by Ruth O’Neil
Have you ever experienced a time in your life when it was almost impossible to write? If I were to be completely honest, I’m there right now. Circumstances in my life are threatening to overtake me and run me down. Writing has been difficult for the last six months. It isn’t that I don’t have the desire to write, but when I try to make time to sit down to write, my brain is often too tired to think.
All writers have bouts with unproductive times. It can be writer’s block, another job, raising a family, business, or, like me, simply the inevitable circumstances of life.
I may not be doing a lot in the way of publishable writing, but I am still putting at least some words to paper. Besides little projects and assignments here and there, I am writing things down in my journal. I am writing down my feelings of what is going on around me. I give voice to the angry rant that will never be published as is.
I also began writing down my prayers in a separate journal. It doesn’t really take much more time to write down my prayers than it does to speak them out. In some ways, it takes less time because I’m more focused – my mind has a tendency to wander.
While I’m not journaling with the intentions of using those words in my writing, it doesn’t mean I can never use any of it, once I’m far enough removed from my present circumstances, that is. Maybe I can use the topic. Maybe I’ve captured enough of my own raw emotions that I can relay that to my readers later.
In the midst of not being very productive in my writing, I am still writing. If sometime you find yourself unable to write anything of real value, jot down your thoughts and feelings in a journal. Write down details of the circumstances surrounding you. Cry out to God using your pen.
You never know, someday you may be able to actually use it to help someone else.
About the Author:
Ruth O’Neil has been writing for over 20 years. She has published hundreds of articles in numerous publications. She loves to touch the emotions when she writes. “If I can make one person laugh or cry, I’ll consider myself successful.” Her first novel “Come Eat at My Table” has just come out in ebook form and can be purchased on her website. She homeschools her three children (well, one now, as two have graduated). She and her husband have been married for 20-plus years. In her spare time she enjoys quilting, crafting, and reading. You can visit her on her blog at ruths-real-life (dot)blogspot.com or her website at ruthoneil (dot)weebly.com