By Linda Rettstatt
Many writers, me
included, can be so caught up in writing that we forget to take care of
ourselves. How do we care for and nurture the writer in us? We can get bogged
down with too many projects going on at once and deadlines, deadlines,
deadlines to meet. Our lives become cluttered. I was thinking about this today
as I gazed around my apartment at the physical clutter. It’s hard to tap into
my creative side when I’m surrounded by chaos. So, what do I do? I pack up my
laptop and head to a coffee shop—where I’m surrounded by other people’s chaos.
Sometimes I can tune
that out, but not always. I fall into a trap of non-productivity. Creating and
maintaining a pleasant writing space is only part of caring for ourselves as
writers.
Writing, in itself, is a
solitary venture. I can lean toward becoming a hermit if I’m not careful. Part
of caring for myself is making the time and finding the ways I can connect with
friends, especially with other writers. A few writer friends and I meet every
Thursday night at a local Panera Bread for what we call Authors Unplugged. We
eat, chat, and then each work for about an hour on something (a book, a short
story, editing, etc.). During our conversations, we might brainstorm, talk
about upcoming conferences, and just share what’s going on in our lives.
Another suggestion I
have for those of you engaged in writing is an annual writer’s retreat. Find a
comfortable, affordable place (which is easier if you have a group of four to
six people) and plan your own writer’s retreat weekend. Lesson learned: Do not
spend most of your to-and-from days driving. Look nearby, within a three-hour
or less driving distance. It’s a great way to step back from your routine,
immerse yourself in the writing world, but also take time to relax.
Give yourself a break.
Seriously. No one will do that for you. Step away from the laptop (or whatever
instrument you use for writing). Take a day off and play. Spend time with
family and friends. Don’t become enslaved to your writing that the ‘work’ of
writing takes all the joy out of the process. Remember to laugh with friends,
enjoy a meal with family, and just breathe.
When it comes to the
care and feeding of the ‘I’ in writer, what works for one person might not work
for another. Listen to yourself. Learn the things that nurture and free your
creativity and do more of those things. If you don’t take care of your
writer-self, no one else will.
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Linda Rettstatt is an award-winning author who
discovered her passion for writing after years of working in the human services
field. When she’s not writing, Linda loves travel, nature photography, and figuring
out what makes people tick. Her fantasy is to win the lottery, buy an old
Victorian home on the eastern shore and open a writer’s retreat. While she
waits for that fantasy to materialize (i.e. that miracle to happen), she
continues to live and work in NW Mississippi and to write under the constant
observation of her tuxedo cat, Binky. Visit Linda’s website at www.lindarettstatt.com Twitter: @linda_rettstatt
Facebook: Linda
Rettstatt, Writing for Women
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