In one of my latest posts, I spoke of the creative reservoir. Not
everyone will believe in this concept, but let me offer this as a thought
process at least.
Each person has a creative reservoir within them. Some chose
to use it for home décor, woodworking, painting, or sculpting. We chose to use
ours towards writing. Here’s the thing. The reservoir is not bottomless, nor is
it able to replenish itself easily.
Let me talk a little about how we drain the reservoir. For
writers, it’s easy, really. We write.
Other issues will also create blocks and drains on that
reservoir. Stress tends to lock the flow down to a trickle. Extreme emotional
times will either back things up or will unleash a flood that drains the
supplies in a matter of days, if not hours. Breaking your everyday routine
tends to create a difficulty tapping the supplies as well.
Okay, so that’s how we drain it. Now how do we refill it?
Here is where it varies from person to person. For a lot of
writers, reading helps refill their creative juices. It gives them a chance to
relax, to consider other options for their own writing. Sometimes, if we
isolate ourselves when we write, just getting out into the world to meet people
will have a filling effect. The characters you’ll meet when you leave the
house! Still others will try other forms of creativity, like painting or
photography, to recharge, because it uses a different connection to the
creativity reservoir.
There are some that just require a break from writing to
recharge. This tends to help me, though I admit I read on my days off of
writing. When I say a day off, I don’t mean no writing gets done. You have to
write emails for the bill paying job, perhaps a grocery list, definitely a
honey to do list. Writing is still done, just not the creative burst that most
of us do. For nonfiction writers, perhaps they take time away from the
nonfiction to write fiction. It has been known to happen.
Another good recharge concept I’ve crossed is the writers’
group. This can fulfill two jobs. One, it gets you in touch with other people
and two, it allows you to bounce plot ideas off like minded people. Completed
stories/chapters can receive editing work while you try to refill that
creativity well, which the writing group would offer you as support.
In fact, that’s a good way to end this. How do you recharge
your writing batteries?