Epiphany

Epiphany

It’s just crossed my mind that Ao3 could very well be the modern tower of Babel, what with the amount of stories, cultures, knowledge, creativity, art, languages, talent, and it’s just so freaking awesome!

Pic: The Tower of Babel, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (circa 1563, Rotterdam)

Hi!

If you happen to know someone who writes too, ask them if they’re okay to be your writing buddy 🙂

You don’t need to belong to the same fandom, or write the same kind of stories/tropes/OTP, you just need someone that you can rely on, and that you know relies on you too, to get a little push and help you get started.

Find together two hours at least once a week (two hours is a minimum to get started and have the feeling that you’ve made something at the end), two hours that fit in the middle of your other obligations (and maybe timezones 😋) and well, meet 😊

The most important thing is to sit down to dedicate some time to your writing, and writing is more than actual writing. It also requires thinking, research, inspirational visual or music, editing etc. The sessions can be dedicated to any of these. Just decide what your next session will be about and share it with your buddy as a nice chat to start off (goals/struggles/questions/tips...)

Meet again at the end of your dedicated time (or in the middle) and share what you’ve accomplished (no competition okay? it’s cool)

I’ve had a writing buddy for nearly two months, and it’s really a moment I’m looking forward to every single week 💜

Good luck!

Is there a good way to remind and motivate myself to write? I really love writing, but it's hard to remember to do it often, and sometimes even if I remember to, I don't feel motivated. But I love writing, so I'm at a loss for what to do here.

Give yourself the time to write. Book some time into your schedule that is dedicated writing time. Remove any guilt around needing to do chores or homework or work/family responsibilities. That time is dedicated to writing and that means it’s a shame-free zone. 

Once you have the time to write, the next thing you need to do is make sure that your space is conducive to it. Find a nice place with good lighting and a comfortable area to set up your device. Trying to write while people are talking around you or when you’re too crowded into a corner or where you can’t really see your screen just makes the whole process more difficult. Figure out what you need in order to get into the zone and give yourself those things. 

Finally, write what you actually want to write. If you’re filling prompts for other people or writing things that you think will be popular in the fandom but they aren’t actually interesting to you, that will make it harder to get yourself started. Do a quick warmup of writing whatever it is that you think would be fun. Then, after you’re started, you can switch over to things that are perhaps less inspiring for you. 

Those are my top tips for the day, but what about the rest of you? How do you find your motivation?

He’s literally sunshine in the rain 🌞. Love him so much 🤗

jungkook x carpool karaoke

I bullet journal😊

I haven’t been aware of my attention issues for long, always blaming the amount of work, tasks, deadlines, demands that are invariably being piled up on our desks/brains on the daily. And these factors might have worsened things for sure, but, as for me, the problem was already there from the start. And I need “rebooting” (this word is very accurate) just as often to help me cope with this overwhelming feeling that makes you stop in your tracks and dig your heels in. On top of it, I’m leaning towards the introvert side of the personality spectrum, so this need to reboot goes hand in hand with the need to reconnect with myself, find some inner peace back after being jostled around by the busy, messy outside world and alleviate the anxiety it generates.

If you recognize yourself here, anon, high five! 🖐

Journaling has helped me tons for the past year! Building up your own agenda, quite literally, is one way to control time as you want it. Not only are you in charge of your own schedule, pace, priorities, wishes, but also, the actual creative process is a good excuse to stop what other task you’ve been doing (disconnect), allow yourself a few minutes to take care of your journal (15-20 minutes during which your brain calms down, gets its fill of acetylcholine and reconnects with the rest of you), and get back to what you were doing before. 

It never fails to make me feel better: I feel good because I was able to listen to myself and respect my own nature. I feel good because I managed to decrease my anxiety and maintain some level of efficiency in my work, even if it took longer - if this is the price for doing the task well, so it is. I feel good because I got some control back over my time. I feel good because my bullet is progressing (and it’s pretty because I tend to make it a bit artsy, but nobody’s to do it that way). So, win, win, win, win.

I hope this will find its way to you and help you, anon. Take care of yourself 🤍

Sometimes I get very stuck when I'm working on a project, (especially one with a tight deadline) and my brain just seems to shut down and refuse to problem solve. A lot of it is anxiety, and I have a few strategies for rebooting my brain that usually help. Going to take a shower, or driving somewhere works pretty well, but aren't always a great option. I'd love to hear some other suggestions!

The same thing happens to me, and I really wish it didn’t. I’m getting better at identifying why it happens, though. The reasons vary, but they tend to come down to some version of the following:

I’m missing a piece of information that I need and I don’t know how to find out what it is

my instructions are unclear and I’m worried about doing something wrong

I know a lot of people / important people are going to see my work and I worry about disappointing them

the work itself is boring or not challenging and forcing myself to work on it feels like torture

In the first two cases, I go to someone I trust and ask for their help. This could be help finding the information I need or just helping me find the right person/resource to get me to the next step. 

In the third case, I remind myself that I’m my own worst critic. Even times when I’ve known I could do better I still managed to do a good enough job that I didn’t disappoint the people I was doing work for. 

The last case is the one that hurts the most to push through. In that situation, I give myself frequent break. I intersperse my work on the boring stuff with work on things that are more interesting to me. I allow myself time to watch videos or play games. I play music while I work to keep myself energetic. I call up a friend/coworker and brainstorm with their help. 

What about the rest of you? How do you handle a situation like anon describes? Can you share any of your tips for how to move on when you’re stuck?

“Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.”

— Twyla Tharp