FIVE STRATEGIES FOR WRITING IN TOUGH TIMES

“May you live in interesting times.” Some people, in referencing this statement, call it a blessing, a wish for a dynamic life. Most, however, regard it as a curse. Certainly, times lately have been interesting. Whether you are political or apolitical, it’s hard to avoid the mood of the world when the stuff of your work is the emotions of human beings, and you have been surrounded by a culture faced with unprecedented challenges - incredible inflation, a pandemic of a virus that refuses to go away, the war in Ukraine, the continued rise of radicalism right and left, the erosion of trust in our government, a Supreme Court that does the opposite of what Justices indicated in their hearings and that, for the first time in history, removes a right from the american people. Emotions run high all around us. There are people who are afraid, people who are angry and feel emboldened to take out their anger on others, people who are jubilant, people who feel betrayed, people who feel targeted, but very few people who feel unaffected by some (if not all) of this. 

 It is a turbulent time. Some would say that turbulent times are the friend of the writer, of any artist. It was once said that “all responsible art is social criticism,” and there is certainly much to criticize these days, regardless of what “side” you are on. By some measures, perhaps, the ideal situation to energize the writer. But for the writer who is already trying to set aside problems and stresses from work, family issues, relationship issues, and the daily distractions of “things that need done” this environment could easily function as yet another unwelcome stress between yourself and your page. 

 So, what to do. In decades of teaching scores of students of creative writing, and nonfiction writing over the years, I’ve found five things each of us needs to deal with to get past such times. I’m not talking, here, about “writer’s block” - there is plenty of help out there for that, including some previous posts on this blog. I’m talking about dealing with the external realities that get between you and the page, both in hard, realistic terms, and in your head. What I have to tell you is that there are two things to do, dealing with the inner and outer distractions, and these two things break out into five strategies. The two things: a) be brave, and b) keep seeking. 

Taking them in reverse order of importance, let’s start with: 

 FIVE: BE BRAVE #3: Tell all the voices (inner and outer) to shut the hell up. Every writer has heard

of the “inner critic,” and certainly we’ve all dealt with the real-world critic in one form or another. In times like these, when there is so much negativity, controversy, disagreement, and contention in the world, it can feel like we’re surrounded by negativity, and God forbid we say or write anything that brings criticism down on us. Get over it. If you’re saying what you believe, somebody is going to disagree - just say it, and move on. If your inner critic warns you that maybe you shouldn’t write that, maybe you’re wrong…..well, that voice is right. It’s entirely possible you’re wrong. It’s entirely possible that you wrote it badly. Every writer writes bad stuff just as often (maybe more often) than they write good stuff. If you want to keep striving for your best, you have GOT TO be willing to be bad along the way, and get over it. 

 FOUR: KEEP SEEKING # 2 - Find your Writing Space - The right space - both the inner and outer - is incredibly important to the writer. Being in the right environment, and the right mindset, can make or break a writing day. The best way to discover the best outer space - the place where you actually write - is through experimentation, but, once you know where that is, make it your own, claim it, and set guards if you need to - writing space is sacred space. And it could be anything, and it might just change over time. I know people
who’ve written whole books in a corner booth at a McDonalds because that was where they could relax and focus on what they were writing. The inner space is just as important - how you are “in your head” when you sit down to write. This, also, is best discovered through experimentation. Ursula LeGuin once said that she likes to do dishes while she gets in her writer’s head, Dickens liked to walk the streets of London until he was (literally) lost. Some meditate, some do exercise or dance or paint or go for a drive (this last would be me). Whatever puts you in that state of mind where your mind is open and you feel words bubbling up - do that - EVERY TIME. 

 THREE: BE BRAVE #2: Claim your Writing Time Make your writing time not only a habit, but a priority. Set an alarm, keep a log, whatever it is that helps YOU to take YOUR WORK seriously. There are a million distractions from writing, and sometimes it feels easy to use them. I can’t write, I have to do the laundry, clean the cat box, run to the store, put the kids to bed, bake bread, call my mom, settle a friend's argument, file those photos from Christmas, figure out my taxes, etc, etc., etc….. We get VERY creative about ways to avoid writing - be aware of that, and turn it into creative ways to GET TO your writing time instead. 

 TWO: KEEP SEEKING #1: Know your goal This essentially means….COMMIT. Take some time, sit down, and figure out what in the name of all that’s holy you WANT from your writing. Is it just for you, for personal expression? (Fine - dig in, and don’t be discouraged if it never gets published, just take joy in the act of expression). Do you want wide publication and respect for your work? (Fine, then get serious - research the market and WORK to what the market is asking for - don’t expect the market to bend to you - work TOWARDS it - and that doesn’t mean you can’t be creative in doing so - look for the PART of the market that fits how your creativity is expressed and FOCUS there). Do you want to feel that your writing is your art - your work in the arts? (Fine - then get serious- art means both digging deep personally and understanding how it will speak to others, what it will offer them. It’s WORK.) 

 ONE: Be Brave #1: Go After The Thing That Scares The Shit Out of You You know what that is - whether it’s claiming your political voice or pursuing the writing form that scares you (script writing? poetry? science fiction? historical fiction?) .. only you know what is the thing, the part of this crazy work that makes your heart beat wildly fast and makes you want to scream and run - and THAT is the work you should do - no matter what your goal identified above in #2 is - looking right into your own personal abyss is the way to get there. Taking on the part of your purpose that terrorizes you brings ENERGY to your writing, makes you care that you’re getting it right - and if you care, so will your readers. If you don’t, neither will they. So, that is why THIS is the number one strategy - DO IT, FACE IT DOWN, LOOK AT IT STRAIGHT ON AND SAY “Bring It ON,” and you will produce the kind of writing that you’ve always hoped you could do.