How to Stay Open in Your Writing Life

 

Irene Latham

I spent a good chunk of 2022 in a writing funk. Things just weren't going the way I wanted or expected them to go. I found myself saying “no” A LOT. I slammed some doors, shuttered the windows. For a while I wallowed in the dark and felt utterly sorry for myself.

I say all this to let you know that this kind of thing happens to all writers, at every stage of the game.

And the way to open again is the same, too. Here are some things that have helped me:

1. SERVE OTHER WRITERS.

   
   Last October, thanks to my writing partnership with Charles Waters, I was lucky enough to serve on the faculty for a Highlights poetry workshop. Getting out of my own head and allowing myself to share what I've learned with others, and having the opportunity to be inspired by other writers was just the jolt I needed. (Charles and I are teaching again later this month...Poetry for Kids: A World of Publishing Possibilities, with Carol Hinz and Carole Boston Weatherford. Join us!)
   

2. TRY NEW THINGS.

   The year I turned 50, I started a “Fifty Firsts” challenge, in which I was to try 50 new things during that year (about one a week). New dishes, new places, new books, new experiences...and I'm still doing it. I've discovered this mindset can really impact the writing life, too. For instance, I've since written my first novel for adults, which clocks in at just over 100, 000 words—two firsts for me!

3. TRAIN YOUR BRAIN.

   One of the best habits I've picked up in the past decade is meditation. (My favorite app: Headspace.) Learning to not be too attached to my thoughts and feelings, to let them pass, to be more present is essential to a writing practice. That 2022 book was last year. That writing dream that may or may not ever come true is in the future. Right now, there's just me in my bathrobe in the early morning light tapping away in a quiet house. Here, in this moment, I can be open to whatever this blog post has to offer. I'm imagining you, whoever you are, reading these words, and I am in this conversation—open, willing, honest—which is the heart of all good writing.

You WILL get through this. The words will flow again, you will again fall in love with a story. Keep going. xo