The Writing Blues

I've often been asked, "How do you keep from getting down/depressed/discouraged?" This business can be rough. There is a lot of rejection involved. A lot of being told that what you've done isn't good enough. And you know, that can be very hard to deal with.

How do I keep from getting sucked into the negativity? That's easy.

I don't. :)

For me, it's just an inevitable fact that at some point, it's going to get to me. I'm going to want to quit. So I do. I don't usually walk away from it entirely. I'll continue to blog, network, critique, brainstorm, take notes, fiddle with mss. But if I need to step away from one or all of those activities...I do.

For days, weeks, months...once it was even years. I step back until the clamoring dies down and I can focus on why I am really doing this.

I do it because I love to write. Because I have a million stories in me that need to get out. Because I FEEL better when I write them down. Because I love to have people read them and tell me how much they love them.

I don't think there is a magical formula for getting rid of the writing blues. I don't think there is a way to escape them. Someday, they will just hit you. I find it easier to let them. Let it come. But...I try very hard not to wallow in whatever it is that has gotten me down. I don't dwell on it. I might not feel like playing the game...but I don't take my ball and go home :)

I focus on other things. I'll read a lot. Watch movies. Listen to music. Live life. Experience new things. Basically, recharge the batteries that fuel my creativity. To the point that they are so full I no longer care about whatever got me down in the first place.

I just want to write again.

The important thing is that I come back. I start over. I keep going.

Do you get hit with the writing blues? How do you handle it?