Overcome Writer’s Block: Get Writing Now, Spark #1

I’ve decided to syndicate my ebook Overcome Writer’s Block: 10 Writing Sparks to Jumpstart Your Creativity on my blog, Writer’s Fun Zone, over the next 10 weeks. You can read the whole book here over the next 10 weeks, or buy the entire ebook at Kindle or Smashwords.

** Enjoy Spark One! And Happy Writing!**

Spark One: Organic Writing: The Garden Within

To grow the unique writer within, we need to look inward, and then take steps to cultivate our writer self.

As physical beings that are made up of atoms, molecules, elements and water, we are organic bodies of the earth. This we can’t deny. Our creativity has roots in the earth and has grown organically from who we are and where we’re from. Who we are as writers has grown from our lived experiences, our passions, our frictions, and your soil. How we’ve fertilized, what mental and emotional weeds we’ve pulled, how we’ve cultivated the gardens of our minds and hearts all contribute to who we are as writers. Who we are is the result of our fertilizer, our weed pulling, and how we tend our garden.

Your writing won’t be like anyone else’s, nor will your career, nor will your daily routine. This may appear self-evident, but don’t we all compare ourselves to others, especially the best-selling writers? We often want to be like them: successful, writing guide in the front of the store, and great storytellers. So we think we need to emulate these bestsellers, and their routine, stories, and style. But we are not them; we didn’t come from the same root stock, soil or climatic conditions.

Use the following questions and tips as guides to look inward and take steps to cultivate our writer selves.

Background
Consider where you come from. What is your background, family, education, your dreams, your cultural influences, that thing that happened to you, that thing you overheard, those family expectations, the whispers of your imagination? Be specific, be general, be wacky, be curious about yourself. Spill out the contents of your mind, and breathe. Stare off into space. Then look to see what you’ve written, and smile, or frown. These are your inspirations, your fertilizer, your individual quirks and quarks, interests, curiosities, knick knacks of the mind and heart. Your individual pattern, rhythm. Where you come from.

Motivation
Examine your deepest motivations for writing. What kind of writing do you want to do and do now, and why — what is your true motivation? Know why you write and don’t take the first answer you come up with as the only answer. Dig deeper, listen harder, be truthful with yourself. The more you know your true motivation, the better your writing life, in that you can make excuses, but you can’t lie to yourself anymore.

Discovery
Knowledge is powerful. What is your voice, your style, and what are your strengths, your weaknesses as a writer? As above, be as truthful as you can with yourself. No one will know these things but you. You are on a voyage of discovery and affirmation. Accept who you are. You are beautiful.

SPARK #1

Three Tips to Cultivating Your Writing
Tip #1: Patience. The garden does grow itself. We don’t stand by it every minute of every day and say, “Go roses! Go lavender! Grow!” It happens because of the proper conditions — the soil, the sun, the rain, and the seed. We shape the garden by our hand. We watch out for the dangers or bugs, and over- feeding or under-feeding. We care. We nurture. Regularly. As with gardening, so with writing. Show up for yourself. Honestly, why do you write? Could you not write? Probably not. In that case, make peace with yourself, and write. But be gentle. Plants do not grow faster if you pull on them. That would kill them. The most you can do is write regularly, with compassion, with awareness (tracking), and don’t give up.

Tip #2: Compassion. Above all, be gentle, have compassion for the writer within, the writer you are growing, especially if you are starting out. And especially if you’ve been at this for years. We tend our gardens day in and day out with care, giving the plants what they need, even if that rose bush has been there for years, or if you just planted it. Treat yourself no differently, especially if you’re having a bad day, week, or month.

Tip #3: Trouble-shooting. Are there unhelpful pesticides — other people’s ways, thoughts, ideas, beliefs that are not your own, or fatigue, overwork, not enough play — invading your garden? What hobbies can you give up to give yourself time to write? You can change many things that affect adversely your writer within — learn to say “No.” Yet the sun and rain, other people, world events, are factors beyond on our control. Accept that. If the soil needs amending, find the missing ingredients. Do you need to aerate — get out and do something new, something to expand your heart, mind or soul? Do you need to move your body to counteract an overactive mind?

Happy Cultivating the Writer Within!

***

You can buy the whole 10 Sparks on the Kindle and Smashwords.

Bestselling Author’s Coach, Beth Barany is dedicated to the notion that all is better with play.

An author too, she’s the author of the 2011 award-winning young adult fantasy novel Henrietta The Dragon Slayer, as well as of the bestselling nonfiction books for authors and aspiring authors.

Beth gives away 10 spots per month for a 60-Minute Complimentary Coaching Session. First Come First Serve! Schedule yours today! Click here now to schedule yours: Beth’s Online Scheduler