Writing in times of upheaval

lizshine74by lizshine74

In On writing.

How do you keep writing at times when your life is in upheaval? When your emotions are raw and exposed? Death of a loved one. Illness. Loss of employment. Break-up. There are many situations where it seems that just putting one foot on the floor each morning, then the other, and walking to take a pee is more creative energy than you thought you had.
Yet, for me, writing during these times is more important than any other time, because writing is how I process my thoughts and emotions. And walking.
So, I advise you to keep writing during these times. Even if it’s just a line here and there. Even if the line is banal. Write during these times first and foremost for you. Write honestly. Lock up your notebook if you’re worried someone might find out what you’ve really got in there. Don’t worry about the “project” you’re working on. Go wherever your heart compels you.
And read lots and lots of poetry. Let poems settle in your lap and nap there. Take poems into the shower with you. Copy poems in your own hand (or with your own keyboard) and read what you’ve copied over again. Send poems to friends.

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Some past posts to keep you making time: 
Adjust your pace accordingly.
It’s about the routine and how you shake up the routine
There are things you will have to give up
See it to achieve it
Washing the dishes
Write slowly
A celebration of the pause
Monday, a run through the driving rain
Zen accident
Get out of your comfort zone

lizshine74

lizshine74

Liz Shine teaches high school English, writes, edits, and coaches other writers from her home in Olympia, WA. When she begins to feel overwhelmed by it all, she simply looks up at Mount Rainier in the distance and gets back to work. If that fails, she heads to the ocean. She is a founding editor at Red Dress Press. Her Substack Make Time is her gift to writers, like her, trying to magic time in this crazy, busy world. All of those posts are cross-posted on the blog here. You can see more of her writing at lizshine.com and find her on Instagram {@lizshine.writer} cooking, traveling, and in other ways seeking moments of awe. She has been an active participant in communities of writers since the early 1990s. She’s learned that two things feel truly purpose-driven in life: writing and coaching other writers. In the in between (because one cannot be driving for a purpose every moment), she enjoys looking for wonder and connection. She is a lifelong yoga student, an enthusiastic walker along streets and trails, and an amateur gardener and vegetarian cook. She lives in Olympia, WA in the USA. She believes in the power of practice and has been practicing writing since some time in the early 90s when she became an adult in the rain-soaked city of Aberdeen. Writing began with journaling, as a way to understand a confusing, sometimes violent coming-of-age. She writes mostly fiction, some nonfiction, and poetry, and holds an MFA from Pacific Lutheran University’s Rainier Writers Workshop. She has published in Shark Reef, Dual Coast, and Blue Crow Magazine. She is a founding editor at Red Dress Press.