There is No Decaf in Writing
Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 10:25AM By Genae Girard
Eagerly waking up this morning I found myself brimming with that type of energy a writer craves but has a limited window to use effectively. As I meandered my way down the chilly hallway, I was horrified to see that the coffee that I had purchased at Target was sporting a tiny little green flag of the word “decaf”.
As I heard the theme of the movie “Psycho” in my head, you know the one where the knife is thrust multiple times in the shower, I thought’ “is decaf, really a barrier to the tapping on my keyboard?” I started mulling over the process of how I start writing.
1) I bust a move on my computer. I usually start with a main topic and even if it is just random thoughts, that creative outpouring is important to my mental healing process. I can always go back and organize or tweak the order of my thoughts.
2) I have started talking to my iphone. Yes, the voices in my head have become more pronounced with the new “Siri”. When a topic pops into my head, or I see something worth writing about, I make a quick voice note in the recorder.
3) Make sure you are interested in what you are writing about. Passion behind the words makes it flow a lot easier, and the purpose will covert to energy on the page.
4) Step back from your high standards. Writer’s block comes from a fear of what we “think our standards should be.” The more you let it flow, the better off you will be.
Writing has helped me heal immensely during this breast cancer journey. The externalization of fear and encouragement through written humor spawned my book, “Off the Rack”. There are a number of woman warriors in Beyond the Boobie Trap writing books. We will be featuring many of them in the near future. I believe everyone has a book inside and it is such a unique expression of who we are. Maybe more importantly, it is who we want to be.
Genae Girard is the creator of the breast cancer site www.BeyondtheBoobieTrap.com She is the author of the breast cancer book, “Off the Rack.” For coaching assistance on writing and affordable ways to get your book published, email her at info@BeyondtheBoobieTrap.com