Motivation and the Writing Life

Integrating Writing Into Life

July 21, 2014July 17, 2014Motivation and the Writing Life

We all have our demons. Mine is writing. It’s been with me since I was little, this compulsion to create. A nagging feeling like I shouldn’t be living in this moment, I should be recording it. When life is calling, when reality is demanding my attention, that urge to write it down can be a horrible feeling. I feel as though I’m being pulled in two, because an idea requires so much thought and time and energy to become realized. As much as I feel a responsibility to my waking life, to my loved ones, to the care of my home and body, to my simple day to day enjoyment, I also feel a responsibility to this story I’ve conjured in your head. And by no means is exorcising it an easy process. Writing takes time. It’s not instantaneous. It’s a process. A story becomes worth reading in stages, each one as lengthy as the one before it.Continue reading

Reassessing Goals at Mid-Year

June 16, 2014June 12, 2014Motivation and the Writing Life, Uncategorized

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I dislike resolutions, but I do like setting goals. I know that June isn’t the popular month for setting goals that January is, but it’s a great time to do a mid-year checkup on our goals.

If we’re not where we want to be, my advice is to scrap the January goals completely and start fresh. Feeling forced to play catch-up is really unpleasant.Continue reading

Tips for Attacking Any Big Project

June 9, 2014June 8, 2014Motivation and the Writing Life, Uncategorized

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I don’t know if y’all operate the same way, but I will allow large projects that I know will be time-sucks slide for a while…years, usually…until I finally end up squaring my shoulders and attacking them with gusto.

So…I decided to start out my summer (it’s summer here in North Carolina, anyway) with a photo and scrapbook organizing project. This is the sort of project where there are drawers of loose photos from the 1960s, 1970s, and even unarchived family pictures from the early part of the 20^th century. There are tremendous stacks of still-framed photos from many decades ago and from various branches of the family tree. And many, many pre-digital photos of my children in no order. Oh, and school papers of varying degrees of appeal and sentimental importance dating back to preschool (and my elder child is entering his senior year of high school this August).Continue reading

Adjusting to a Summer Writing Schedule

June 2, 2014June 1, 2014Motivation and the Writing Life, Writing Tips

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Summer. In some ways, it’s a relief to me because it means I don’t have to keep up as much with the kids’ activities and school-related needs. But it’s also a time that I regroup. Because our schedule changes, I’ve found it’s better and I get more done if I’m flexible enough to change my schedule, too.

A blog reader asked me if I could write a little bit about how I’ve changed my summer writing schedule in the past. Considering I’ve changed it up since my nearly-13-year-old was one, I’m thinking I’m probably qualified to comment on this issue. :) But a proviso that this won’t work obviously for all kids or all parents. Continue reading

Exercise and Writing

May 30, 2014May 29, 2014Motivation and the Writing Life, Uncategorized

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve never been a fan of exercising, although I’m trying to do better. I’ve read a slew of articles lately about the connection between exercise and creative thought.

One of these articles is this one by Fiona Macrae, a science correspondent at the Daily Mail. The article is: “If you’re looking for that big idea, just go for a walk: Study reveals people are up to twice as creative when on their feet.”
The article states: Dr. Oppezzo, of Santa Clara University in California, did a series of experiments in which people undertook tests of creativity, such as playing word association games, while walking or while sitting at a desk.

In one experiment, the volunteers came up with twice as many clever ideas when walking.Continue reading