NaNoWriMo'23 Edition

On Tuesdays & Thursdays throughout November, you'll receive a helpful tip or trick to help you WIN NaNoWriMo. In December, this'll move to a weekly email, sent on Wednesdays.

If you’re in my Slack group, Writing Buddies, you may have seen my post about refilling the creative well. If not, here’s that post: 

I spent three hours this afternoon as a volunteer crisis counselor for The Trevor Project. I took one chat (it was a slow day) and it was amazing. This refilled my [creative] well, Friends.

Most of you know I was a teacher for 27 years and worked with the abuse/neglect population for the last dozenish years, and that work filled my well (the direct work with the students--not the bureaucratic bull$hit...) and I have two Spawn who identify as…member[s] of the LGBTQ+ community who encouraged me to become a volunteer counselor when I asked their opinion.

Goddess, I've missed this part of teaching.

One of the things I’ve learned in my decades of writing is that I do need to refill my creative well or I burn out on writing and I get “blocked.” For me, writer’s block is basically a disconnect between my brain and my fingers—I literally cannot get the words on the page and the movie in my head has turned into a silent movie. I can “see” what the characters are doing, but I can’t quite hear what they’re saying. 

There are other things I can do besides volunteering that refills my creative well. You might also know that I walk every.damn.day. I walk outside when it’s nice enough—warm enough, the weather is decent—and either use the treadmill or the track at the local gym when Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate. Endorphins from exercise also refills my creative well, but not as much as volunteering. Going for a hike, visiting waterfalls, or strolling along one of Michigan’s beaches also refills my creative well. But they all do so in different ways. 

Right now, I’d love to walk the rocky beach of Lake Superior (in a damn snowsuit because BRRRR!!!) and listen to the crashing waves, feeling the brisk wind in my face. Or take in some of the Black River waterfalls in the Upper Peninsula after hiking to get to them through the pine-filled woods. Even a babbling brook creates some great grounding for me and brings me that serenity that I seek so much when I’m actively writing. 

Another thing I use to refill my well is music—and this one is HUGE for me. I use Apple Music (hello, cheap subscription bundle…) and dig finding new instrumental music that helps me focus. But it has to be *just* right for my neurodivergent brain to avoid distraction. Tricky, right? I have the “oldies but goodies”: Mozart, Bach, Debussy—but have recently found video game and movie/TV show soundtracks to be amazing for writing! 

What refills your creative well? Are you finding yourself struggling to keep your writing practice consistent? Consider ways to rejuvenate and find that inner peace and/or adrenaline rush you need to keep going. 

I’d also love to hear about how you keep your creativity flowing! Send me an email or drop me a line via social media. 

Until Thursday—

Wendee