It’s never quiet in my head (a real Napoleon battle) and yet I don’t know what to write about. Sometimes, I’m staring at a blank page, and it feels like the power to my brain has been cut. So much pressure. Does that make sense? After all, it shouldn’t be that difficult. Putting thoughts on paper has become wearing, although it’s an easy skill. I struggled to make a decision and post on my blog when even a small subject seemed like a big deal. However, we must start somewhere, right?
John Dufresne wrote “(…) the plain truth is that if you want to write, you can. And if you want to write but you don’t write, you’re inviting madness.” Aren’t we the ones who get in the way of our own creativity? At one point I set the bar so high that I lost the feeling of satisfaction from the activities that I once loved. Looking for excuses was my daily bread and even guilt crept in—a true champion of procrastination. At some point, everything depended on someone else’s opinion and meeting certain standards.
Isn’t the passion we hold enough? When spending time creatively becomes a tedious task?
With hope, I will start enjoying my texts again and stop being a cruel critic of my work. Putting one word after another, slowly but with confidence, make it into my routine.
Like Samuel Beckett mentioned “Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
To all sceptical writers, I recommend The Lie That Tells the Truth by John Dufrense. Lots of examples, exercises, advice, support, and most of all motivation. An amazing writer shares his thoughts, gives solutions to inherently difficult problems that turn out to be the product of our imagination, and at the same time encourages us to write regularly and practice our abilities. He reminds us that every first draft is only the beginning and fine-tuning can be a long process. The book made a huge impression on me and encouraged me to work harder. John Dufrense mentioned that doubts are human things.
Yours L.
another pile of books 
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