Another writer friend posted a writing prompt for me (let’s be real - not just me but a whole group of us), and at first, I just read what others wrote.
But then, I thought to myself, “I kind of feel like writing.”
Bomb dropped, I know. Let me explain.
I had taken a full-on hiatus from any creative work except that of my actual employers for the entire month of May. Yes, if you subscribe to my newsletter for parents and teachers (The Bottom Line), you got something delivered to your inbox in May. However, that was written before May.
So when I had the thought that I felt like writing (kind of), it was a split-second decision about what to do next. Do I shut the laptop with a thunderclap and go about my HGTV business as per usual?
Or do I indulge in this maybe trail of thought that could lead to writing death (I know, that’s a little dramatic) or writing genius (also dramatic and wholly untrue but you get my meaning, right?)? The stakes for me were high. Go boldly back to writing as if May never was chaotic and hard OR tease my way into the writing again by starting small: an Instagram post, a line or two in my journal, an email I’ve been meaning to send.
Scenario 1: I jump back in like nothing ever happened in May. No graduations to attend, no parties to coordinate, not a flurry of activity at the end of the school year both in personal and in work life… nothing happened. Really. I start flexing my before-May writing muscles like it’s no. big. deal. But I go at it with a quiet confidence, one that looks around sheepishly and whispers, “Me? Oh, I’ve been here all along just clacking away little by little.”
Scenario 2: I jump back in as if my life depended on it. I dramatically ride into the sunset like the end of a western where my writing is grandiose, defiant, even a little bit unheard of in pace, tone, and purpose. It’s way different than my norm. Do I dare approach so boldly? Do I jump in with that loud authority that takes charge and doesn’t look around to see who is watching?
So which scenario do you lead with? Well, there are two ways to approach the thought, “I kind of feel like writing.”
It’s like going to the pool in early June.
You wade in, step by step, cautiously getting one limb wet, then another, then slowly venturing in the water level up to your waist. But that’s it. June takes no prisoners when it’s hot temperature-wise, but the water in the pool has only been uncovered for a couple of weeks. It hasn’t warmed to the idea of actual bodies in it yet.
You know it’ll sting, but it is a rite of passage. You must dive in, arms pointed down like the arrow you wield in your Robinhood dreams. Ready to take action, be the one who initiates, and come home to tell the story of victory!!
Okay, so maybe today’s writing is just a bit over the top. It’s been a while, ‘kay?
But when you have been absent from your routine, and when your writing buddy says something or posts something that inspires you to “kind of feel,” it’s good to approach with intention. You’re either getting back in one step at a time, or you’re diving in with all the energy you stored up from that break you took.
I choose the latter.
What does my story have to do with your writing capabilities? Maybe nothing. Or maybe, at some point, everything.
Here are a few questions to ponder as you consider if this newsletter relates to your writing life or not.
When was the last time I wrote because I loved it? (Clarification: Not “loved it” as in the final product but “loved it” as in joy while participating in the act of combining words on a keyboard.)
What was I writing the last time I truly loved it? (Was it a memoir, a poem, an essay, a letter to a friend, a journal entry, or a piece of fiction…?)
When I combine the answers to #1 and #2, what can I learn about my mental state as a writer?
You might wonder why these three questions. Well, I believe that as we get to the bottom of #3, we recognize when our brains need a break, a shift, an easing-in day or a risk-taking head-first dive into the pool kind of writing day.
Each day in the life of a writer can look vastly different or much the same, but the approach we take toward our writing life can be paired with our mental state in much the same way that a fine wine is paired with aged cheese. Knowing the state of our inner life helps us understand how to approach the work in progress, a new idea, or research for an old idea.
It gives us clarity.
I drove by a road the other day that is actually named Clarity Road. Wouldn’t it be nice, as writers (and honest? as actual humans in general) if every time we needed an answer, we could simply look up, see a sign called Clarity, and head down that road?
Well, I am not promising crystal clarity will sprout from my three previous questions. But I do think they might help you learn something about your current state and about how to get into your writing rhythm today. Yesterday may have been different, and tomorrow will likely be as well.
A Few Things to Pay Attention To Right Now
This is the section where I usually leave you a writer to read, an Instagram account or Twitter account to follow, and a book or two to check out. I’ll have some of that below, but I’m also going to leave a few mental check-in resources I like. It’s always a good practice to keep tabs on our mental health. We writers live inside our heads SO often that if our mental health goes down, so does the work and lots of other things with it.
I hope some of this helps you to evaluate the data (learn where you are today) and make subtle shifts as necessary.
(Instagram) When You Need a Laugh: Jen Babakhan is an author whom I am absolutely certain, if we could have a Go-Back Machine, I would have been friends with in high school. She just makes me laugh, and her very relatable Instagram posts help define the everyday parenting we parents do in a way that feels so kind and non-judgmental. Love her posts!
(Instagram) Writer to Follow: Anna Kettle tackles a tough topic, grief, in her raw, real writing. But she tackles it with such openness and gentleness that it seems like a chat you’d have with the friend who has known the worst parts of you and still shows up for coffee. I highly recommend following her because we’ve all gone through loss and all of us need reminders about grieving’s ebb and flow from time to time.
Book to Check Out: I am still reading this, admittedly, but if you want to dive deeply into Southern culture (in a not trite way), beautiful descriptions of place, and a mystery that binds itself up in family and time and intrigue, you want to read The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare by Kimberly Brock. It’s engaging historical fiction at its finest, and even, I might add, for those who don’t like historical fiction.
Daily Check-in: These simple questions are a good guide for assessing where you are today. (They also have a few questions for children.) They are not magic. But they do provide a springboard for self-awareness.
(Instagram) Soul Shepherding: This is a Christian resource that I like since it integrates faith into mental health habits. I particularly love this post about ways to rethink the words, “I’m fine.” (My kids know that “I’m fine” means I am probably experiencing some kind of frustration, anger, or sadness, and it might take me a minute to figure out which one and why.)