It has been demonstrated across a variety of investigations, that writing activities yield a number of intellectual, physiological, and emotional benefits to individuals. These bene- fits include improve memory function, decreased symptomatology, and greater feelings of happiness. -M Cecil Smith, Ph.D.
Although I'm by no means a professional, or published writer, I do love it. I started doing it years ago and I thoroughly enjoyed how far my imagination has taken me with it. I even looked at various ways to which I could improve my imagination, and get me started with fiction. Here are some items that may help get the creativity going if you want to take a look. Good luck trying it, but have fun with it too!
As of now, today; I have several writing projects that need to be edited, and then sent off to be published. I also need to add the little detail, that I have been in this exact same spot for years now. Here are some ideas and items that could help you, if you tried this hobby yourself.
The act of writing itself can reduce stress, which helps improve focus and attention. This is great for those who have a lot to say, and feel like they cant.
It is however essential to Make writing a regular habit in your day to day. One of the best things for me personally is how creative I can be while absorbed in it. It can also keep your brain sharp.
Writing by hand is also shown to increase memory and retention. It can be more fun than typing on a keyboard, but the act of putting pen to paper activates areas of the brain that helps you increase your comprehension.
Writing about feelings can improve mood and give a good healthy sense of well-being. You'd be surprised at what you learn about yourself, and how to organise your feelings while engrossed in this hobby.
I will also share another daft move I made many years ago. I would easily get distracted by a flash idea, and run with that instantly. It didn't even matter about the half finished chapter I was on with a day ago. I just wanted to try out something new to see if it would grab me, and carry me forward. A very good friend of mine is a published author, and a good creator. If they had told me years ago to stick with one idea, and get it done. I would have been a lot better off.
Needless to say, get a notepad and take it with you where ever you go on your day to day. It will a trusted companion when an idea, or a moment of inspiration comes to mind.
I found this on my twitter feed and it is really worth sharing to anyone starting out, or well into the writing hobby. It's great advice, "One of the best ways to get unstuck if you’re uninspired is to just start writing. Anything. It doesn’t matter. Don’t edit, don’t pause, don’t think. Just write. You’ll probably end up with a lot of garbage, but it’ll help you get out of your rut" - Keidi Keating.
Today I found a scrap of lined notepad paper in an old file while cleaning out. It was double sided and contained an idea I had a few years ago for a dystopian science fiction story. Obviously it was written in my untidy hand writing, but once I got it typed up and edited properly, it looked and sounded great. It begins with a group of ragged survivors trudging through a snow covered wilderness in an attempt to reach a large city. I am quite looking forward to spending some more time with this in the coming weeks to see if I can develop it into something.
There is one quote that I really love, and I have paid a lot of attention to it as of late. It goes like this. 'Instead of worrying about what you can't control, shift your energy to what you can create.' This speaks volumes to me, because I get easily inspired and also carried away with different ideas to see how far I can go with them.
I tell you what I do have to share though. Over the years I have been in a lot of old musky bookshops, complete with old tomes locked away, classics that are in need of attention etc. I found this on Amazon, you can almost imagine what it must smell like. It's a soy wax scented candle with the scent of an old bookshop.
Hello once again, it's a new day and I have no shift scheduled today so I thought I'd ad to my ongoing work in progress. What I mean is, I'll be doing some writing, and some editing on here before I head out, I need to a gym session in too. But anyway. I thought Id share this as I am in the progress of making some changes to these bogs (online diaries as they more resemble).
I think a lot of people jump into the writing hobby because they love to escape into the stories they read. The more books they finish, the more they want to try and create they're own portal to another place, away from the realities of everyday life. If you'd like more ideas on what to read next, check this link.
Someone I follow on twitter, a very driven and amazing woman said that Writing is relational. It has a lot to do with who you know, and how important that is. Newbie writers need to be networking all the time, not only online, but locally at any workshop, event, and conference they are invited to.
One of the key things I've found is that writers whether new, or known need to believe in themselves no matter what. Sometimes an internal sense of; 'Yes... I’m on the right path.' is the only thing that stands between your success, and also your failure. So again, believe in your work, and the ideas you come up with.
I need to share this small quoted piece of advice from someone I follow on Twitter, this lady always inspires me in the hobby. "Newer writers can feel like they must write prim & proper. As we learn our place in the writing world, our voice develops. We begin to relax, allowing our personality to mix with the ink & drop to the page. The more we write, the more our voice rises to the top." - Keidi Keating.
Being a part of this hobby, and committing to it, you've got to remember certain truths. Writing a story will take as long as it takes you, that's just normal. You can't plan it's timetable, or know exactly when it's done. There will be changes, there will be swearing, you'll be scrapping off as much as your writing, and then possibly starting over. It's your story so just let it unfold.
What I would really like to do is create my own story within an already existing world. There would of course be references to existing people, places, and timeline events etc. A great example of this is the fantastic Dan Abnett with the Warhammer 40k universe. I have read several of his books and they tie in with that world perfectly. Also, the various authors that have added their own stories to the Cyberpunk 2077 world created by CD Project Red's amazing team of developers, and Mike Pondsmith. Books like Trauma Team, Blackout, Your Voice etc are great little addons to make anyone's time spent in that particular world more in-depth and detail rich. If you do decide on this, always remember to seek your permissions, and do your research where needed before you commit to it.
I ran with the above idea to create my own story within the existing dystopian world of Cyberpunk 2077. It has reached chapter 8 so far and I am quite happy with it. Writing can be intimidating, but only when you think too far ahead to all involved if you wish to share your story. You need to get there first before that begins, so put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard and see how far you get towards that.
There has been many times that I have been unable to focus on my ideas, or continue one of my many story projects. To be absolutely honest, writers block as they call it does not mean you are are experiencing laziness, bad time management or any of the like. It can also be linked to the creator being physically, emotionally and mentally drained. This means that no matter how hard you try, you just cant do it at that moment in time. Do not punish yourself for that, or give up. It is only temporary.
I learned this lesson the hard way, but scanning through social media and doing research for a new or ongoing project is an important part of the writing hobby. It is however, not writing. You must open the notepad, or the blank document and add words, which become sentences, that make up paragraphs, to inevitably become chapters. That is writing, always keep creating.
If you want to be involved with like-minded people, you could also try a writing convention, or something similar. It could potentially be useful to meet other writers, even if in-person events are out of your price range. There could he some that would likely do video conventions and these would be much cheaper. You can also purchase recordings of workshops enabling you to learn in your own time.