persuasion (there are benefits to being the little sister and only girl), it toughened me up. I think I can handle a lot more because of their influence. Also they exposed me to things I doubt I otherwise would have gotten the chance to participate in. For instance, all three boys did Boy Scouts when they were younger. Being the (at times) spoiled child that I was, I was allowed to go on their outings with them. This also had to do with the fact that my mom was a Den Mother, and step-dad helped sometimes, for the local Boy Scouts and they found it pointless to get a babysitter for me when I was too young to stay at home alone. The point is that I have those experiences to take with me throughout life.
I had a ton of fun with my brothers when we were growing up. After my mom divorced and it was just me, her, and my older brother, I think it got even better. Then my brother and I started getting along better, we had more of the same friends, we fought a lot less. So, the remaining years where it was just the three of us left their mark on me as well.
Like I said before, I'm still childlike in many ways. I don't think there's anything wrong with that though. Life is too short to not get in touch with our inner child once in a while, let go of all the stress and worry, and just have fun.
****
Participants
aimeelaine - www.aimeelaine.com/writing/blog
AuburnAssassin - http://clairegillian.wordpress.com/
DavidZahir - http://zahirblue.blogspot.com/
FreshHell - http://freshhell.wordpress.com/
Simran - http://theglutenfreefoodblog.blogspot.com/
Proach - http://everythinghistorical.wordpress.com/
*RomanceWriter* - http://www.staceyespino.blogspot.com/
Breddings - http://breddings.blogspot.com/
laffarsmith - http://www.writersroundabout.com/
Sneaky Devil - http://sneaks-myfantasylife.blogspot.com/
leahzero - http://words.leahraeder.com/
razibahmed - http://www.southasiablog.com/
RavenCorinnCarluk - http://ravencorinncarluk.blogspot.com/
Collectonian - http://collectonian.livejournal.com/
Current WIP(s)
Friday, March 12, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Blocked or Just Not Creative Enough?
Truth be told I don't think it was either. Since it lasted less than a week, I'm of the opinion I was just in a minor slump and could have easily worked myself out of it sooner had I bothered to use any common sense. Oh, you don't know what I mean do you? Long story short: writing issues, ideas in head, mind goes blank when it's time to actually write the ideas/dialogue out. It was like for that period of time when I tried to write, I would forget everything I'd been obsessing over. Go to something else, thoughts of WIP are back in my head. A complete and total pain in my arse. I have an active, vivid imagination, so it wasn't lack of plots, scenes, or dialogue that was plaguing me. I had it all up there ready to come out, it just didn't want to.
Great. Now what? I get extremely cranky when I can't write. And when I say can't write, I mean anything. It took me three frakin days just to do the last posting here! Ridiculous. I moped and felt sorry for myself for a minute, then made myself try and write. That turned out great. *rolls eyes* One usually fool proof method I use when this happens is reading. I picked up a book I've been taking my time with and got comfy.So, I asked my writerly type friends for advice.
Oh boy, the things I heard from them. Some of them sympathized, others did not. There were some who had been down the same road before and gave me a few ideas to try and help, prompts and things of that sort, but I'll get to that in a minute. I want to touch quickly on the ones who think, as many out there do, that writer's block does not actually exist. Now, as I said before, I don't think I was actually blocked, just in a funk. But there are people who will tell you, and told me when I asked them, that writer's block isn't a real problem, it's just a myth, whatever. Now, I have gone through one period where I was literally unable to write. We're talking shaking hands, nauseous, sweating, the whole nine yards. It terrified me to try and write. That lasted for a little over six months or so, and was not a pleasant time for me. The whole time, all I did was read. I couldn't write, so I read. I think I managed about a book every day or two, depending on the length. Then one day, without thinking about it, I sat down at the computer and my fingers started flying. Problem solved, blockage taken care of. Don't ask me how, but it was. And I've never had it so bad since then. I've gone through slumps where my ideas are crap, or the words I do manage to produce don't work well with the story. So, all that being said, I don't know how someone can say that writer's block doesn't exist. I've been through it. I know what it's like to be physically unable to write anything. Perhaps those people are just more talented than I am and never have difficulty with their writing. *shrugs*
So, what did I do to get out of my funk? I actually used common sense... go figure. It annoys me that it took me so many days to realize what I should/could try. Because when you think about it, it's just simple logic. Try writing something else. I suppose the fact that I couldn't even do a blog post was stopping me from trying anything else, let alone another story. But I was given the idea of a prompt from someone and I thought I'd give it a shot. Said person gave me three items to write about, told me my limit was no more than 500 words, and sent me on my way. I figured I'd give it a shot, and I'm glad I did.
I wrote my little piece, which with me being long-winded and all came out to 658 words, and I realized I didn't want to stop. I had to keep going. And as somebody told me later on, I'd gotten my MC into a mess, I had to give her the chance to get out. It's now over 1500 words, which isn't too bad considering the circumstances it sprouted from. I posted some of it up on Absolute Write to be critiqued and I've received some good advice so far. Of course I'm extremely grateful for that. I'll always take advice on how to improve my writing. I've also been thinking about other plainly obvious things I could do to help me form ideas for a current WIP or help me move on when I am stuck. I know a few people who swear by any and every form of writing exercise under the sun. They say the exercises spark little ideas here and there and eventually one is going to begin to grow. More than one if you're lucky. And of course there is my favorite standby, reading. I love to read anyway, so it's not hard for me to find a book to escape into. There's usually something out there that can help you get back to what you love. As long as you never give up, there's always hope. :-)
Great. Now what? I get extremely cranky when I can't write. And when I say can't write, I mean anything. It took me three frakin days just to do the last posting here! Ridiculous. I moped and felt sorry for myself for a minute, then made myself try and write. That turned out great. *rolls eyes* One usually fool proof method I use when this happens is reading. I picked up a book I've been taking my time with and got comfy.So, I asked my writerly type friends for advice.
Oh boy, the things I heard from them. Some of them sympathized, others did not. There were some who had been down the same road before and gave me a few ideas to try and help, prompts and things of that sort, but I'll get to that in a minute. I want to touch quickly on the ones who think, as many out there do, that writer's block does not actually exist. Now, as I said before, I don't think I was actually blocked, just in a funk. But there are people who will tell you, and told me when I asked them, that writer's block isn't a real problem, it's just a myth, whatever. Now, I have gone through one period where I was literally unable to write. We're talking shaking hands, nauseous, sweating, the whole nine yards. It terrified me to try and write. That lasted for a little over six months or so, and was not a pleasant time for me. The whole time, all I did was read. I couldn't write, so I read. I think I managed about a book every day or two, depending on the length. Then one day, without thinking about it, I sat down at the computer and my fingers started flying. Problem solved, blockage taken care of. Don't ask me how, but it was. And I've never had it so bad since then. I've gone through slumps where my ideas are crap, or the words I do manage to produce don't work well with the story. So, all that being said, I don't know how someone can say that writer's block doesn't exist. I've been through it. I know what it's like to be physically unable to write anything. Perhaps those people are just more talented than I am and never have difficulty with their writing. *shrugs*
So, what did I do to get out of my funk? I actually used common sense... go figure. It annoys me that it took me so many days to realize what I should/could try. Because when you think about it, it's just simple logic. Try writing something else. I suppose the fact that I couldn't even do a blog post was stopping me from trying anything else, let alone another story. But I was given the idea of a prompt from someone and I thought I'd give it a shot. Said person gave me three items to write about, told me my limit was no more than 500 words, and sent me on my way. I figured I'd give it a shot, and I'm glad I did.
I wrote my little piece, which with me being long-winded and all came out to 658 words, and I realized I didn't want to stop. I had to keep going. And as somebody told me later on, I'd gotten my MC into a mess, I had to give her the chance to get out. It's now over 1500 words, which isn't too bad considering the circumstances it sprouted from. I posted some of it up on Absolute Write to be critiqued and I've received some good advice so far. Of course I'm extremely grateful for that. I'll always take advice on how to improve my writing. I've also been thinking about other plainly obvious things I could do to help me form ideas for a current WIP or help me move on when I am stuck. I know a few people who swear by any and every form of writing exercise under the sun. They say the exercises spark little ideas here and there and eventually one is going to begin to grow. More than one if you're lucky. And of course there is my favorite standby, reading. I love to read anyway, so it's not hard for me to find a book to escape into. There's usually something out there that can help you get back to what you love. As long as you never give up, there's always hope. :-)
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