Oh my God, Karen, you can't just ask people why they don't write.
I've been putting off writing mainly because I'm boring. There. I said it.When I was in middle school and high school, I wrote a lot. Mainly Harry Potter fan fiction that I never completed, but still, I wrote. I guess somewhere along the way my writing juice dwindled down in college. I turned my focus to more academic writing, and that still hasn't changed. Thinking back on it, my creative writing and my creative thinking has dramatically changed through my college years, I would like to think that I was really creative and imaginative but that has gone away ever since. Was it because of college? Was it because I got older? Was it just because my passion has changed into shorter 140 characters writing instead? I won't know and will never know.
I first started really thinking about this after a good friend kept pushing me to post something on my blog. She is an avid blogger, and when she blogs I always say "ugh, I need to update mine."
Why am I saying "ugh"?!
Few years ago I would be thrilled to even write something, I used to have notebooks full of rambling stuff or swirly writing of names and stories, just ask my mother... Every time I see avid blogger friend posting something, I'm reminded of my neglected blog and feel tempted to write--but I have nothing to write. Or at least I feel like I have nothing.
I have tried so many creative-juicing exercises over the years such as keeping a notepad by my bed, in the bathroom and in the car. I tried setting time aside for blog writing or creative writing. I tried taking notes of my day in my phone, or even typing down something funny/ideas. Nothing worked.
Noticing this change has been surprisingly thoughtful, I'm going through my day thinking about the things I want to write about instead of tweeting them. I'm thinking about the way I can write something instead of making it sound so formal, academic, and boring. Creative writing has become a problem for me, and I never wanted it to become a problem. But there it is, now how do I change it? I think my only answer is to start writing blogs regularly again.
Maybe a push from an avid blogger will help too, won't you help me out too?
Do you have any tips on how to get the creative juices running? How do you maintain your creativity? Do share!
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