Editors Note: This is a guest post by Giselle MacLean who is a wife, a mother, a writer, and works full-time in the financial industry.
I looked in the mirror this morning and took a deep breath and closed my eyes. It was time to relax.
For the past week I struggled with writing an article on what inspires me to write. You think it would be simple? Not this time. I started numerous paragraphs detailing how music, books, art and films help ignite my passion for writing. As I read each snippet I realized my words sounded hollow. Simply put I was not into writing the piece. All the excitement to showcase my work to a person I deeply respected fleeted. I was left felling confused and stressed.
Until today.
After ten seconds of deep breathing I opened my eyes. I focused on the basics. What was it about writing that I loved? I wrote in order to regain balance and clarity. What did I do to facilitate my writing? I believed in my ability.
I recently discovered a composer named Loren DiGiorgi. He wrote a piece entitled “Death of a Friend". The soft and alluring instrumental embraced my soul. I gained the aptitude to tune out the rest of the world. As a writer, you understand the value and necessity of this gift. No, the words to this post did not suddenly transcend from thought to paper, but my mindset allowed for a tangible process to develop.
I started to write down whatever words were in my head. I continued it for probably five minutes. This little exercise unclogged my creativity. I read over the words, and phrases that were written. New ideas sparked. From there, I decided to revisit a few short stories I had written. I viewed them with critical yet appreciating eyes. I started to edit and rewrite. I felt invigorated.
My advice to all writers if faced with writers block, smash through it. Writer’s block represents nothing more than the subconscious turning towards the negative perceptions from those who dismissed your talent. Writer’s write. If you love what you do, others will follow suite.
To learn more about Giselle, check out her blog. She believes we are all given a purpose in life and her purpose is to write.
