Thursday, March 17, 2011

GETTING MY GROOVE BACK: PART DEUX

Hey All!
So, things have been slowly coming into place in my life and it got me thinking on writing and how it's hard to get a routine down once you've lost it. See, a year ago I was on a roll. I had this cushy job that provided me with a good amount of time to write in between busy spurts, not to mention those hour long lunch breaks that I'd take at my desk either reading some inspiring tale or, better yet, writing a gut wrenching story of my own. It was great. It was glorious. I was a writing machine!!!

But then I moved to New York, and my focus shifted from creating to worrying about finding a new job. That anxiety crushed my creativity like a beast taking out a delicate butterfly. Though I tried day in and out, it was hard to be productive when I didn't know how I would pay my bills in a few months.

Then things fell apart (Thankfully!) and I was back in Houston, still job searching, still worrying about my finances. Then, as if that wasn't difficult enough, I had to deal with the loss of my relationship. If my anxiety crushed my creativity, then combining it with my emotions completely tore my writing ability to shreds. I was completely unproductive. And the worst thing was I had a killer story in my head, just waiting to get out. But I couldn't write.

Then something turned around for me. It was slow at first, each piece coming into place bit by bit, but I started to see light at the end of my tunnel again.

I got a job. It wasn't perfect, and still isn't, but I slowly began to feel secure again in my finances. I met this guy friend who actually got me excited about the possibility of dating again. My friends here started dragging me out more and more, reminding me that life is out there, waiting for you to experience it. And slowly, ever so slowly, I began to want to write again.

Now it was hard as hell. And I don't know what I would've have done without my critique group and other friends encouraging me along the way, but I'm finally at peace with life now. And that's when I started to think about the routine of writing. It's hard to get to that place...to find that groove where you write almost every day and you don't have other pesky things interfering with your muse, but I'm slowly getting there.

And the only thing I have to say to the universe is that the writing gods better get ready...cause, like Stella and her groove revival, I'm back!!!

Happy writing everyone!