Hello Internet!
I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe and healthy. Here in the United States, the pandemic seems to be worsening once again with a third wave and record numbers, so I’m trying even more to stay safe. I’m quarantining when I can, I’m continuing to wear my mask, and I’m staying away from anyone and everyone! This week’s Weekly Blog is going to be a bit of a shorter one because I’ve hit a bit of a creative slump recently and that’s what I’m going to be talking about. I don’t know if it’s really that interesting but I’m not really sure what else to talk about, so I’m just going to write about how I can’t write. Before I get to that, I should quickly talk about the pieces I published this past week. Last Sunday I talked about The 2020 Presidential Election. I know that politics isn’t for everyone, especially for my international audience, so I understand that this Weekly Blog might not be for you. But if you are interested I gave a little bit of my insight into the result of the election and what it means for our country going forward. Then on Friday, I published the latest chapter in my Dungeons and Dragons inspired series, Finding The Prince. Prince Riffen has been kidnapped by a group of criminals and our group of adventurers is risking it all to find him. We are nearing this mini-arc and I’m excited to see where the series goes. Catch up if you haven’t already.
Ok so what is going on with me? Well first I should say that I plan on writing and publishing content on here for years to come. I’m not stopping now. But if you’ve been following me here on WordPress for awhile, you’ve probably picked up a pattern I have where I have periods of high creativity and motivation and periods of low creativity and motivation. It comes in waves and has a lot to do with how I’m feeling and doing with life stuff. It also usually manifests in a way where I’m good at two of the things I post weekly and the other one suffers. Like I may have a great Weekly Blog and great Poem, but I feel like my Writing Prompt is subpar. Or maybe the Poem is great and the Writing Prompt is great, but then I have nothing to write for the Weekly Blog. Sometimes this results in me writing uninspired pieces or no pieces at all. This past Wednesday I didn’t write a Poem at all because nothing really came to me. Then I struggled hard to come up with a Weekly Blog subject and it just brings me down.
I want to make awesome stuff and I want to grow this positive and creative space on the internet and I want all of you to read my stuff and like it. There’s this level of stress to it which is entirely self-opposed but it’s still there. I don’t write because I make any money from it or I’m somehow forced to it. This schedule of Sunday Weekly Blogs, Wednesday Poetry, and Friday Writing Prompts is set by me and I force myself to try to keep that schedule. I feel like making good stuff at a consistent pace will lead to growth and who knows, one day I may get paid for writing. Isn’t that a crazy dream. But for now, I am just writing for fun and trying to keep my writing skills sharp.
Right now I think I’m in a slump when it comes to creativity and motivation. And looking back on past years, it seems that November always has a dip. I’m not sure exactly why that is. Maybe it’s because October is such a strong month when it comes to Autumn and Spooky themes and November doesn’t have that. Sure I can write a thousand poems about Autumn and falling leaves, but even I recognize that that would be quite repetitive. Without a strong theme, it can be hard to find a good subject matter to write about. Or maybe it’s because November is usually the time when the weather becomes colder, nights become longer, and seasonal depression begins to rise. This year will probably be worse in this department because seasonal depression is going to mix with regular depression and quarantine depression. It’s a terrible trio. A third option could be that it’s more of an end of the year slump. The longer I write, the more ideas I use and when I near the end of the year, it can feel like I’m just running on fumes. I try to take breaks when necessary so I don’t get burnt out, but these only recharge me so much. I still have to force myself to stay motivated and use the creativity I regained during the break.
So what am I going to do about this November slump? Well I’ve recognized a pattern but I’m not sure what to do about it. Right now I’m going to try to push through this bit of writer’s block until Thanksgiving time. I’m going to be taking a break around Thanksgiving like I have in the past and then after that, there will be one final push to finish off the year strong with a great December. will that happen? I hope so, but that’s a lot of reasonability to put on my future self. For now I’ll just say that I’ll try my best to write great content that all of you can enjoy.
Thank you so much for reading that Weekly Blog. I don’t know if it was a good read, but maybe it is helpful to know that writers like me can struggle with motivation and creativity. Or maybe you’re sitting there, reading this, and thinking that I’m being a little too hard on myself. If that’s the case, you are being very kind and I appreciate it. I really do appreciate all the love and support I get from readers, especially during these slumps. If you are new here, this is probably a strange one to read first, but there are a ton of other pieces on WordPress that you can read. You can also Follow me here on WordPress if you want to be a part of the creative and positive environment I’m growing here on the internet.
Thank you again for all the support and I hope you have a wonderful week!
-Allen_The_Writer
Header Photo Credit to Pexels
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Allen The Writer 