The best writing advice I have ever heard is…Write from your heart; scribble down words when you’re crying at 2am, or right after you’ve gotten home from spending time with someone you love, whenever your emotions are at their peak. Writing is best when it’s pure and raw and genuine. Don’t filter when you write, just let your soul flow out onto the page. This is so true!
Sometimes when I want to write I just can’t. Other times I have so many things I want to say that words spill out of my head in a chaotic manner that fills pages that requires me to sit down later and put them into some type of sequenced order. And other times I can spew out a whole complete story or post without coming up for air until I reach the end of it.
Looking back at these times I can clearly see the truth of that writing advice. It is so much easier for me to write when I’m upset, or very happy, or excited and passionate about a subject or event.
Writing has always been therapeutic for me. For awhile I forgot this. Then, when I was at one of the lowest points of my life when I was struggling so badly to focus and to deal with years of multiple traumatic events, to make sense of all the pain and chaos in my head and heart, I sought out a friend of mine who not only is a licensed counselor but also one of the smartest and most compassionate people I know. I knew I needed to talk and I knew I needed to find some healthy coping mechanisms.
After listening to me talk, for Lord knows how long, I asked her what to do. She looked at me and said “Write. You need to write. Get a notebook and write it all down. Everything you’re thinking, everything you’re feeling. It doesn’t have to be organized or even make sense but you need to get it all out of you”.
So that’s what I did. I wrote, and wrote, and wrote. I filled up page after page. Sometimes at 2am in tears, sometimes in the morning before work, sometimes on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Whenever the thoughts and feelings came, I wrote. And it worked! Little by little the tears lessened, the heaviness on my heart lightened, and my focus became clearer.
And as I found myself not too long ago coming out of another situation where I needed to release and heal I did it again. And it truly does help.
It helps too that I’ve always been a list maker, a note taker, a virtual “queen of sticky notes” as I have been called many times. I also keep a small notebook and pen near me at all times ~ in my purse, on the table, by my bed. I frequently write down things that come to my mind while doing every day things, sometimes when I first get up in the morning, and I’ve even had times where I have jumped out of the shower to jot down notes.
It’s important to write down things that resonate to us throughout the day. It can be anything: a random thought, a quote, a song lyric, a dream, a memory, a conversation, an experience. Even if it’s brief or chaotic and doesn’t make a lot of sense in the moment you can always think about it, clarify it, or expand on it later. If it means something to you or catches your attention write it down. Anything can be a trigger for a great story now or down the road. You just never know.
Plus there’s just something different about being able to write your thoughts down and holding the work in your hands. Writing it out also gives you time to think things through and to make connections you may not have otherwise made.
I know it helps me a great deal to get my thoughts out on paper so I can see them in a tangible way. It also reminds me as I write this blog and send encouragement and positive vibes out into the world that I am also worthy and deserving of these same things. I tend to over think and over analyze things and forget that sometimes. And sometimes when I’m stuck or feeling down I go back and read my notes, especially the positive and inspiring ones, because sometimes WE need to be the ones inspired and need to be reminded that there have been better days before and there will be better days again, and seeing that in your own writing and notes can help you remember that and help you get out of your funk and motivated again.
But if you need a break, take one. It’s ok. If you need to write, then write. At times getting it all on paper, or at least out of you, will give you some comfort even if it doesn’t make sense right now.
And who knows ~ maybe one day all those things you scribbled on paper will lead you to a new career, a new business, a new book you always wanted to write, a new dream, a whole new life.
Or maybe one day you’ll look back on all your notes and journals and be amazed at all the things you went through. All the adventures you had and all the feelings you felt. All the things you survived and learned and grew from. All the strength you had to overcome and to live your life as best as you could. And sometimes I think that’s the best legacy we can ever leave behind, the best lessons we can learn and teach others ~ that life is for living and we are capable of surviving whatever it throws at us.
