To say staying at home on #Coronavirus/#Covid19/#pandemic #LOCKDOWN has dammed my creative juices is a woefully inadequate understatement. I produced blank pages (the equivalent of silence) the whole month of March, with the exception of my daily #vss365 one-tweet stories.
Seriously, it was depressing.
Given the number of go-go-go posts I've produced on overcoming fear, facing demons, staying motivated, my dry spell proclaimed personal failure, hypocrisy, and shame. Where was my advice when I needed it? (Right here, on the internet, easily accessible.)
A friend urged me to participate in a challenge to write a short story based on a visual prompt. Between being challenged and the thousand words implied in the photo, I did feel inspired. Prison Break came out of me and boy, did I feel triumphant and emancipated!
The story struck me as unfinished, so the following week, I wrote more.
How far could I push it? The week after that, I wrote even more, all the way into a corner. I was running out of creative juice, so Lucky Lucy suddenly had nowhere else to go.
Lmao, talk about life imitating art imitating life, however metaphorically.
Lockdown continues. I must carry on.
The same friend writes every single day, motivated by deadlines and challenges. She wrote a short story and entered it into a weekly competition, and invited me to join in also. The submission guidelines were straightforward, so I went for it.
It sparked an idea that I could possibly stick with this and enter every weekly competition. Maybe I'll win one.
If not, I'll at least build up a body of work and unleash it on the world to fame and glory.
😎
Sorry, I'm laughing maniacally at my own joke. Apologies if you don't find it as humorous as I do.
The fact remains that my job may or may not wait for me when lockdown ends, so I have several empty pages of days to fill. Stay tuned.
If you'd like to read my contest story - Back to Dreams Aphotic - it's posted on the writers' resource website Reedsy.
My submission leans into the dark side, about a weird asshole named Orland. Since the word count max is 3000 to enter, I decided to skip giving Orland a character arc, but rather treat the entry as a character study into a twisted mind.
If I've written it well, you'll probably hate Orland. To vote for it, LIKE it. Reedsy will ask you to create an account and they'll send you a follow up email. If you're a writer who enjoys or wants to start writing short stories, it's a fantastic opportunity to stay motivated. On the other hand, if you're a fan of reading short stories, it's a great way to find new writers, because you'll get a weekly email with the new prompts.
My short stories are listed here.
Be well, stay 6 feet apart, and have a magical day
Mackenzie
Showing posts with label writers block. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writers block. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
RANDOM THOUGHT - Dominating self doubt and the inner critic
I've had this conversation a couple times with writers who struggle with mental health challenges. It's not limited to creatives. It's not limited to minds under duress.
SELF DOUBT takes up residency in the human mind. Every human mind. The question then, is how much real estate do we let Self Doubt take up rent free?
The conversation goes something like this:
Me: Okay, you're a writer. When you hear the voice of Self Doubt (or Inner Critic), what does she look like?
Other writer describes Self Doubt as herself, but elderly, schtooped over, wrinkly, raspy voice, maybe even cataracts in her eyes, demeaning, belittling.
Me: Excellent, you see her. If you go forward, Self Doubt says that's wrong. If you go to the right, she says that's wrong. If you go to the left, she criticizes that move too. If you stop and loop back, she doubts that too. What does Self Doubt want?
Other writer: I don't know. For me to stay right here?
Me: Exactly. Self Doubt is a miserable old has-been whose sole purpose is to DOUBT YOU, no matter what you do or which direction you choose. She feeds on your joy and confidence. If you listen to Self Doubt (or Inner Critic), you sit still, life passes you by and you become HER. Your vision winds up diminishing. Your back bends over. Your joints ache with every move. You shrivel up and life a half life.
Other writer: Oh my God!
Me: I've been in those dark lonely places with Self Doubt's voice. And sooner or later, I realized, hey, I'm ALIVE. I'm not ready to be buried under all this negativity.
Other writer: GIRL
Me: She's keeping you from writing, so let's just be where you're at right now. You need to get around SELF DOUBT the obstacle so you can get past her and get back to your writing. Make Self Doubt a character or monster or villain. What does she eat, since she's so evil? How does she smell? What does she wear? Write a protagonist to defeat her. Write a story where Self Doubt the villain gets what's coming to her, then go back to your writing project.
Other writer: Hangs up on me immediately and gets to it!
I fucking love this.
Back to the real estate in your psyche devoted to Self Doubt. Don't let that bitch squatter live extravagantly in your head at the expense of your joy and happiness. Shrink it down to size and let the real estate for your Self Confidence expand, lavishly.
Make someone else's day magical!
Mackenzie
#writersblock
#writerslife
#lifeofcreatives
#innercritic
#selfdoubt
#dominate
SELF DOUBT takes up residency in the human mind. Every human mind. The question then, is how much real estate do we let Self Doubt take up rent free?
The conversation goes something like this:
Me: Okay, you're a writer. When you hear the voice of Self Doubt (or Inner Critic), what does she look like?
Other writer describes Self Doubt as herself, but elderly, schtooped over, wrinkly, raspy voice, maybe even cataracts in her eyes, demeaning, belittling.
 |
| Photo: Shutterstock |
Me: Excellent, you see her. If you go forward, Self Doubt says that's wrong. If you go to the right, she says that's wrong. If you go to the left, she criticizes that move too. If you stop and loop back, she doubts that too. What does Self Doubt want?
Other writer: I don't know. For me to stay right here?
Me: Exactly. Self Doubt is a miserable old has-been whose sole purpose is to DOUBT YOU, no matter what you do or which direction you choose. She feeds on your joy and confidence. If you listen to Self Doubt (or Inner Critic), you sit still, life passes you by and you become HER. Your vision winds up diminishing. Your back bends over. Your joints ache with every move. You shrivel up and life a half life.
Other writer: Oh my God!
Me: I've been in those dark lonely places with Self Doubt's voice. And sooner or later, I realized, hey, I'm ALIVE. I'm not ready to be buried under all this negativity.
Other writer: GIRL
Me: She's keeping you from writing, so let's just be where you're at right now. You need to get around SELF DOUBT the obstacle so you can get past her and get back to your writing. Make Self Doubt a character or monster or villain. What does she eat, since she's so evil? How does she smell? What does she wear? Write a protagonist to defeat her. Write a story where Self Doubt the villain gets what's coming to her, then go back to your writing project.
Other writer: Hangs up on me immediately and gets to it!
I fucking love this.
Back to the real estate in your psyche devoted to Self Doubt. Don't let that bitch squatter live extravagantly in your head at the expense of your joy and happiness. Shrink it down to size and let the real estate for your Self Confidence expand, lavishly.
Make someone else's day magical!
Mackenzie
#writersblock
#writerslife
#lifeofcreatives
#innercritic
#selfdoubt
#dominate
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