A Writer's Drought?

 

We are staying the month on Vancouver Island, near Nanoose Bay. This picture shows the cove just a 6-minute walk down the hill. Despite daily news of wildfires all through Canada, and the aftermath of the devastating fires in Hawaii, here, the air is clear blue and the temperatures are averaging about 70F. So, of course, I feel a mix of guilty and gratefulness as I watch the deer come down out of the forest to graze on the golf course just outside our patio.

And we did escape the high temperatures and smoky air back home in Spokane. At least for this month. I still remember those drought restrictions in San Francisco so long ago. The water shortage was so bad, we could only flush the toilet once a day. Ewww! Somehow, we all survived. Yet, it's hard to watch those firemen and those voracious fires that are increasingly so difficult to stop.

I also thought of a writer's drought. When do we simply stop writing and cannot seem to start again?

Actually, we could see a writer's drought as somewhat of an ebb and flow, for we do persevere. Sometimes the story itself carries us on. Sometimes a morning's reflection brings new ideas, new images, or new words.

Sometimes writing a poem, even a haiku, short and disciplined, nurtures our creativity. That's one reason I do like writing challenges -- such as NaNoWriMo (the challenge to write 50,000 words in one month), or WEP's Flash Fiction challenge every other month (that's Write...Edit...Publish...).

Sometimes belonging to a writing group or having a writing partner to share new words with brings helpful feedback and new understandings. Either can be a rare gift.

If you have ever encountered a writer's drought, what strategies or events brought you back to writing?

Meanwhile, I will return to the patio, to sit in the swinging chair, to watch the deer, and simply reflect on this complex and still beautiful gift of life.

Image from Ignited Moth