Challenging Self
It has happened again. Is it permanent? The mere thought has sent shivers down the spine!
Yes, I am not able to write.
I tried the whole day…no… a few hours actually, thinking, imagining and writing some 100 words for the phrase prompt at BAR.
And the result?
Well, if those words were written on paper, I would have crinkled it into a ball and thrown in the far corner of the room. Since, that was not the case and it was my beloved laptop which had those obnoxious 100 words, I merely pulled my hair in frustration.
The guilt of having not written a single word on my blog since the last nine days is overwhelming me. I have signed up for the April A to Z Challenge and with the current state of mind, I have half a mind of pulling out of it. But the other half is the reason I am here today. It is pushing me, challenging me and look, I have taken the bait!
I have given myself 10 minutes to do a free write and get done with a post. And I am determined to do these free writes till I actually get into the groove of writing. I am hoping that this will build the momentum and it will help me to push myself and test my limits. Looks like a post is shaping up and I am breathing a bit easily now.
In other news, Aaryan has injured his knee while playing football at school. It’s a ligament tear and a plaster cast has been applied to hold the knee for 3 weeks. He is fine and is able to walk around and is attending his classes at his boarding. But I am stressing about it and harassing the life of the nurse at the school infirmary and the Dorm Matron by calling / pinging them frequently! Thank God for they are nice people and have not blocked my phone number as yet!
Eight minutes are over and I must wrap up this post. Have a early start in the morning, work and travel beckons. Will write another post tomorrow from a hotel room, probably… no definitely!
In the mean time, may I request you to suggest some memes, tips, prompts that my right part of brain (which is currently pretty challenged) can take up easily! TIA!
March 9, 2016 11:17 pm|
Hugs Shilpa. Sorry to hear about Aaryan! Hope he feels better soon.
Have you tried writing to picture prompts? Or how about that site, 365 prompts or something? I need to locate the link. Check out the Daily prompts at WordPress too.Those trigger something. Don’t stress. Things will happen 🙂
March 17, 2016 9:34 am|
Thanks Shailaja. Aaryan is doing good now.
Yes, have been looking at all prompts… but nothing worked. Yeah, fingers crossed, waiting for something to happen 😀
March 10, 2016 12:53 am|
I can understand your state perfectly… I haven’t wrote anything since 2016 started. I try almost everyday, but nothing comes up 🙁 … Have signed in for A-Z, but not sure.
March 17, 2016 9:44 am|
Aah! That’s sad, Sheethal. But then you have had a lot on your plate with marriage et al. Do participate in A to Z, here’s hoping that regular writing will awaken the creative grey cells from slumber for both of us 🙂
March 10, 2016 1:02 am|
Poor Shilpa. I feel for you. I’ve been having the same frustration today. I sit down to write and nothing good comes out. Quite annoying. I’d like to do the A-Z challenge, too, so I hope I can coax the muse to come out of hiding.
I tend to like writing prompt generators. They’re kind of fun to get the imagination revved up.
Here is a fun one to try with different random prompts of different kinds.
http://writingexercises.co.uk/index.php
Let’s encourage each other to write something. Want to be accountable to each other and check to see what we wrote each day? I find that helps me to check in with someone. I’ve been getting rather slack with my fiction lately. I only seem to produce if I know I have a deadline looming.
So sorry to hear about your son’s accident. That’s a worry for sure. Hope it heals quickly. Kids are so resilient and usually heal much quicker than we adults, that’s for sure. All the best to him and you, too! 😛
March 17, 2016 9:50 am|
Thank you so much for sharing your tips and suggestions, Cathy! The Writing Exercises is so wonderful. Have bookmarked it and will use it. And I so like the idea of checking with each other… that would give the necessary nudge/push and motivation to write.
Thanks a lot for your kind wishes, yes, Aaryan is feeling better. True… while I was fretting about things for him at school, he was cool about it and was telling not to worry and just relax! 😛
March 10, 2016 1:29 am|
Glad to know it was just a minor injury and he has not let it stop him!
I think your idea of free-writing is a good one! Even memes or prompts can cause us to freeze!!
March 17, 2016 9:53 am|
Yes, thank God for that. He is attending his classes and doing everything. So, that’s a relief. Agree with you… free writes work better than prompts. The thing is that I am actually struggling because I was focusing on prompts. A free write allows the words to flow without any barrier!
March 10, 2016 7:03 am|
This may be a duplicate comment. I was in the middle of one when my daughter jiggled the cord from the computer to the power strip. :/
Glad to hear that your son is up and about. I think parents feel worse when their kids are ill/injured than if they were the ones ailing; I know it’s true about me.
Some of my first link-ups are hosted at Create With Joy. They run Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Some random ideas:
-A to Z writing prompts
-A to Z boy names and meanings
-A to Z girl names and meanings
-A to Z travel destinations
-A to Z character sketches (the A to Z being their first initial)
March 17, 2016 9:55 am|
I agree with you. We are over protective and over concerned parents. But kids are better at handling exigencies. Thanks for sharing so many ideas, LuAnn. Appreciate your support!
March 10, 2016 7:59 am|
Sorry to hear about Aaryan. Hugs!
Try photo posts, micro blog Mondays – they help. Also the Sunday Stealing Meme is a good 🙂 Always there Shilpa – ping me and we can talk about a topic. It’s easier to write together!
March 17, 2016 9:56 am|
Thanks Parul. He is better now. Thanks for sharing the prompt ideas… will try them. Loved the idea of writing together. Will ping you for that. Hugs back to you 🙂
March 10, 2016 9:05 am|
Hi
Ligament tear can be pretty painful. My mother had it but the recovery is supposed to be a lot more faster and easier in kids and the younger lot.As for prompts why not about ligament tears? Or tips to cleaning ones home ( or say kitchen) . Or watch a movie and write a review.
March 17, 2016 9:57 am|
Yeah, it was painful earlier, but he is walking fine without any pain now. Hmmm… that’s some food for thought. Thanks for sharing, Jayashree 🙂
March 10, 2016 9:47 am|
I hope Aryan is better already. Of course the writing slump isn’t permanent. You’re a veteran at this Shilpa. See if this helps..
– Kids come to my mind most so you could try writing about Aryan, his school, people who help him there. OR what you do when he’s home. You could write about how your schedule changes when he’s home (With your cleanliness OCD, this should make for a good read :-))
– Or you could try an If only… prompt.
– Or remember we used to do ‘Letters unsent”? Try writing a letter to a younger/older you.
– If you cannot get going at all try a gratitude post.
And here’s more help – 365 prompts from wordpress. Not sure if this is the latest one but the prompts are pretty good. https://dailypost.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/365-days-of-writing-prompts-1387477491.pdf
Come now I’m waiting. Or I’ll report you to Godma in her pointy shoes.
March 17, 2016 10:00 am|
Thank you Tulika. Aaryan is good now. His plaster will come off in a couple of days now.
Veteran… I am having serious doubts on my capabilities! I wonder what and how I wrote so much all these years! 🙄
Now those are some ideas… have listed them in a file and will pick them up and write on these topics real soon. Thanks for your support, Tulika… appreciate and love it 🙂
March 10, 2016 9:51 am|
Aaryan will be fine soon, Shilpa. Don’t get too worried, everything will be fine. He is walking around, and will soon be back to normal! 🙂
As for the blog, I would suggest not writing till you feel perfectly okay. Maybe it’s the stress about Aaryan that’s giving a subconscious block? So take a break for some time, don’t force yourself to write. Read a lot, and if ideas pop into your brain, jot them down quickly and don’t pursue it. Let the idea stew for some time. Trust me, once you finally feel like picking up the quill and writing, those ideas will come flowing back and you’ll be the same Shilpa as before!
Why do I know this? Because I too had gone on a forced blog hiatus for four months, and I couldn’t manage to make time to write at all. Exhausting exams! But now that I’m back, I can slowly recollect the ideas and do justice to them.
Patience bears fruit, so do wait this phase out. In the mean time, keep yourself updated with what’s going on in the blogging sphere, and keep calm! 🙂
March 17, 2016 10:02 am|
Thanks a lot, Mithila for your kind words. Yes, Aaryan is getting better.
Hmmm…. your ideas have a lot of merit… should get going with them soon, thank you Mithila for your inputs. Appreciate them 🙂
March 10, 2016 3:17 pm|
Hey Shilpa, hope that Aaryan is doing fine.. Hugs to you 🙂
And about writing, believe me A to Z will automatically gear you up every day.. and for now, I think lot of suggestions are already up there and you can pick any of them.. Hope to see you back soon 🙂
Cheers
March 17, 2016 10:03 am|
Thanks a lot, Geetika. Looking forward to a lot of action post these tips and suggestions. Hugs back to you 🙂
March 10, 2016 3:20 pm|
Hi Shilpa, hugs to you and felt so much at home reading your post; because I am sailing in the same boat… responding to so many issues at home and at work place.. I would say just relax …. you are a brilliant blogger and a great inspiration to so many other bloggers.. whatever has happened and is happening .. be aware and affirm yourself …distract yourself…. this too shall pass… and if possible like on of your friend said write a post on gratitude…. am sending you my prayers shilpa and I am sure all will be well at your end.. take care, love
March 17, 2016 10:05 am|
Hugs, Genevive. Thank you so much for your kind words. They are so uplifting and inspiring! Appreciate your support 🙂
March 10, 2016 3:58 pm|
Wishing Aryan speedy recovery shilpa!…Don’t worry, writing will happen, you will ace the challenge.Good luck to you and hope to read the post from your hotel room. for tips, make it like a daily diary or take up some childhood memories, i am sure we have plenty of them.
March 17, 2016 10:06 am|
Thank you Asha. Aaryan is showing a good recovery.
Hope to break this barrier to writing real soon. Thanks for being there, Asha! 🙂
March 10, 2016 4:16 pm|
Hey Shilpa, Don’t worry so much and don’t put so much pressure on yourself..It will come..Just a phase…Okay , here’s a prompt from me..Why don’t you write about the doubts or questions in your mind when you found out you were pregnant..I would love to know…
March 17, 2016 10:08 am|
Thank you so much for your sweet words, Nabanita!
Doubts/questions when i was pregnant… that’s interesting and will make me travel down the memory lane too… will think and write about it! 🙂
March 18, 2016 4:43 am|
I can sense that restlessness. I have not updated my blog for past many months (dont even remember how many)
I was thinking of signing up for A-Z Challenge but before that I am gearing up for it since last time I couldnt write a single post.
I wish you best luck with your writing. You come out with very unique and short posts each year and this time too you will complete this challenge wonderfully 🙂
March 31, 2016 1:55 am|
Signing up for A to Z is a great way to give a boost to your writing. I am hoping to achieve that too. Thanks Shesha, need all the good wishes for writing and good luck to you too. Let’s rock the April challenge. Cheers 🙂