As a new writer I thought I had to force myself to write all the time but it never felt right to me. I would struggle with what I was writing or I couldn't generate cohesive enough ideas to write anything. It felt forced and unnatural. Not to mention the fact I wasn't enjoying this practice and felt like a performing monkey.
So. I took a break. Not a total break but a break from writing and publishing on this blog. I felt I needed to walk away for a bit.
During this 1.5 months I began attending a writing workshop, pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Forced to write in styles I hadn't considered before but scariest of all, I had to critique others work, while also playing dead while they broke my pieces apart.
I didn't mind having my work critiqued, instead I found this to be a valuable process and enjoyed seeing how others interpreted my writing and the different perspectives we all bring to these kind of environments.
Having now met with other writers, all of varying abilities and experiences, I feel like I have learned so much from them. Not just about the craft of writing but also on the life and mindset of being a writer. The 6 weeks that we worked together during this workshop taught me that writers need to have confidence in theirselves and what they are writing. It needs to be from their hearts and most important, something they are passionate about.
I quickly realised that by forcing myself to write, I was taking the enjoyment from the process and practice of writing. I was also restricting myself to a very specific niche that doesn't allow me to write about things that are on my mind or for changing and adapting passions as and when they arise.
My blog needs to be a space for me to write freely and without restriction to any specific niche. It needs to adapt with me as a I progress on my writing journey and as I continue to move along the path that is my life.
Illness, disability, trauma and mental health will forever be very important to me and will of course be something I continue to write about but it can't be something I am forced to write about. I need to allow myself the freedom to write about the things that are important to me in the moment. More than this, my blog needs to be a place for me to explore different ideas and styles, to gain a following of subscribers who like my writing and whom want to support my growth.
The current iteration of my blog inhibits this, stifling my ability to grow as a writer and to be honest makes me want to cease writing. Taking time away to reassess has helped me to reflect on why I was feeling this way and what needs to happen for me to move forward.
I plan to make some changes to the structure of my blog. I am yet to figure out exactly what they will be but will likely result in a change to the current categories/topics allowing me to expand my writing to encapsulate everything I want to write about and basically making my blog, well, more mine!
Finally, I will stop trying to create a publishing timetable. Life doesn't work like that and neither does writing about it. I will publish on my blog when things happen that I feel I want to write about or if I think I have something of value to add to my subscribers. I will not choose quantity of posts over the quality and enjoyment of my published posts.
For those of you that sent messages asking where I was, I appreciate you and hope that this post explains my absence. I am back, I have grown and as is the case with life, I have changed and adapted.
We are only here for a relatively short time, making it even more important that we spend it doing things we enjoy. Until next time 🫶
Subscriber Discussion