What does it take to get you writing? 5 things that get my tuchas in the chair when I don’t want to write

November 2, 2015beccakinla advice, writing, writing process Tags: advice, blahs, deadline, fall, sad, winter, writer, writer's block, writing, writing group, writing process Leave a comment

It didn’t even wait until Fall Back: I’ve been in the dragging, low-creativity state that usually hits me at this time of year for weeks already. It’s not really full-blown SAD, thank G-d, but it’s more a fog in which I feel low-energy and short on ideas. My mood’s okay, just kinda blah. I don’t feel like doing much except curl up with a book and eat chocolate and hang out with Mr. Klempner.

When this feeling first hit, the week after Sukkos, I had so many appointments (long delayed check-ups, for example) and errands I’d put off until after the holidays (new headbands, anyone?) that I didn’t have much time to sit down and write. But after a week or two, those things were taken care of, and I had time to sit at the computer.

Nothing doing. I felt limp. Sleepy. About as creative as a stone.

I’m still feeling that way this week, but today, I was shockingly productive. Why?

Because being a writer is about writing. And the number one way to write is to just stick your tush in the chair and do it.

5 Things That Get My Tuchas in the Chair When I Don’t Really Feel Like Writing: Continue reading →

Journaling exercise: confronting whatever is keeping you from writing, in writing

March 23, 2015beccakinla journal, writer's block, writing, writing exercise, writing process Tags: choke, confront, exercise, fear, journal, journaling, perspective, problem, relax, sian beilock, writer's block, writing, writing process 3 Comments

So, as I mentioned a few posts ago, I’ve got some personal issues going on at the moment that held up my writing for a while. Basically, I wrote no new fiction for three weeks, and very little of anything else printable, which for some people sounds like nothing, but for me was pretty traumatic. About half the time, my brain felt like mush. The other part of the time, I felt anxious and stressed-out — which is not a state in which I can be very creative. I spent inordinate amounts of time alternating between staring at blank Word Docs and spacing out in front of article after article instead of writing anything of my own.

Anyway, one day last week, I was feeling particularly stressed out and recalled something I’d read about before about “writing away stress.” Continue reading →

Most writers procrastinate. But why?

February 18, 2014beccakinla advice, authors, preparing, writer, writing, writing process Tags: article in Atlantic, bright, challenge, delay, distraction, effort, excuses, fear of failure, gifted, praise, procrastination, psychology, put off, school, schooling, talent, why, writer, writer's block, writers 4 Comments

My best friend and fellow writer, Cy, sent me a link to an article in the current Atlantic about why writers are infamous procrastinators. Read it here and tell me what you think. And don’t forget to include the reasons you procrastinate in your comment. Personally, it took a relative taking me aside and disabusing me of the notion that talent is the source of success (or even deserves any praise). But my current biggest barrier to writing is poor time management. I tend to pick distractions or less important writing tasks over the more serious ones.

Exploring other media to conquer writer’s block

February 6, 2014February 3, 2014beccakinla advice, art project, frustration, poem, poetry, writer, writing, writing implements, writing process Tags: art, bad day, blahs, blues, blurry, brain, collage, conquer, creative, creativity, fix, frustration, fuzzy thinking, media, multimedia, nervous, overcome, poem, poetry, project, reboot, snap out of it, trick, trickery, writer, writer's block, writing 3 Comments

So, earlier this week, I had a case of the blahs. I suppose I didn’t technically have writer’s block–the problem was more that I didn’t want to do anything, not that I couldn’t write–but the results were the same.

My muddle

My best friend phoned. I told her my sad story. I didn’t want to write. I felt uncreative and just foggy in the head. She suggested I do something different, maybe go for a walk. Just don’t even try to write. Reboot.

The way out

For some reason, I’ve been getting back into art gradually over the last year. As a child and teen, I loved art, but like many people quit when I realized my mediocrity.

My collage poem.

I’ve been taking a lot of photos lately, even framing them and displaying them in my home. I’ve done a bit of sketching, as well, although that tends to send me back to a place where all I see is my lack of skill instead of getting pleasure from exercising what skill I have.

Anyway, after my phone call, I was itching to make a collage. I didn’t give into the itch right away, but as my kids settled in for homework this evening, I grabbed a couple magazines and a pair of scissors. Continue reading →

Seeing the world through a writer’s eyes

March 11, 2013April 5, 2013beccakinla advice, authors, how to write, writer, writing, writing process Tags: agatha christie, analysis, awareness, creativity, detail, funny, how to write, humor, literature, meditation, method, mindful, observation, relax, religion, sensory, silas house, spirituality, stuck, taking things in stride, write, writer, writer's block, writing Leave a comment

I’ve been thinking a little bit more about my theme of a couple posts ago, “how to be funny.”

A good jester will find humor in any situation, not just those that are obviously funny.

One of the steps to writing funny is seeing funny all around you. You can look at almost any situation and find something funny in it if you relax and try to experience it through calm, judgment-free observation.

A few months ago, someone (it might have been Erika Dreifus) pointed out this opinion piece by Silas House in the N.Y. Times:

We are a people who are forever moving, who do not have enough hours in the day, but while we are trying our best to be parents and partners, employees and caregivers, we must also remain writers.

There is no way to learn how to do this except by simply doing it. We must use every moment we can to think about the piece of writing at hand, to see the world through the point of view of our characters, to learn everything we can that serves the writing. We must notice details around us, while also blocking diversions and keeping our thought processes focused on our current poem, essay or book.

This way of being must be something that we have to turn off instead of actively turn on. It must be the way we live our lives.

Some people take this kind of remote observation a bit far. Silas House argues that the majority of a writer’s mind should be working on literary pursuits at any given time. I’d disagree. I try to turn this part of my brain off on Shabbat, during conversations with loved ones, and on date night, too. The key is not to remove yourself entirely from life around you, but to be able to see it calmly with a portion of your mind at will.

But that doesn’t mean that when on a stroll with my kids and I’m admiring your garden that I’m not noting which flowers are in bloom at this season so I can work them into the setting of my work in progress.

There’s a story Continue reading →

Coming clean: sometimes you’re supposed to do housework instead of writing

January 15, 2013January 16, 2013beccakinla advice, authors, family, frustration, how to write, mother, writer, writing, writing process Tags: author, awareness, break, clean, cleaning, dishes, family, friend, God, housework, idea, laundry, mess, mom, mother, motherhood, no housekeeper, opportunity cost, space, stay-at-home, stuck, time management, visit, work, work from home, write, writer, writer's block, writing Leave a comment

G-d wanted me to do the dishes this morning.

I finished a large-ish writing project yesterday, then pulled open another document to begin the next assignment. I got the first paragraph written, and then every ounce of creativity in my brain dried up. Okay, I had a couple ideas, but they weren’t RIPE. More like literary fetal tissue than the next baby ready to be birthed.

Those who know me or who regularly read my blog know that I rarely get writer’s block. I usually have more ideas in my mind than really is good for me. Sometimes I can’t sleep at night, because my mind is so busy that the ideas are dripping out my ears.

See this immaculate kitchen? Clearly not mine.

I spent the rest of yesterday taking care of my kids, feeding them and hubby (not to mention myself), and finishing Bird by Bird. (More on that later this week.) Then I had a Tiferes meeting, but before I left, I checked my email. A girlfriend would be dropping by Tuesday morning.

Oh, no.

You see, my back had been out, and then there had been Shabbos, and then I was writing on a “finish ASAP–please!” type deadline. Result–my house was a wreck. Continue reading →

Rebecca Klempner

Author page of Rebecca Klempner

writer’s block

What does it take to get you writing? 5 things that get my tuchas in the chair when I don’t want to write

Journaling exercise: confronting whatever is keeping you from writing, in writing

Most writers procrastinate. But why?

Exploring other media to conquer writer’s block

My muddle

The way out

Seeing the world through a writer’s eyes

Coming clean: sometimes you’re supposed to do housework instead of writing

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My muddle

The way out

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