Quote of the Day: The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience. Emily Dickinson
Today is another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. You can also visit the founder Alex J. Cavanaugh for more info and links.
The question of the month is: How do major life events affect your writing? Has writing ever helped you through something?
Major life events fuel my stories! First, I write my way through them. I journal. It helps me sort out what has happened and examine my reactions to it. Then, I start thinking of how fictional characters might solve that problem, handle that situation, or overcome trauma. It doesn’t have to be big and devastating. It can be something simpler, like dropping my rusty, old minivan off at the junkyard. Junkyards make a great setting for mystery and suspense, and so the imagination takes over!
I believe that our words and stories have the ability to reach others and connect, maybe even give someone clarity on what is happening in their lives. I’ll leave you with a final quote:
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. Anne Frank
Go. Create. Inspire!
Journaling Prompt: Have you been able to connect with someone by sharing your stories?
I love journaling too. Been doing that for twenty-five years, and it has probably kept me sane.
Yes! It is mental therapy.
I used to journal a lot, but then I came to blogging. Writing has kept me going through everything in my life. Love that quote!
I’ve relied on journalling to get me through some tough times as well, but if too much is going on–good OR bad–it usually keeps me from working on my books. Good point, though, that surviving these experiences can fuel our stories later on. During a time of deep emotional trauma, it was difficult for me to write about Jackson and Kate, as they had the kind of love I was longing for. Now, a year later, I think I’ve found it. Funny how that happens. x
That is so encouraging, J.H.!
I think that’s great you can journal and then use that for stories and characters.
I love your proactive approach to life’s problems.
Thanks, Lee!
That’s a smart way of working through problems – how would our characters handle them?
Thanks, Diane!
Love that Anne Frank quote – it’s always up in my classroom!!
Yes – writing out “it” (whatever it is!) can help us se the humour in “it” as well! 🙂
One of the best quotes, right. Write out the “It!”
I don’t write through big life events. I usually don’t have the energy to spare. My muse is nice and sits quietly, making notes of what’s happening as it may be useful for a future story and waits for life to quiet down.
That works, too, Patricia!
Great idea! I really should journal, but I’m terrible at remembering.
Keep it next to your favorite coffee sippin’ spot, or on your nightstand.
I’m a longhand person. I love writing by hand.
Stream-of-consciousness is a style I really enjoy.
Yet, I’ve never been a person who keeps a journals I have no idea why not…
Maybe I need to start… it’s never too late. 🙂
Love the minivan analogy. I’d like to read that story. Great quote too. Happy IWSG Day.
I write stories after things have calmed down to finish working through whatever happened, but I can’t write when things are at their worst. I have journaled at times, but never manage to keep it consistent.
When you’re in the middle of things, it’s hard to focus on anything else. And, yes, afterwards, writing about it helps us process the events and emotions.