{"id":1743,"date":"2022-07-11T19:02:59","date_gmt":"2022-07-12T02:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/?p=1743"},"modified":"2022-07-11T19:11:36","modified_gmt":"2022-07-12T02:11:36","slug":"getting-back-into-the-writing-swing-of-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2022\/07\/getting-back-into-the-writing-swing-of-things\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting back into the (writing) swing of things"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

June was stressful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s only so much upheaval, change, and spur-of-the-moment this Gold, chaotic-good, INTJ-Architect can handle before she blows her top. And said top t’was blown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took me about two weeks to settle in mentally to the new house. It wasn’t the constant beep-beep-beep<\/em> of construction vehicles, nor the endless boxes, or the equally endless bear sightings that did me in. Nope. It was the fact that I couldn’t (and still can’t) find my UV nail polish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Well #$%^! How am I supposed to get home now? (photo: author)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I know, right? Even I think it sounds silly to blame my mental health on nail polish. But here we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A sample of my nail polish collection. (photo: author)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A long time ago, in a province far, far away, I discovered that the key to wicking away my anxiety was to focus on doing my nails<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, I know, right? Anxiety is weird that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not being able to sit down and focus on the one thing I knew could keep my anxiety at bay made me even more anxious. I won’t bore you with the details, but as mentioned earlier, it took me almost two weeks to settle in once we moved summer of 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Truer words have never been spoken. . . or written in chalk. (photo: author)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once the ‘settle in’ took hold, the writing bug came back. You see, I typically thrive off my daydreaming and imagination to figure out plot points, character development, and world-building. However, mundane tasks such as cleaning or organizing produced nothing during those two weeks. Like, a literal black hole. Even at night when I’d try to dream, I’d be able to focus for a minute or two, then\u2026 nothing. It was so frustrating. I wanted to write but I couldn’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew what was getting in the way, so out of desperation, I went online and bought some nail polish. It took two days to arrive, but once I did, I sat down, did my thing, and came back with a fresh manicure. It mani-cured <\/em>what blocked my writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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You don’t actually want to see a picture of my nails, do you? (photo: author)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here I sit, shaking my head. My mental health is all in <\/em>my head, and I know what, but what’s even worse, is that my brain is more stubborn than I am. Who knew. Paint nails equals creative block lifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Camp NaNoWriMo<\/a> is just around the corner, and what better way to firm up that writing need with a goal to meet. I tend to work best when there’s a goal to hit, rather than just sitting at my computer and pounding away at the keys like some deranged woodpecker until a story comes out. Although I don’t plan to work on a single novel, I do plan to crank out another 50,000 words to make up for writing almost nothing for June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The urge to write is once again coming out of hiding. The ideas are flowing. Between the boxes and the mess, I’m carving out my writing time and creating a few new habits and routines. Being in my own place and having my own space definitely put a cramp in my writing style. I look forward to pounding away at the keyboard again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until next time,<\/p>\n\n\n\n