Write on Wednesday -- Jump Start

Today's Write on Wednesday topic is about writer's block and jump starting your writing. The prompt reads:

So, how about you? Do you ever feel the need to jump start your writing? What drains the energy from your “writing mind”? What do you do when your creative battery dies?

Can I relate? Oh, yeah! And it isn't just writing, either. I would say one of my greatest problems with my personal writing is that I "think" it all the time, but it seldom makes its way to the page. Or even the notebook. So, is it writing when you don't exactly "write it down?" I'm not so sure. Although, I will say that when I do get it down, it's probably better for all the pre-editing in my head! (Wasn't "The Music Man" all about "the think system?")

But perhaps even more than my writing, I feel that with my art. Sometimes it's just too much to pull the supplies out of the closet or baskets or off the shelves and just start. And sometimes when I do, I can't finish right away -- probably because when I began, I hadn't really thought it out in my head first.

Over the past weekend, I picked up some art projects that were partially done -- and I didn't like them. They looked routine or too dark or too -- well, just "wrong." And I worked them again. Editing, I suppose. A bit of a color change on this one, a new embellishment on that one. I wish I could post the photos, and I will at another time. The point is, I had the time and opportunity to muddle out what I wanted from those. And, they are far better for the wait.

Which leads me back to writing. What drains me? Too much stress, too little time and sometimes not enough commitment to my own stuff. The more I write at work, the less I want to write at home.

I've found that the blog is a good way to jump start my writing. At least I'm writing -- and for me, not for work. Even if I only get a few ideas down in a post, I've thought about the words as I've put them "out there" where anyone can see them. It may not be the great American novel, the finest feature article ever or something that would land me a regular column in a "real" publication, but that's not why I'm doing it. Maybe having the pressure off is a contributing factor to why the blog works for me.

And what do I do when my creative battery dies? I walk away from it for awhile. I'll cook. I'll read. I'll watch telly or a movie. I'll garden or hang with friends. I'll knit. Some of those things actually ARE creative in their own way. When I'm at the lake, I'll take a walk or sit on a beach. I'll absorb all that's around me and it brings me back into the world, which despite so many challenges and travesties really is a beautiful place.

I'll do all the nagging things I haven't done and about which I probably feel guilty (maintaining my space is one of them!) -- for sometimes those are the convenient excuse. And when in control, I'm more in control. When I'm in control, I can think more clearly -- and then I'm ready to create again.

And you? Share here, or if you want to write a post on it, be sure to leave your link here and especially on Write on Wednesday, where other writers will be tackling this question.