Recently, I
attended an online class called Writing Through Life’s Curveballs. The class
was advertised via RWA Notes. Up until recently, I had dealt with several
curveballs of my own, and the course description genuinely piqued my interest.
A multipublished author who had dealt with several crisis of her own facilitated the
one week class. Consequently, the stories shared during the one-week course
were moving and inspiring. The adversity some of the writers faced got me
really thinking about my own challenges.
No matter our
age, cultural background, or social status, we all have those times when life
screams at us, “I don’t care if you have a deadline, a family, a career. Here
comes a curveball!”
Now, without
going into too much detail, I’ll say that I’ve worked through two major
life-altering events in the past six months. Through it all, however, I kept my
obligations: Cared for my loved ones, got dinner on the table, kept the house
clean, and met deadlines. I kept the well-oiled machine running. Yet,
where I needed inspiration and confidence–well, that’s where things suffered.
So much in my life was turbulent and my situation was affecting my writing.
The anti-muse made an unscheduled visit determined to wreak havoc on my
writing life.
Logically, now
it’s the point in the story where I reveal how I rid myself of that annoying
anti-muse for good. Unfortunately, I don’t have such insightful advice
since dealing with a constant anti-muse isn’t easy. What I can tell you is that
it wasn’t until I began addressing my underlying issues that I was able to put
the pieces of my life back together. Little by little I started to write. I
wrote about my current situation and kept it in a journal. All the notes were a
way for me to keep my head in the game at a time when Life’s Curveball was in
charge.
We all have to
get stuff done, day job responsibilities, family commitments, writing
deadlines, but sometimes life forces you to turn away. When this happens
all we can do is to take a step back and reassess our current situation. For
me, I’ve learned to separate tasks and deal with the “must dos” and then deal
with everything else.
The trick to
keeping your sanity is to work through your issues one day at a time. And, try
not to get too discouraged. If you make small strides every day you’ll
soon be on the road to recapturing yourself. And remember, when there’s enough
room in your life the door to creativity will open again.♥
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Maria Cox has a degree in Business
Administration with a Minor in Computer Applications. She also has an
accreditation from the Project Management Institute. Maria has been writing
stories since she was a young girl. She picked up her first romance novel when
she was just eleven years old and has loved the genre ever since. Her first
published novel, WICKED LUSTFUL TALES, was released through Melange Books in October 2013. Maria writes sensual
romance, stories that showcase strong, sassy, and sexy characters. When she’s
not writing, Maria works a technical writer. She lives in Queens, New York.
Please visit her site www.mywritingden.net and/or follow her on Twitter. Maria
is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and a member of RWA/NYC &
RWA Desert Rose. She is also is the past President of the Phoenix Writers Club.
Very nice post. Good advice Maria!
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