Struggling with Your Writing: The Reason for Your Slump
Meg, the creator of Novelty Revisions, a platform dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words, is encouraging writers to push beyond their comfort zones to overcome creative slumps.
Meg, a freelance writer and an eight-time NaNoWriMo winner, has had work published in Teen Ink, Success Story, Lifehack, and USA TODAY College. She believes that the root cause of a writing rut is not what one is doing wrong, but what they are not doing enough of.
To stimulate creativity and challenge oneself, Meg suggests several key strategies. Writing without self-judgment, even if the output is "bad," can unlock creativity. Varying your writing setting can refresh your mindset. Building a regular writing routine strengthens discipline, which ultimately helps push through slumps regardless of inspiration.
Specific techniques to stimulate creativity and challenge yourself include writing freely and without editing first, using creative prompts or writing from different perspectives, switching projects temporarily, outlining in advance, eliminating distractions, building connections with other writers or readers, and committing to routine writing.
Daring to test one's own limits as a creator can lead to positive results, although they may vary for everyone. Writing or working on challenging tasks can help in personal growth. Meg suggests challenging oneself by posting once every two weeks on a blog requiring in-depth research and careful planning. Another suggestion is writing and publishing an essay that may receive negative comments.
Meg also emphasises the importance of pushing oneself for growth and success in the writing world. Avoiding challenges and staying comfortable can lead to stagnation in writing abilities. Every writer needs a challenge to keep them going. Meg encourages writers to challenge themselves by writing a novel featuring a main character with beliefs they do not support.
Meg's Twitter handle is available for followers interested in writing, food, and nerdy things. For those seeking success, they should push themselves beyond their current limits in storytelling. Writing can become too easy, leading to confusion between boredom and disinterest in writing. If one is experiencing doubt and a lack of motivation in their writing, Meg's strategies and advice may provide a fresh perspective and the motivation needed to break through the rut.
[1] https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_08.htm [2] https://www.annieanderson.net/the-shitty-first-draft/ [3] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-to-write-every-day_us_59460578e4b08c12d0875a5b [4] https://www.thewritelife.com/5-tips-to-overcome-writers-block/ [5] https://www.thebalancecareers.com/10-ways-to-overcome-writers-block-2061532
Meg suggests that writers can stimulate their creativity and challenge themselves by engaging in personal growth through techniques such as writing without self-judgment, varying writing settings, building a regular writing routine, and using creative prompts or writing from different perspectives. She also encourages writers to push their limits by posting in-depth research blogs, publishing essays that might receive negative comments, writing a novel featuring a main character with opposing beliefs, and reading works by authors who have different perspectives on education-and-self-development and personal-growth, as exemplified by her own reading interests in food, nerdy things, and the work of successful writers found on [1], [2], [3], [4], and [5].
