The Worst Writer: Rest and Recalibrate

Hello dear readers! Okay, let’s get right back into it. Last week I was talking about how I felt like my recent writing burst had led me into feeling like I was reaching the end of a creative bridge so to say… well, yeah I did reach the end of the creative bridge, but fear not! For I listened to my own advice (yeah, no big deal, I practice what I preach) and chose to take a brief step back and regather myself creatively. I also mentioned that we were having guests over this weekend and that I might struggle to do my writing, and big surprise I was right about that too! So let’s get into it.

The End of the Bridge

Like I mentioned I reached the end of my creative bridge. It was weirdly anticlimactic when it happened, I just sort of got to a point where I was like “Damn, I don’t know where this is going anymore”. It’s hard to explain really, but it felt like an untethering from my story where all the little creative elves in my brain threw up their little elf hands and threatened to unionize. 

I think normally this would have come with a lot of panic where I would have been stressing out about how it’s impacting my daily word count, but this time I just took a deep breath and saw it for the opportunity it was to recalibrate. 

So what did I do? I closed my laptop and went for a walk. Yup, it really is that simple for me. Don’t ask me why, there’s just something about it that jogs my brain back into creative mode that sitting in front of the laptop doesn’t do. The best part about it, I absolutely love walking! I walk literally everywhere you can imagine and will actively avoid other forms of transport in favour of walking.

So now you might be asking “Well, if walking is the trick for you to be creative, then why aren’t you constantly filled with new and innovative ideas?” and to that I say, why don’t you stop interjecting!! I’m the type of person who truly cherishes their walks (I sound like a dog but I promise I’m not), and I love plugging in my tunes, forgetting about all of my worries, and getting to see the way the world moves around me. After a long day of writing the last thing I want to do sometimes is occupy that peaceful time with activly thinking about my book. 

But the problem is, it really works. If I go into a walk with the intention of thinking about my book and any problems I’m facing then nine times out of ten I’ll come out of it with a solution that I’m actually pretty happy about. It’s like the act of physically moving helps me push through mental barrier that I normally feel stuck by. It’s kind of wild, but it works for me!

This isn't me, I swear

Thanks to that, I now have a path forward, and even though I took a day off from reaching my word goal that path has never been clearer (at least for the next four chapters!). Because of this, I’m thinking that maybe I should schedule in more novel walks into my daily routine so I can keep myself fresh in the path ahead. Only time will tell… and the incoming fall danish weather.

Guests Guests Guests

Another thing I mentioned is that I had guests this week! TWO to be exact. The first of which was my brother in law (lovingly referred to as my Blaw, and more recently as Fefe), the second was my husbands friend from school. While my Blaw was here I didn’t do any writing, but luckily that only impacted one of my writing days out of the week. Not to mention we realized it had been an entire year since I had last seen him, so spending some quality time together was the least I could do.

Jumpscare

It was a lovely weekend of museums, bars, and kicking his ass in Mario Kart, and when it came time for him to leave I had less than 24 hours to turn around the house on Monday to make room for the new guest. This inevitably took away another writing day as I spent my time cleaning the house top to bottom, but again a little change in my routine can be a good thing.

This friend staying at our house is actually an artists as well, but more in the literal sense as he makes paintings. It was nice to chat with him about all things in the art world and get some fresh perspectives while also realizing that the struggles of creativity seem to be pretty universal across the board.

He actually helped me with a perspective shift that I hadn’t realized I was struggling with. But basically he said that while we’re in the trenches of these creative endeavours, we shouldn’t worry ourselves with the opinions of the people in the bleachers who’ve never even done it before.

It’s funny because I have never actually encountered people expressly telling me how to do this whole writing thing, it’s more so that I imagine them having all these opinions on the way I’m doing things. And whether or not it’s real, or in my head, I really shouldn’t care about it either way, because I’m the one doing the damn thing, and doing it is the part that’s going to get it done.

Clear Skies Ahead

The week in front of me is actually looking pretty chill! I have a full week of writing to do and then we’re headed off to a summer cottage in Århus for the weekend. Michael and I have planned a whole bunch of games for it and I’m excited to see a new part of the country that I haven’t been to before!

Hopefully it will leave me feeling inspired and refreshed and ready to jump into another week of writing before we head off to Ontario for a wedding! 

Hope everyone has a great week ahead, and thanks as always for reading!

Ta-ta for now!

M