Sometimes our writing muse can be fickle. Extraneous things tend to turn it off. For some people, the stress in their life overwhelms them. I’m the opposite. The more stressed I am, the more I HAVE to write to release my tension (unless I’m so stressed that I can no longer function).
For others, medications muddle their minds. So far, I’ve found that it depends upon which medications. Pain pills, for instance, make me downright stupid. But nothing else I’ve taken seems to affect me.
Lousy eating habits can slog down creativity (sugar does this to me), as can many substances unwelcomed by our bodies (booze, smoking, drugs, etc).
Two weeks postpartum, and I’ve found a fog lifting from my brain. My energy and zest for writing has kicked in. And I’ve noticed that my thoughts and edits flow more easily and are generally better than those done during my pregnancy.
What about you? What kinds of things kills your writing zen.
Next post, I’ll try to cover the things that I do to get in what I call my writing “flow.”
For those of you who commented about my recent struggles with my daughter, she’s doing much better on her medication. She’s gaining weight again and seems to be a fairly happy child. Perhaps I’ll be able to resume some of my earlier work (though I’m sure it will slow down).
Thanks for all the goodwishes and concern. It’s amazing to me that I have friends I’ve never even met. 🙂
Author
Lack of sleep kills my writing zen. For me, it is all about the basics.
Glad to hear everything is starting to click. Just think, as soon as you get conformable with the baby state, the teething starts!
Exhaustion, stress, and illness. I also work better in warm weather than in the cold.
I’m glad to hear the baby’s doing better!
Amber, I am so glad to hear she’s doing better. We need to meet one of these days since we share a last name. 🙂
It took two years after my daughter was born for me to be able to write again. So… I guess childbirth killed my writing zen. Not sure I’m up to doing that again too soon. 🙂
Being pregnant murdered my writing zen. I’ve resurrected to some degree, but I’m still in “zombie state.”
Michelle: Lets plan on meeting at a conference sometime.
A rumbling tummy stops me writing anything sensible 🙂
Just dropping by to let you know I have a super give-away contest running this week (and every week) on my LDS blog at Not Entirely British
This time there is a choice of prizes from author and country singer, Patti Miner.
Hope you have time to hop on over and take a peek 🙂