What energizes your writing?

How do you get energized to write?  Especially a novel?

I seem not to be the only one struggling with that recently.

But I have begun to wonder how much of it was I got so confused by putting the story out for looking at before it was ready, that I lost the voice of the story.


So what do you do to energize you to write?

And to energize your writing.

Are they different?  Or the same thing?


Anybody else have the writing blahs?    So what are you doing to try to get yourself out?

When you feel the dark pit of writing despair dragging at your heels, grasping at your ankles, sliding you toward the sharp edge of the hole where no words live, while your nails scrape at the brittle shapes of scenes and sentences.... what do you do?
How do you get beyond?

Without the added 'pounds' [Both kinds!] of copious amounts of chocolate?

Any ideas?  Help?   Anyone?????

Tiny things that are so influential

I got an email recently that reminded me of the fragility of this life.  And the impact of little things, whether we realize it or not.

I realized in some way has been a thread through a lot of my somewhat sparse blog posts.  And I was reminded of a comment the Very accomplished and successful writer/artist/musician Maggie Stiefvater made to a post I did in February this year. 

And along with that comes to mind book I read recently about how much the little things matter, for good, and bad.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

I think Everyone should read this book!

Even though it’s considered a Young Adult book, hopefully it will make Everyone a little more conscious of actions and the little things…. for as Maggie commented to my blog post, it’s amazing the tiny little things that can be so influential.

m_stiefvater wrote:

Feb. 15th, 2009 05:17 pm (UTC)

This is such a good point -- I was just telling someone else on another LJ that we never know how one of our good gestures is going to change someone's life. I know so many people who came into my life for just a brief moment, did something that maybe didn't even mean that much to him, and it changed my life forever, be it the teacher that took the time to read my first terrible novel when I was 13, the guy in the music industry who told me my demo tape was great, the folk musician who told me I had a real talent for soundtracks, the professor who gave me a B plus for a perfectly good paper because he said he KNEW I could do better. 

Little tiny things, but they were really influential to me.

 

May all of our tiny little things we do be done with care.

 

We all carry within us the seed of other worlds

The touch of other people’s dreams and aspirations

May we all carry that touch carefully and respectfully

With as much care as we do our own.

[sgchris 2009 ©]

Maggie's new book Shiver and ARCs gone awry

okay so it's like this I'm traveling, I don't sleep well when traveling so I'm probably not very coherent.  

So I'll make this short.  For this entry you'll have to go here and read -  http://sgchris.livejournal.com/

Best you're going to get here today.    Probably.

Maggie says

Uh, no, my name's not Maggie, and you've not wandered into her site by accident.  Although you Should if you are any type of creative person at all - an artist of Any kind, Writer, Painter, etc.....etc....
She's done a great post on keeping on keeping on.  [That sounds so much better in my head than it looks typed out here!]

She talks about artistic endeavors aren't for the faint of heart.  And you must believe in yourself first and always - and eventually someone else will believe in you also.
But even if you don't think you see anyone doing that, don't give up, keep believing in yourself and what you are creating.   You are the only you around to do it.  To say it the way you need to say it, maybe even the way it needs to be said.  To give it the uniqueness of your voice.  No matter what the creative thing is that you do.

Okay so Maggie says it differently.  ;)    That's what I mean about everyone having their own unique voice and ways.  
And you should go and read hers.
Especially her unique interesting way she looked at the rejections.   I like that more positive spin she put on it.

Oh, and here's the link - whatcha waiting for?    And be sure to come back here and tell me what your unique take on it is!

http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/104582.html

Believe in yourself and your own unique qualities and abilities -- but also share them when you have the chance.