It’s not like I forgot I had this blog. It’s more like I got caught up in life, and then let that take over my desire to keep up with the blog. From being sick with a springtime cold to going on a family vacation, I have taken enough time off – now it’s time to get back to it.
When thinking about what gem I could write about today, I realized that I have been in a fog for a while. The once immediately accessible fire for writing that was there a few months ago is somehow suppressed. It should come as no surprise that I tend to be too much in my head.
The Fog of Doubt settles on my creativity from time to time. In the past, it has been more of a light fog that burns off with little effort. This time, the fog is thick and seems impenetrable. I keep hearing that this is not uncommon for the beginning writer – that feeling of heaviness because, “I will never produce anything.”
It’s not that I don’t have any ideas. I have them – I have at least five that I rotate around when working. But five does not equal one no matter how bad my math is. There are worries that keep the fog from lifting. In no particular order, here are some:
What if my writing isn’t really that good? Can I write something that I know would not be considered a “masterpiece”? Can my ideas become something more than just ideas? How can I write something that will go from idea to product that will be picked up and turned into a massive hit (I’m thinking of and hating you, Stephenie Meyer)? When will enough research be enough? Why is world building so hard? Why can’t I create an easier world? Will I ever finish writing a novel?
These are only some of the questions stirring around my brain when I take off the crazy lid. I’ve gotten some great support from great people, both friends and family. The easy answer is to shut up and just write. But what do you do when you can’t even write? I mean, for me lately the fog has been thick to the point where I just want to curl up and let it pass. So if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, I’m open to hear them. In the meantime, I hope to stave off as much fog as possible by putting out small ideas and observations from the writing and book world around me.
Tagged: Arts, Fog, Stephenie Meyer, Thought, Writers Resources, writing
Falls Into Writing 
I think writing is like a habbit, you need to do it over and over again many times to make it something that just comes natural. Schedule some time ever day and do it. I enjoy spending time just opening up my brain and grabbing a notepad and just writing for fun. I have so many grand novel ideas, and many that I have just started and put away for later. The best thing for me is just to sit for 20-30 minutes and just grab a pen and write down ideas. I try and expound on those ideas a little, but just to get something down on paper makes me feel better. I think that you will find that getting your brain going in that direction will spur you to write more toward your grand novel later. The trick is not to think about them, and just have fun. I think what made writing fun for you in the past, was the idea of just writing. Now that you have set a goal to write the grand novel, you have lost the fun. The problem is that you set your first goal too high, and now you are in a funk because you can’t find a way to achieve it. I guarantee you that Stephanie Myers has a box full of great ideas that she has stuffed under he bed that no one will ever know about. Set a goal to write a one page essay, or super short story. Then move to short story, then a book, then a novel. A baby must learn to crawl then walk, before he can run a marathon. Get the fun back first, then the rest will come in time. When you make something a job, you quickly loose focus on why you were doing that in the the first place. Make it fun again!!!
I struggle with this all the time – am struggling with it right now.