Sue Atchley Ebaugh said, "Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities." As a writer I have to be careful to not live solely in my dreams. How easy it would be to go through life being a permanent guest of my own dreams. Dreams and aspirations do serve a purpose in life, but to spend too much time in the reality I create in my head versus the reality of life with others is a dangerous place to live. Such a place lives beyond any realistic goals I might set for myself as a writer and as a responsible person involved in the lives of others.
Dreams are more than whims they are fancies. Dreams call to me in my sleep, in my day dreaming, in my conversations with others. My dreams call me to search for opportunities to have them fulfilled. My dreams require me to tap into my talent, my gifts, freely and have them honed and ready when the opportunity arises to use them. Dreams encourage me and tempt me with new aspirations and adventures.
When I write
I invite the present into my dreams. I join the past, present and future into a mosaic of dreams I then capture to the best of my ability in words. The trick is to understand as I write the dream I am losing the dream state.
No writer can write the dream they have imagined. The language we use is limited as is our memories of experiences and our ability to relay feelings in a language that falls short of true self-expressed emotion. The depth of my writing on any given day is linked to the richness of my dreams. To have my dreams fulfilled is a different writing day
then to have my dreams unfulfilled.
Dr. George Weinberg wrote, "Every outlook, desirable or undesirable, remains possible for anyone, no matter what his present outlook is." I rarely write of joy and excitement, but I feel joy and excitement when I write. Writing for this writer is about getting the hurt out. The pain of living has to be extracted so I might go out and live my life with friends and loved ones.
It is far easier to laugh and to write of laughing then it is too sit still and feel fear, sorrow and the pain of not having your dreams fulfilled. With writing joy and excitement we easily write with anticipation. When we write of grief
, abandonment and loss we dredge and pound spikes into our being to pick at the wounds of who we are as people.
It is writing the pain of living readers like. To read someone else's feelings allows me to feel better about my feelings. The goal of attracting readers is to have them identify and feel empathy for the character. The reader wants to push the bar and feel those locked away feelings, but not feel too much. If the reader could feel the full impact of their emotions then they would write them and not read about someone else's. This simple difference is what separates the writer from the non-writer.
There are also physical things that separate the writer from the non-writer. Hope Dahke Jordan
wrote in her blue bathrobe with the ends of the belt tied around each arm of her chair, "That is the only way to get a book finished. For as long as I stay in my blue bathrobe I stay at my typewriter." The attitude to commit to writing that novel, that poem or short story is a physical commitment of forcing yourself to sit still long enough for the fear and anxiety to leave and if not leave then lessen enough so you can hear your own voice. Writers must get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Many writers write in the morning when their head is clear from a fresh night's sleep. I like to write in the morning. The mind is clear in the morning because the chatter of the world has been turned off for a substantial amount of time. Sleep for this writer is essential. Power naps are this writer's best friend. I have learned how to sit still at the laptop. I no longer need to tie myself into the chair to sit still. I am free to get up from the laptop, set the alarm on my cell phone for 30 minutes, close my eyes on the couch and free my brain from the clutter that has collected from thinking of other people and conversing with people up to that point in the day.
Quieting then mind though is a whole other self-discipline. Attitude can only take a writer so far. Approaching the mind like it was no different than any other muscle in the body has helped my writing immensely. There are times when the body is fine, but the mind is cluttered. A nap doesn't help my mind clear in this situation. I am a walker and exercise clears my mind allowing me to start my writing day over again at any moment. I walk 6 miles when I need to clear my head from the clutter which is almost daily. It takes 3 miles for me to figure out which thoughts I need to let go so I can write
for the day and then another 3 miles back to allow my head to clear. The faster my walking pace the easier it is to clear my head.
Today I am free because I have discovered ways to overcome my worst enemy. I am my own worst enemy. Today, because I have learned how to take care of myself physically, emotionally and spiritually as a person I can also practice self-care in my writing life. I am free to choose today whether or not I stare out the window. Two Sundays ago I was still staring out the window unable to overcome my own demons. Today I am free to respond to my writing self. I can choose a response that builds me up instead of tears me down. Writing this writer’s life has given me choices, purpose and self-understanding.
To those of you who comment I identify thank you. For those of you comparing yourself to my experience thank you. And for the person who inspires me to keep on writing I thank you.
Dreams are more than whims they are fancies. Dreams call to me in my sleep, in my day dreaming, in my conversations with others. My dreams call me to search for opportunities to have them fulfilled. My dreams require me to tap into my talent, my gifts, freely and have them honed and ready when the opportunity arises to use them. Dreams encourage me and tempt me with new aspirations and adventures.
When I write
I invite the present into my dreams. I join the past, present and future into a mosaic of dreams I then capture to the best of my ability in words. The trick is to understand as I write the dream I am losing the dream state. No writer can write the dream they have imagined. The language we use is limited as is our memories of experiences and our ability to relay feelings in a language that falls short of true self-expressed emotion. The depth of my writing on any given day is linked to the richness of my dreams. To have my dreams fulfilled is a different writing day
then to have my dreams unfulfilled.Dr. George Weinberg wrote, "Every outlook, desirable or undesirable, remains possible for anyone, no matter what his present outlook is." I rarely write of joy and excitement, but I feel joy and excitement when I write. Writing for this writer is about getting the hurt out. The pain of living has to be extracted so I might go out and live my life with friends and loved ones.
It is far easier to laugh and to write of laughing then it is too sit still and feel fear, sorrow and the pain of not having your dreams fulfilled. With writing joy and excitement we easily write with anticipation. When we write of grief
, abandonment and loss we dredge and pound spikes into our being to pick at the wounds of who we are as people. It is writing the pain of living readers like. To read someone else's feelings allows me to feel better about my feelings. The goal of attracting readers is to have them identify and feel empathy for the character. The reader wants to push the bar and feel those locked away feelings, but not feel too much. If the reader could feel the full impact of their emotions then they would write them and not read about someone else's. This simple difference is what separates the writer from the non-writer.
There are also physical things that separate the writer from the non-writer. Hope Dahke Jordan
wrote in her blue bathrobe with the ends of the belt tied around each arm of her chair, "That is the only way to get a book finished. For as long as I stay in my blue bathrobe I stay at my typewriter." The attitude to commit to writing that novel, that poem or short story is a physical commitment of forcing yourself to sit still long enough for the fear and anxiety to leave and if not leave then lessen enough so you can hear your own voice. Writers must get comfortable being uncomfortable.Many writers write in the morning when their head is clear from a fresh night's sleep. I like to write in the morning. The mind is clear in the morning because the chatter of the world has been turned off for a substantial amount of time. Sleep for this writer is essential. Power naps are this writer's best friend. I have learned how to sit still at the laptop. I no longer need to tie myself into the chair to sit still. I am free to get up from the laptop, set the alarm on my cell phone for 30 minutes, close my eyes on the couch and free my brain from the clutter that has collected from thinking of other people and conversing with people up to that point in the day.
Quieting then mind though is a whole other self-discipline. Attitude can only take a writer so far. Approaching the mind like it was no different than any other muscle in the body has helped my writing immensely. There are times when the body is fine, but the mind is cluttered. A nap doesn't help my mind clear in this situation. I am a walker and exercise clears my mind allowing me to start my writing day over again at any moment. I walk 6 miles when I need to clear my head from the clutter which is almost daily. It takes 3 miles for me to figure out which thoughts I need to let go so I can write
for the day and then another 3 miles back to allow my head to clear. The faster my walking pace the easier it is to clear my head. Today I am free because I have discovered ways to overcome my worst enemy. I am my own worst enemy. Today, because I have learned how to take care of myself physically, emotionally and spiritually as a person I can also practice self-care in my writing life. I am free to choose today whether or not I stare out the window. Two Sundays ago I was still staring out the window unable to overcome my own demons. Today I am free to respond to my writing self. I can choose a response that builds me up instead of tears me down. Writing this writer’s life has given me choices, purpose and self-understanding.
To those of you who comment I identify thank you. For those of you comparing yourself to my experience thank you. And for the person who inspires me to keep on writing I thank you.
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