Writing can be very rewarding and very weird. One would like it to be a full time job with breaks to pet the cats, take a walk, run a few errands, perform a few housekeeping tasks, and the like, with the brain faucet still running and heart yearning to get back to the actual joy of writing.
But inspiration hits in spurts. One might hear a writer talk about needing to be in the mood in order to produce. As a writer I go through intense times of rapid thought where the story or poem seems to pour itself out of me through my fingers to the page. Other times there are large gaps of mental background noise.
Sometimes these times are caused by external factors. The job that pays the money needs my focus. It's not the right time to think about these things. Whatever I'm hearing in my head isn't going anywhere. The story needs to go somewhere. It has to have a direction toward a conclusion, at least for me.
Internal factors can also cause dry spells. The self critic cries out. The mood. The mental distractions about bills, life, relationships, feelings. Much of the internal derives from the external.
This writer needs a lot of alone time, but not isolation. One can't feel one is truly a writer without an audience. One needs, craves, desires feedback. Fear accompanies that need. Rejection is a terrible feeling. Indifference can be crippling. Why write unless there are people to love what you write?
Thank God for relations who take the time to look my work over and provide honest feedback!
Until next time,
Dusty