How To Write Through Anything
Last Friday, I wrote about my messiness of mind, how my head was clogged with a substance that is described by such an unpleasant word (mucous–ick), and how it was affecting my normal activities.
Today, I was pondering ideas for blog posts. I pulled out my cute floral mini-notebook wherein I keep precious ideas and found some notes I'd scrawled last fall under the title of The Headache, or How to Write Through Anything. Thought about it for a minute, and realized that's what I do. Write through anything, to the point that I should probably give myself a break once in awhile.
I was plagued with headaches for years. Years and years and years. But as I've gotten older they've eased. I quit smoking a dozen years ago and that helped. And I'm careful to do all the things that I know will help keep headaches at bay, like drink a ton of water every day, eat enough protein and forego sugar. I'm not always so good about that last one, but well, life's short.
But when I think back to those days when I had a searing headache nearly every day, I'm amazed. Because of that annoying habit of soldiering through mentioned above, that's what I did. Soldiered through. The doctor (this was back in the day when I still went to traditional physicians) put me on beta blockers which slowed me down so much I hated them. And he gave me a prescription for Midrin, which knocked out headaches and sometimes also me. Once on a visit to Victoria, B.C. with my family, I sat down in a chair in the Roots store after taking Midrin to wait while my daughter tried on clothes. Minutes later she ran across the store yelling my name, and tried to catch me as I was blissfully sliding out of the chair onto the floor.
And yet still I wrote. Probably its what saved me.
Back when I was a beginning writer, I read a book that said you had to write every day. The author went on to describe how the night before he'd had a bit too much to drink and that morning he felt like crap and yet nevertheless, there he was sitting at his computer, writing the very book I was holding in my hands. And I remember groaning at the thought of trying to write with a hangover.
And yet I have.
And I bet you have, too. Because that's what we writers do. We write. And even though the title of this post promises some information on how to write through anything, I'm pretty much guilty of false advertising. Because I don't really have any thoughts on that, other than this one:
You just do it.
If you have any pithy thoughts on the topic, I'd love to hear them.
Photo by goroo, from Everystockphoto. I'm pretty sure I've used it before, but c'mon, its so awesome and perfect, how could I resist?
Sarah Allen
You are inspiring! Thank you for this. I really do think this is the difference, the stick-to-it-ivness and stay in the room strength of true writers. Thanks for this.
Sarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)
Charlotte Dixon
Thanks, Sarah! And yes, the sticking with it makes all the difference. I’ve known so many people who said they wanted to be writers, and then when things got tough, or boring, off they went to try something else. But if you truly love writing you won’t abandon it through anything.
Suzanne
Such good advice, Charlotte. I think we all want to hear what happened after you blissfully slid off the chair in the store. :-)
gt281
I don’t have any pithy thoughts, but I do have a couple of spiffy ones. Will that do?
And I want everyone to know that I am a recent menace and can not be blamed for your Midrin prescription habit…
Is that a recycled photo? Are you being ‘green’?
Charlotte Dixon
Suzanne, the best thing about the incident was that my daughter was still a teenager and she was mortified. I was so out of it I didn’t care. She and the rest of my family managed to get me back into the chair, and of course, she carried on, trying on clothes–nothing more important than that, you know.
Charlotte Dixon
gt281, pithy thoughts, spiffy thoughts, any at all will do! Yes, that’s my excuse, thank you! I’m being green, recycling the photo. I should see how many different posts I can use it for.
Patrick Ross
“Because that’s what we writers do. We write.” Clear, accurate, and succinct. You must be a writer! :)
Great post, Charlotte. It’s too bad you’ve had something to inspire you to write this (headaches, etc.) but valuable to many that you’ve written it.
Charlotte Dixon
Thanks, Patrick!
Tess The Bold LIfe
Write everyday! I like that…and I do weather it’s on some one else’s blog or mine I write everyday!
Charlotte Dixon
Tess, Sometimes I forget to count blogging as writing. I know, pretty dumb. But still, there it is. So yes, indeed you do write every day!