creative writing

How To Beat Writer’s Block

Brooke2 Comments

Welcome back everyone!

Have you been sitting down to write with all your newfound free time at home, only to stare at your paper or laptop blankly? If so, you’ve come to the right place! Writer’s block is a threat to writers everywhere, but today I’ll share a few of my favorite ways to shake it.

Method One: Use writing prompts and/or exercises.

This is a pretty standard way to try and help, but I feel like this only works when you’re having mild/moderate writer’s block and are still able to write something. You can look some up on writing-related Instagram accounts, Pinterest, or even just Google images. If you’re trying to finish a specific story or piece but can’t get the words out, it helps get your creative juices flowing if you write about something completely different.

Method Two: Go do something completely unrelated to writing. When you’re done, try to write something about it.

This could be anything depending on how much time to spare and how desperate you are to cure your writer’s block. It could be going for a drive, baking a cake, watching a sad movie, or getting your household chores done. Sometimes, a break is all you need to get some inspiration again. However, if you’re still not ready to return to what you were writing before, try writing about whatever experience you just had. Again, it’s all about getting the creative juices flowing.

Method Three: Try implementing a plot twist.

Depending on what you’re trying to write, you may or may not be willing to do this. If you are, just try taking your piece in a completely different direction and taking it from there. This goes along with using different parts of your brain/getting your footing back, but it’s a more direct approach to your piece. Also, you may end up loving what you write! If not, you can always edit, rework, or completely rewrite.

Method Four: Read something new.

I get a lot of my inspiration for writing from reading different works anyway, so it always helps to take a reading break and observe ways different authors carry their storylines. It’s also just a nice brain break in general, because who doesn’t love to read? You could also read a different genre than you normally do- it might give you a new perspective.

I hope these tips help you beat any case of writer’s block you may encounter! I had a pretty bad period of not being able to write anything I was proud of a couple weeks ago, but these tips helped me a lot. I’m actually working on a bunch of writing right now, so keep an eye out for new content related to my writing if you’re interested 🙂

Brooke

A Stream of Consciousness – Prose

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Hello everyone!

I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, so I figured I would share my thoughts with you guys in a different form of creative writing than usual. Surprise, I’m sharing writing that’s not poetry! I guess I would just consider this prose- it definitely doesn’t have any real structure to it. I hope you enjoy 🙂

something’s waiting inside of me. i can feel it; it’s brewing, bubbling, growing, shaking, expanding, and soon it will come out. a breakthrough’s been a long time coming, and you never know what’s around the corner. i feel trapped inside this house, but we’re all trapped in different ways, in our own little bubbles. all of a sudden, we know what we’ve always wanted to do and the things we enjoy and how much we love to go outside. but we can’t do any of it. our minds erase any awareness of the things we’ve always wanted to do around the house if we only had more time, and our creative juices get blocked. or maybe they don’t- my sweat is in the form of words trickling down my forehead. they drip down my pale cheeks, taunting me until i write them down. i get more done than ever but i get nothing done. i read more than i’ve ever read but see less words than i ever have. //

// time alone is time with your mind. my mind and i have been stirring up plenty. whenever i become conscious of my inner monologue and the elaborate plans being created, they vanish with an anti-climatic poof, as easily and silently as they materialized in the first place. the wheels never stop turning, but can you see them?

I hope you enjoyed this little mind-dump. It was clearly inspired by being stuck in the house, but it definitely has a few layers, which I’ll leave you all to interpret for yourselves. Let me know if you’d like to see more of these in the future, because I can definitely make that happen. As you all know if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, I’m happy to experiment with new things, writing being a huge part of that.

Brooke

Inevitable – Poem by Me

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i always loved tilt-a-whirl rides
even when the people next to me threw up as they stumbled out 

life is an amusement park 
(have you ever felt more alive anywhere else?) 

but i'm afraid of going on the gleaming steel rollercoasters making loop-di-loops, seemingly defying gravity (actually adhering to it) 

fluffy cotton candy, the rickety benches on the brick roads, watching others have the time of their lives is sometimes more my speed 

but when you go to an amusement park, you've come along for the ride and that means you go on the giant rollercoaster

This is a sillier poem, but I suddenly had the inspiration to write it and decided to go for it. I normally keep a running list of ideas for poems to write, but I lost that mega-list recently and I’ve been really upset about it, so I’ve been coming up with random, more cheerful writing ideas. I hope you enjoyed it- feel free to leave feedback or writing challenges/topic suggestions in the comments.

Brooke

Four Walls – Poem by Me

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four walls makes a house, but it doesn't make a home
and there's more walls between us than there are in 
this house that's not a home

hearing the birds chirp and peck at our windows,
looking out to see dreamy blue skies with white puffy clouds-
reminders of how much prettier the world is 
                    on the outside.

there's always crumbs on the floor. every door is
tightly shut, not unlike us. i used to want things to get
better; to laugh, to play, to load up the car and go 
be a family

now all i wish for is semi-peaceful co-existence 
because even though i reside within the same four walls
as you, you've put up another four
i'm not interested in tearing down your fortress

I hope you enjoyed this poem! Feel free to leave feedback or requests for certain topics to write about in the comments below 🙂

Brooke

My Poetry Writing Process

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Hello everyone!

Today I will be sharing how I write my poems and basically my whole writing process. I will admit it’s nothing special or anything that can’t easily be replicated- it’s mainly based on how I’m feeling or what I’m inspired to write about. That being said, I’ve seen and heard other writers talk about what works for them and what their writing processes are, so I figured I would share. Keep on reading if you want to know what I do when I’m ready to write a poem!

Obviously I don’t go through the same process every time I write something. Occasionally, ideas will pop into my head and I’ll quickly jot them down in my phone’s Notes, but this is for when I’m churning out a lot of writing in one sitting, or I’m feeling particularly inspired. I decided it would be best to outline it step-by-step, so here are the main points I wanted to hit.

  1. Gather my materials. I’m not super picky about what pen I’m writing with, but I do have one spiral notebook that I tend to write all my handwritten poetry in/lists of inspiration for my writing. I sometimes type rather than writing since I can get my thoughts out quicker, so if I already have an idea of what I want to write about or I’m planning to write a poem about a specific experience/topic for my blog, I’ll just start typing my poem in a Word document. However, if I’m just feeling like writing or using poetry to cope with a stressful, emotional day, I’ll usually choose to write it in the aforementioned spiral and determine whether or not I’ll share it somewhere later on.
  2. Find the right environment/position. Again, this varies on what I’m feeling/what level of inspiration I’m at/what purpose I have in writing at the time, but I have three main places I write. If I’m just writing for fun and myself, I’ll usually spread out on my bedroom floor. If I’m trying to write something for this blog or a different purpose that’s more structured but I’m not quite sure what I want to write about yet, I’ll go and sit outside in my backyard for a while to think while I write and draw inspiration from nature. If I’m writing for a structured purpose and already have an idea of what to write about, I usually sit at my desk and write there.
  3. Start writing and get my thoughts out. I don’t edit myself while writing or stop to think about what words are actually going on the page. I just try to express my ideas before I lose my train of thought, and I stop when that train of thought comes to an end. I think it’s important to remember that you can always edit later, but you can’t always retrieve a lost thought from your memory.
  4. Title the poem. This is a personal preference, but I like to title my poems right after I finish them, unless I really can’t think of a title and feel it fits better to leave the piece without one. I’m not sure how other people come up with titles, but for me they’ll usually just pop in my brain as I reread the poem I’ve just written, or I’ll pull from the general subject matter of the poem. It helps to ask yourself, what do I want people to think this poem is about?
  5. Self-edit and/or restructure the poem. Honestly, a lot of times I don’t edit my poems until long after I’ve written them, if I’m planning to submit them for publication or something. I do a light edit on the poems I post here before I schedule the post to go up just to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes, but I don’t really polish my work too much unless I’m sending it in somewhere. However, sometimes I will restructure my stanzas/lines if I think the structure of the poem looks a bit odd or uneven/lopsided in an unintentional way. It’s all about personal preference, so I just eyeball it.
  6. Save it/type it/decide what to do with it. Like I said, I write all the time, often with different purposes in mind. There are a lot of poems I’ve just written to get myself through hard times and express my emotions; I prefer doing so through poetry rather than journaling or something similar. A lot of the poems I write myself are quite short, random, and frankly, I don’t think anyone would be interested in reading them or publishing them. However, for poems that I share on my blog, I usually know that a poem will go on here as I write it. Any other poems that I don’t share on here and that I think are good enough to make their way out into the world, I research a good place to submit them for possible publication in contests or teen publications. I really haven’t submitted many of my poems anywhere (besides my huge writing sample for summer program applications) so as you would guess, I haven’t had much success with getting published. I had my first poem published this fall in the Just Poetry National High School Poetry contest fall anthology, which was an awesome honor.

I hope this was interesting or somehow helpful; I’m not sure how unique or necessary my specific writing process is, but it is what it is! Feel free to share any essential steps in your writing processes in the comments- I would love to hear about them 🙂

Brooke

Am I Selfish to Keep Writing?

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Hello everyone!

Today I’m just going to touch on some of my thoughts about blogging amidst the chaos in our world at the moment, and ask once again what you would like to see from me on this blog. I’ve been at a loss for what direction I want to ultimately bring this blog in; I feel a lot of you guys might be here for different types of posts, since I’ve dabbled in so many different categories of posts on here. If you want to see where my head’s at, keep on reading.

First of all, I would like to address the question in the title of the post. Am I selfish to keep writing? The world’s kind of falling apart at the moment, people are shifting their lives to be fully online in order to prevent leaving the house, my school’s now online, and every person/age demographic has been affected at this point. It’s no longer just elderly people being frightened or the few countries like China where the virus first spread being hit really badly- it’s so much more than that now.

When my quarantine first started, I was aware of how serious it was, but I was trying to turn it into a positive thing. I thought I could write a ton of posts for this blog and have tons of new content to churn out, and work on my writing a lot in turn. It’s true that I have had more time to brainstorm ideas and work on posts, but something doesn’t feel write. I feel selfish using this time to make myself better and put my words out when they’re somewhat unrelated to the major issue that’s going on right now; I don’t want to take away or distract from that. Please let me know if you want me to continue sharing my writing/regular posts during this time, or if you would prefer me to adapt my posting to the current world situation.

That brings me to my next issue: I’m not really sure where this blog is going. I’ve always just written about whatever strikes my fancy, and recently that’s been sharing my poetry and other things related to creative writing. I love to write and I’ve been writing poems a lot longer than I’ve been sharing them on here, so I’m completely fine with that; however, I’m not sure if that’s what you guys want to see, or if it is, if that’s the only thing you guys want me to post on here. I’ve noticed that I’ve gotten a lot more traffic on my writing posts/poems, and barely any on posts related to anything else in the past few weeks. However, I’m not sure if that’s due to other things (people not being online, different posting times, me generalizing by just grouping my posts into creative writing vs. not), and I want your guys’ opinions.

I’ve been thinking of eventually transitioning into this blog as mainly for sharing creative writing and focusing on that, but I want to make sure that’s what you guys want to see. When I started this blog, I wasn’t posting anything related to creative writing, and I’m not sure if people that have been reading my blog since then are enjoying the creative writing content. I’ve read from many guides to blogging that blogging should be a conversation (that’s basically a direct quote from Cristian Mihai, The Art of Blogging), so here’s me, starting a conversation with you.

Please let me know what you would like to see from me, and if you’ve been here since the beginning, thank you. I don’t know what’s in store for the future of this blog, but I’m obviously just going to keep writing! I just wanted to open up this conversation to you guys, and hopefully get some more feedback/interaction. As we can see with the coronavirus craziness, things can change in the blink of an eye, and communication is key.

Brooke

Quarantine – Poem by Me

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all the doors are shut (the windows too) and i've
never seen this town so empty

last week i forgot to buy milk, and this week i can't 
the grocery store became a barren wasteland

people aren't even bothering with tight-lipped smiles
stay six feet away, my mother reminds me

a walk in the park to escape my house only makes me 
feel more trapped. it's too quiet

i return home, back under a roof and between four walls
only to wish i was outside again

but the sun shines down, and i can feel its warmth
through the glass windowpanes

the palm fronds sway peacefully across the street
i want to join them in their lazy rhythm

in this loneliness, there is beauty

I hope you enjoyed this poem and are staying healthy and safe during these crazy times. I tried to bring a positive spin on the current situation in this poem, but I am still aware of the amount of tragedy and sickness people are experiencing right now. I wish you all the best.

Brooke

Rejection – Poem by Me

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Hello everyone!

Today I have another poem to share with you all. I’m not sure if these unnecessary introductions are necessary at this point; this will probably be the last time that I’ll have this type of lead-in to my writing if it’s already clear from the post title what I’m sharing with you. Hope you enjoy 🙂

if rejection is one thing, it's versatile
with the press of a button, a few uncomfortable words
a shake of the head, a glaring mark in red pen
but it doesn't even hurt then

it creeps into your head, revealing itself in the form of
tears running down your pillowcase
nail-biting and head-scratching
just wondering how, and wondering why

rejection is a double-edged sword
you already know the how, and you want to 
know the why so you'll do better, be better next time
but once someone tells you why,

that's when it hurts.

Hope you enjoyed as always! Rejection is a natural part of life and everyone experiences it from time to time, so try not to let it get you down. I’ve been second-guessing myself a lot lately and feeling rejected in various ways, but it helps to write about it and get the feelings out. Also, I hope you all continue to stay safe and healthy in these tough times.

Brooke

June Gloom in March – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back everyone!

I have another poem to share with you all today. If you’re new to my blog, you might not know that I live in southern California. We usually get some drizzle and gloomy days in spring, but the past week has actually been abnormally rainy; it was even rainier than our typical winter week this year. I’m usually a fan of the rain and cold weather, but it was off-putting when coupled with the school closure and coronavirus news. In light of everything that’s happening and the recent odd weather, the idea for this poem popped into my head. I hope you enjoy, as always.

the clouds are rolling in, as perfectly round and puffy as marshmallows
but as dark as an unfamiliar room at midnight
night strangles day too early, especially for this time of year
i light a candle and watch the first drop of wax melt but
the minuscule flame has already blown out- ominous, isn't it?

i've come to pray for actual darkness, not this false sense of security
from yellow-tinged lightbulbs and mere seconds of candlelight. if i'm going to sulk in the dark, leave me to it.

I hope you all are staying safe and healthy. What’s the weather like where you live? By the time this post goes up, it’s most likely back to blue skies and sunshine here, which only makes it harder not to go outside. Please feel free to leave a comment with some feedback or challenges for future writing as well- I’m definitely trying to channel my energy into writing while spending so much time at home 🙂

Brooke

Amidst the Chaos – Poem by Me

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Welcome back everyone!

I have another poem to share with you all today. The best way I can describe it is it being my personal take on how crazy life has been lately, especially with the escalation of COVID-19 spreading and creating well, chaos. I’m sure a lot of us have felt life is more chaotic than usual at the moment, so maybe you’ll relate to this poem. I hope you enjoy, as always 🙂

it's a little odd to see my room spinning like this
my sea-foam green walls appear to melt, as if 
they represent my insides. i've felt this way before, 
but never in my own home.

it's scary when the place you've always gone
to calm down isn't safe anymore. it's scarier 
when there's no particular reason that it's not
"safe" and it just isn't. nowhere is.

i press my tongue to the roof of my mouth;
i squeeze the little fold of skin between my index
finger and my thumb, hoping to relieve the
pressure that i feel inside.

the bleak, white light streams in. everything
is still. just as the chaos began, it left.
luckily, it didn't take me with it.

I hope you enjoyed this poem, and I would love to hear some feedback from you guys. I’m always down to have a conversation with some fellow writers! And of course, I hope you all are staying healthy and safe out there. Please make sure to take care of yourselves.

Brooke