Hashtags

Hello my lovelies 🙂

I’ve been quiet on here but I have written a few articles over on Her Heart. The latest two are connected and talk about hashtags and how to use them on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Take a look here and here and let me know what you think, also if you have any tips to add.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Hope you are having an awesome and creative time and if not, here’s a big virtual hug. I hope things work out for you soon xx

Writing Changes

Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash

When I first decided to take this writing gig seriously I understood that I had lessons to learn and improvements to make. What I really didn’t understand was that my reason for writing would change, nor the mental changes that would happen along the way.

So my original reason for writing was to provide solace for readers, the way my favourite writers do for me. Sometimes you simply want to escape your life for a little while and reading is the perfect solution for that. Little cost and you don’t have to go anywhere but you still feel like you’re having an adventure. But now, while I still want to do that, I actually want to also write for the story’s sake. I have this burning need inside me to tell a story and I really want it to get out. I have no desire to be burnt alive and that’s rather what I feel like will happen if I don’t write creatively. It’s odd and I’m not being light hearted with my words when I write that, the feeling is rather strong and I couldn’t stop writing if I tried.

Now, last week I had a little panic attack about all this.

For the past month or so I have been doing morning pages. For those of you who don’t know, morning pages is a concept where you write whatever is on your mind first thing in the morning (or whenever you can manage it, some people do it on their morning commute, others once the kids are dropped off at school etc.). Most people fill out 3 A4 pages by hand, the only requirement being that you write whatever springs to mind and do so by hand, not typing. I prefer to set a timer for 15 minutes and go for it. That’s just a personal preference and what works for me.

Now, back to the panic attack. I realised one morning, while writing my pages, that my well of creative inspiration was nearly dry. Why? Because a lot of my inspiration comes from my emotions. Completing my morning pages has effectively calmed that down and I don’t have this storm to draw from anymore. Cue panic. But by the end of that morning’s pages I had figured it out. My writing is actually stronger for this because I can focus on the story and what it needs, not what I need. Yes, I’ll still be emotionally connected to my story, but it won’t be everything. I really think this will benefit me and my writing. First test: Furious Fiction.

The Australian Writers Centre had their monthly competition out over the weekend and I’ve entered it using this new way of writing. I’ll let you guys know how I go! What I will say is that writing the short story for the competition was very different compared to how I normally write. I was able to look at the story while I was writing and understand what was working and what wasn’t straight away. I still wrote the first draft and let it sit over night, but it was odd to find myself editing as I went.

Usually I write the first draft and think it’s freaking awesome lol. I type the end and think it needs no editing. Experience has taught me otherwise and the reality is that when I’m at the half way point, I know it still needs work, but something about reaching the end convinces me otherwise for a little while.

Have you had any moments like this? The thinking things are great and the panic moment. It really did scare me before I settled down and realised it was a good thing. My default setting with my creative side is panic when something changes, time to re-frame that and be more positive 🙂

Hope you all have a happy and creative week lovelies xx

If you want to enter the Australian Writers Centre monthly Furious Fiction competition, you can do so here.