On Showing up

There are those moments where inspiration hits me out of nowhere. I wander about, thinking about that weird little idea I just had, and look forward to that moment where I can sit down and flesh it out. I turn that odd little thought into something that I can be proud of. For a few days, I feel so clever and so accomplished. Then inspiration doesn’t hit me out of the blue like that for another six months.

So, what do I do in the meantime? Just wait around for inspiration to tap my shoulder again? Don’t be dull. Inspiration likes the chase.

Don’t tell me that the algorithm(s) haven’t thrown you some productivity content and motivational pep talks. Don’t lie to me, I know you’ve seen it. I’m not advocating for nice aesthetics or a green juice placed neatly by the side of your laptop, but just show up.

Showing up when you’re bored…

“Quantity produces Quality. If you only write a few things. You’re doomed.” — Ray Bradbury.

I doubt I’ll win competitions any time soon (never say never), but I’ve become comfortable with writing poetry. It was my way into having a regular writing practice. They’re easy to finish, and they’re easy to experiment with. But the end goal has always been Novelist…and I’m slowly getting there.

I keep experimenting, I’m spending less time on poetry and more time on things like short essays and short stories. I started this blog earlier this year (and sort of abandoned it but shhh), and I want to keep updating it. I want to see how my voice evolves and develops through different mediums.

It’s also a good way of not getting bored. The best way for me to lose interest in my writing is to keep working on the same thing. So now, I have lots of little projects going on. I’ve found that this is the best way for me to show up every day and may seem to get less done in the meantime, but it actually makes me more productive since I don’t spend days/weeks procrastinating because I’ve gotten bored of my writing. I enjoy it much more and I want to show up for it.

Showing up when you’re hurting…

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.’ — Ernest Hemingway

Good writing always comes from a place of emotion or desire, even if that desire is just to convince the reader of a certain point of view. Sometimes writing makes me angry or sad and brings up weird memories that put me in a funk for the rest of the day.

Physically, writing is rather simple, all you need is a keyboard and something to push the buttons with. But mentally and emotionally, it can sometimes feel like you’re writing away your sanity.

If you’ve started writing something and it’s getting you frustrated or bringing up things for you that you need to take time to process, please take those breaks, and save those documents and notebooks for another day. I’m currently struggling to open a word document about my dead dog, but I will go back to it... One day.

Keep showing up for your pain and hurt, keep turning it into art, because it’s something that people can see themselves (and you) in.

Showing up when you’re overthinking

- “This is how you do it. You sit down at a keyboard, and you put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy and that hard.” — Neil Gaiman

I’ll have those emotional Hemingway sort of days where I will sit and write about everything that is messing with my soul, get all the heartache out, have a good cry. Then there are the days where I feel like I’m one of those monkeys from that thought experiment where I’m bashing at the keyboard waiting for Hamlet to appear.

Just get it all out, you weird ape in jeans!

The good, the bad, and the boring. One word after the other. Sit down and write whatever is in your head: Doodle, write quotes, to-do lists, some thoughts on whatever you heard on the news that morning or the songs that came on the radio… How did your breakfast taste? Just write something.

Here’s an example of me writing some crap for the sake of writing some crap:

“Here I am writing in a stream of consciousness, I’m feeling a bit nauseous today maybe I had too much caffeine, oh well at least I got up early and I'm feeling alright today I wonder what my friends are up to why is it so bloody humid assfgdagdfh”

On days where nothing seems to be coming together, just get messy with it. If you write nothing of note, take comfort that word dumps are good for stress and anxiety.

Let your mind wander, let your characters wander. Writing crap is better than not writing at all. And who knows? Something might come up.

Showing up when you’re uninspired…

“Show, up, show, up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up too.” — Isabel Allende

I saved the quote that inspired this post until last because it’s the one that gets me going when I feel like I have nothing to write about. Despite all the little projects and writing exercises, sometimes it feels like there is nothing to write about.

Remember that feeling of sudden inspiration that comes out of nowhere? Those times when you feel wonderful because you wrote something great in a matter of hours and then you feel like you don’t have another good idea for months? There’s a better way.

Sometimes, on those days where I write about the mundane stuff that life throws at me. Tension headaches, sore muscles, waiting in line, bumping into cyclists riding on the pavement, broken sleep. Then I’ll write a sentence, and that sentence sends a little spark to my brain that feels like the spark of inspiration I occasionally get when washing the dishes or on a walk. The only reason that I was inspired that day was because I had shown up.

So, keep going: Even if it’s just for thirty minutes, even if it’s just for five minutes, even if you haven’t sat down and written for months. Drop in and say hello to the craft. Make sure you don’t forget about it. And make sure the muse doesn’t forget about you.