Our Emotions Kill Our Creative Edge
It's Time To Take A Step Back and Breathe
As writers, we let our emotions control us. Even though we have a solid foundation and stability, it doesn’t matter. We allow those feelings to well up. Then it happens. A little insecurity sets in, even though we strive to enhance our craft. But, like the “Four of Cups” shows, our passion gets the best of us. No matter what we write, we can’t see the light. Even when the idea presents itself from divine inspiration, we refuse to move forward. The pity party mentality sets in.
And I know we’ve all been there.
We visualize the perfect ending to the piece, but for whatever reason, it doesn’t work. It doesn’t fit. We grab our dictionaries. Our thesauruses, and start changing words, sentences, and paragraphs. We force the ending because we refuse to give up. We saw the closing as clear as day. It worked. To us, the celebration had already occurred. We released the masterpiece into the world for all to read.
But even with all the changes, it only drives us back to the drawing board. Now our temper’s flair and disappointment consumes our every minute. We’ve blocked ourselves from completion.
So, what do we do? We let the dust settle and come to our senses. All those preconceived notions, erased from existence. We let our minds relax and clear the air. Then clarity enters once more. And this time, we’ll receive the fourth cup, instead of sulking in self-pity.
Now that we’ve accepted this simple lesson of walking away and resting our minds, we move forward with grace. Because, as we learned, with rest comes ideas. And those ideas flourish into prose we never imagined. The Four of Wands materializes, and celebration overflows. The final edit and a submission to our favorite magazine become a reality.
The next time we let our emotions rule over us, remember the simple lesson. Stop, walk away, and get outside. Then relax and clear the mind. Once we return, it’s the finish line.
Happy writing, everyone. I can’t wait to read what everyone conjures up.
Thank you for reading!
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