How Writing Can Be of Benefit.
1. Writing Inspiration
Writing inspiration can come from so many different places. It can come from talking with a friend, listening at a coffee shop, hearing spoken word poetry, or reading a billboard I drive by, but no matter what writing can be a cathartic act for you. Before I started writing I kept hearing voices in my head. I would see people out and imagine their whole life playing out in my mind. I would imagine what they would say at dinner together or in the car alone. I brought those thoughts into my stories. I would fill in the blanks with my imagination. The voices then took over and I built up characters. Soon a story line would appear before me. Once written down the voices stopped, at least until the next person or couple appeared, and my mind wandered again. These inspirations then turned into short stories for me.
2) Resolutions
Free writing allows conversations I hear to play out on my page. Sometimes happy conversations, sometimes sad ones, but writing allows me to process all the emotions on the page. Hearing others sometime sets off something in us that needs to be processed into something concrete, which allows you to write out how you feel about the situation. If you have a difficult time deciding something to write in a short story you can think see how your characters would deal with the issue at hand. Then you realize in your words you now have your solution. In allowing your subconscious time to write without censorship you then realize that you now have your answer to the problem you are trying to figure out.
3) Journal Writing
Journal writing is helpful in sorting out feelings. If you are trying to figure out how you feel about some situation in your life, then I suggest bullet points in your journal. Write for a set time and dump every thought, feeling, emotions, down on the page. Perhaps about something you did not like, someone I met that I did not care for, my beliefs about something; whatever it is. I just do it until my head is empty. It frees up space in my brain, so I can now focus on the main points I need to deal with in my life and be centered, present, and ready. Usually after this type of writing I feel a change is coming. It could be a new goal for me, it could be for me to join a group, it could be writing a piece on something and submit to a new writing platform. This writing allows me to focus on what I really want to do without all the noise in your head.
4) Writing allows sanity.
In the book The Artist Way, by Julia Cameron, she suggests writing morning pages daily, but morning writing for you may not work for you. Perhaps your mind is on the fact that dishes need to be put up, trash needs to go out, you need to cook breakfast and the list goes on, but if we take her idea of morning pages and we move them to whatever time we want to write our pages, I believe the concept of just writing it out without stopping, for a set time, allows our minds to be free to just write without judgement, without edits, without our minds interfering in our work. She calls this Stream of Consciousness writing. Try it and free yourself of your writing rules and just write. Great ideas come when we open ourselves to let our thoughts flow.
5)Written Words
Writing words down matters. Writing allows us to remain on this earth once we are gone. The words we write matter even if it is just to our loved ones. Writing helps put emotions into words. It conveys what we thought, felt, were dealing with. It shows the world that we were here, we wrote, we felt, we spent time capturing our worlds in word for others. Words can help you move through grief, help you figure out solutions to what is bothering you, and allows you to remain a sane person. Writing can do so much for you. It can open your heart so you can share your struggles in life with another human. If you are having mental health issues, writing about it and sharing is scary, but when you get feedback saying you are not alone, the words are heard in your heart. Written word is a gift that you can use to help others heal. They are a benefit to all who write and read them. Writing allows your head to stay on straight. It gives you the power to have an open heart, and words flow out to be of benefit to someone else who needs to hear them.
6) Hope
Writing is so much more than words; it is ideas come to life on the page. It is giving someone hope with what you write, it is saying to others, you are not alone in your struggles. It is writing, editing, and revising, but it also a process of emotions. Words can help you in ways you never thought could be possible. In times of grief, write, in times of hope, write, in times, in times, in times, write, write, write! Putting the words down allows us to see our feelings come alive before our eyes. It puts our emotions on the page, so that we can deal with what life throws at us. Writing is indeed cathartic! May it be of benefit to you to write down what you see, hear, and feel! Hope is just a word but carries such a large meaning. Imagine what you can do with your words and do it!
7) Submitting your writing
Being vulnerable to share your words can be terrifying. When my first editor said to fix almost my whole article I was crushed. I am brave enough to admit it. I may have even cried a bit and thought this writing and sharing is not for me and it may not be for you, until it is. At some point most of us want to share, to be of benefit to others, to say I went through this, you are not alone. Sharing your heart takes beaucoup courage. Hitting send to any on or offline publication is scary. Finding the right place to send our story too is key to success. We would not send a poem to a publication what only takes short stories. Take the time to research places before submitting. When we write, it is for the reader to read. Even if we just share it with a loved one. Taking what we poured from out heart onto the page and sending it to someone to evaluate it, because that is what they are doing, is frightening. My finger has lingered on the submit button for more minutes than I thought were possible. We think we have a good article, we think we nailed it, we hit send, after a period, we get the no thank you, your piece is not right for our publication or thank you for submitting we would love to publish you. Either way, may I encourage you to hit submit today!
