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Why I’m Taking a Writing Course to Heal Writer’s Block and Procrastination
A few days ago I enrolled in a writing course to try to work through my writing struggles. Over the years, I’ve tried “fixing” my writer’s block and procrastination on my own. Here are a few of the methods I tried: 30-day writing challenges Timed free-writing sessions Morning pages Scheduling writing sessions in my calendar All to no avail. I failed. When all else fails, seek help I’m at a point in my life where I feel like my back is against the wall. I just turned 51, and I feel like time is running out. How much longer can I put off going after my dreams and living up…
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My Resistance to Calling Myself a Writer
Are you a writer? How do you know? When can you call yourself a writer? Are you a writer ONLY IF you get paid to write? Are you a writer ONLY IF you have an audience of readers? Are you a writer ONLY IF you write books? What is your definition of a WRITER? One thing I know for sure: I am an overthinker. I joined Twitter recently and have started following people in the writing community. Big mistake for someone who struggles with the idea of calling herself a writer. In fact, in my bio I say: “I write. Sometimes.” My feed is populated with other people’s tweets about…
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Letter Writing Exercise to Money
One of the best books I read last year was You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth by Jen Sincero. It stood out to me because it made me look at my relationship with money. I had never thought about money in terms of having a relationship with it. Money was just this thing that I didn’t like to think about because I associated it with feelings of stress and anxiety. “If you ain’t got any money, it’s because if you treated the people in your life with the same regard you treat money, you’d be dining on a Thanksgiving dinner for one…” Jen Sincero,…
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Close to You
I know you. I sit at the back of the class, my chin perched on my fists and drink in your every move. I memorize your profile. Etched in my mind is your Roman nose and your wispy eyelashes blinking against the sunlight. I marvel at the even distribution of golden hair on your perfectly proportioned legs and how your shoulder blades and spine stretch your white Vuarnet T-shirt. I envy the lock of wavy hair that cradles your left ear, knowing its smoothness. Are you nervous? You have a habit of tapping your feet and chewing on a blue PaperMate pen. I wish I were that pen. How could…
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Having Fun with Cliche Writing
cli·ché noun a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought. Sure, using clichés is considered “lazy” and uncreative, but there’s no reason why we can’t have fun with them. I took my first writing class when I was 22 years old, and one of our assignments was to write a story packed with as many clichés as possible. It was a fun exercise. Here’s that story I wrote – 27 years ago. Like a dream, he came into my life from out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Winning my heart was a piece of cake for him, for I was eager…
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My Love
In the morning your eyes pink from sleep gaze at me. Your long curly eyelashes surround a mystery – hazel windows to your soul. There is substance there, in your eyes – a depth I want to explore. You lean over for a kiss I’m hesitant to give. Morning breath, I explain. You don’t care. Your thin lips feel surprisingly full and soft on my mouth. They turn down at the corners – forever locked in sadness. On the night table stands a photograph of you as a boy. “This is the boy who will grow up to be the man I love,” I think. Your eyes so bright and…
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My Love/Hate Relationship with Writing
Writing is hard. If you write, maybe you have a love-hate relationship with writing too. As difficult as writing is for me, it has been a big part of my life. I started writing in journals and writing short stories and bad poetry at a young age. I did it for myself – because I felt compelled to. Writing was my refuge of sorts, a way to express my personal thoughts and feelings. A way to be creative. But my relationship with writing changed significantly when I attended university. The stress and anxiety of writing academic papers and foolishly pinning my self-worth on earning high grades worsened my perfectionist tendencies. …