My insecurity this month comes from the list of "shoulds" that hovers around me whenever I sit down to do something like writing (or painting, which I also enjoy). I find myself blocking up and not being able to access my creative muse because all I can see is the pile of dishes in the sink, or the giant tumbleweeds of dust bunnies chasing my cats around the house, or the dwindling bank account sending out an S.O.S. for more freelance editing clients.
Some days it doesn't matter. Some days the muse is prodding me so hard that I have no choice but to write (or paint). And I have a few different lines I use to combat the list of "shoulds", but mostly I just want to go hide under my desk, and then I don't get ANYTHING done, not even anything from the list of "shoulds"!
What do you use to fight back and claim your writing/creative time?
I think the trick is that we have to figure out if those "should's" are really "have to's." If no one can see those dust bunnies and the cats can handle themselves in a cat vs dust bunny fight, do you really have to clean that minute? However, if no one in your house has clean clothes, laundry might be a have to. :)
ReplyDeleteMadeline @ The Shellshank Redemption
The dishes always seem to win with me...I find I'm always using those "shoulds" as an excuse NOT to write. But that may be because I'm editing and editing is scary and I don't really want to do it...
ReplyDeleteSarah Foster
August IWSG Co-host
Like Sarah, I have a lot of domestics that are fighting for my muse time.
ReplyDeleteBut I read something that made a lot of sense to me. Someone (Elizabeth Seckman) compared writing to gardening. No one ever gives people a hard time for spending too much time on their gardens, but if you're writing a book, there always seems to be something in the way.
So my novel is my garden.
And the other thing I say to shut up the shoulds is that I want to be a writer: I must write. I am not looking to become a professional dish cleaner (though, I have enough hours).