ellswriting

[ellswriting]

Hello Writers, Let’s Talk About This Pandemic.

If you’re somebody who loves to write but never has time, you might be feeling a lot of pressure to get that pen to paper during this lockdown (or fingers to keyboard... doesn’t sound as good though). 

Here’s a few things that you might be needing to hear. 

1. It’s okay to be happy about this free time, despite the fact that it is a horrible situation. You are not a bad person if you take advantage of this. Sometimes it’s good to find the positives in a negative situation.

2. It’s okay if you don’t manage to write a novel even though you have enough time to. This is a difficult time, and sometimes putting more pressure on yourself makes it even harder to write. Don’t be mad at yourself for not being as productive as you think you should be. We’re allowed to process our feelings in unproductive ways sometimes. 

3. It’s okay if writing is the only thing you want to do right now. It’s okay if writing is the last thing you want to do right now. It’s okay if you want to randomly teach yourself how to code despite having no prior interest (just me?) 

Whatever you are up to right now, don’t feel bad about it. Look after your mental wellbeing, stay inside, and try and focus on the positives (but it’s okay if that’s hard too). 

Stay safe.

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Why Don’t Schools Encourge More Creative Writing?! A RANT.

I don’t know about you, but the only creative writing I’ve done for the past 7 years has been heavily controlled in exam conditions. GCSEs (exams for 16-year-olds in the UK) have a creative writing question, yet it tells you what to write about! I suppose that’s unfair to say. They give you a prompt and then you’re free to write, yet you can only choose to write a dialogue-fuelled story or pure description! This always stumped my creativity when I was trying to appreciate the little writing time we received. It made me SO MAD.

Is creativity a bad thing? Should it not be taught, or explored, by our youths? Surely, and perhaps I’m wrong, a generation who were encouraged to explore the depths of their own imagination in written format would make better workers in the future. We need creativity all the time, some more than others, and I don’t see anything wrong with encouraging this. Is it not academic enough? Why not?

I know it’s not facts, or numbers, or analysis, or data, or whatever else we do in school nowadays (which - by the way - doesn’t always include the basics such as life skills!) however it is still important. It should be important. Our children should be writing stories. Don’t get me wrong - I don’t think children should be FORCED to write if they don’t want to. The whole point is that there is freedom to explore the imagination, which is an invaluable lesson to learn. Problem solving and analysis may be core skills needed for employment, but so is innovation and inspiration (which was slowly drained from me throughout my education).

Oh, and let’s not forget, I had absolutely no creative writing in either English Language OR English Literature A level. Isn’t that ridiculous?

BRING BACK CREATIVITY IN SCHOOLS!

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How School Takes Away Our Creativity - and How To Fight Against It

STRESS. STRESS. STRESS.

School can be hard with so much to do and so little time to do it in. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed and stressed out (a very bad mindset for writing, might I add). It’s important, not just as a writer, but as a person, to practice methods of self care. This doesn’t have to be as fancy as people make it sound. Just sit in your garden for a little while, play with your dog, watch your favourite movie, drink some juice. Do things that make you happy. A happy writer doesn’t necessarily always mean the best writer, but at least your hands will be free when you aren’t tearing your hair out mid-mental breakdown. 

Controlled Creativity

It’s hard to be genuinely creative when your English lessons are filled with boring creative prompts and essays. Being told what to write may relieve writer’s block for some, but for others it just makes us feel more stuck. Trapped. Bored even. This doesn’t make you a bad writer. In these moments, it can be really hard to use your imagination and actually write well. If you can, try to picture what you are writing as a film. This can turn a boring prison prompt into a colourful (or perhaps not so colourful, but you get what I’m trying to say-) image in your head. 

All my time is gone. Where did it go?

It’s difficult to write when you feel like you have no time to do it in. All of our free time is relax time, because when else can you relax? Not to mention we become very lazy when we use our brains constantly, it’s tiring! Motivation often comes from mood so make sure you take care of yourself, as mentioned in the beginning of this post. Even if you feel like you don’t have time to write, you can still be thinking about writing. Mapping ideas in your head, even in the form of a daydream, is still part of the process. There may not be physical evidence of this progress, but it is still progress. Don’t underestimate the small steps you take into writing again.

Brain drain. 

No - I am not referring to immigration (if you don’t understand, don’t worry, it really wasn’t that witty). We use so much energy on our work that we don’t have enough for coming up with clever storylines and complex characters. In some ways, that’s good. I hope you do well in school. HOWEVER, it saddens me that so many people lose their passion for writing simply because it isn’t encouraged, and it should be. My English teacher encouraged and helped me to enter a writing competition, and though I did not win, it sparked something in me that I hadn’t had in a long time. I hope you find it too. 

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5 Ways to Overcome the Dreaded Writer’s Block (you’re not alone)

Hey there. Writer’s block SUCKS. We’ve all been there. You might feel compelled to give up, or even overthink yourself into a state of frustration, but TRUST ME, this doesn’t help. Maybe you have writer’s block from being too busy. Maybe you have writer’s block because you’re not busy enough and boredom has flooded your brain. Either way, you’re stuck with supposedly no way out. Luckily for you, I know all about that, and I’m happy to help. There are also many other users on this site who would love to give you a hand, and hopefully will contribute more ideas in the notes of this post. Anyway, straight to the point. Here are the 5 ways to overcome writer’s block: 

1) Write in a journal.

This is important because it can start to stimulate ideas for a number of reasons. If you’re stressed, it’ll help you to vent. If you’re procrastinating, it’ll get you to focus, which you can then transfer into creative writing. I have been writing in a diary this year, though I’m absolutely terrible at it, and always forget to do it. However, it does help me to put all my energy into writing and it’s excellent practice for when I do decide to do this exact same process creatively. 

2) Mindmap.

Sometimes mind-mapping is a good alternative to writing when you can’t come up with ideas. It’ll help you to start from the basics - the minor details. For example genre, characters, plot points, other stories that inspire you, common factors in stories that you love, settings, catchphrases, motifs, themes, WHATEVER! This is useful because it’s less overwhelming than going straight in to your masterpiece (yes, I say masterpiece, because you’re amazing and shouldn’t give up)

Sidenote: if you’re not doing the conventional writing, and perhaps going for game writing or other scripts, try to think of interactive elements and take inspiration from other popular examples of your chosen genre. Good luck!

3) Watch your favourite movie (or read your favourite book, whatever works)

This is important because whatever your favourite story is, it’s your favourite for a reason. Chances are, it lifts your mood and helps you to feel inspired. Maybe, you even aspire to tell a story as good as this one. Therefore, exposing yourself to it again may give you the push you need to continue your novel/poem/short story/fanfiction/WHATEVER. The books and films that I love to fill my mind with are basically anything dystopian, and though I wish I’d come up with the idea initially, it inspires me to think of my own version of a dystopian story, and I’ve already begun working on it. Give it a try, see if it works. Just try not to plagiarise. 

4) Eliminate distractions.

We’re all guilty of procrastination. You probably think you’re procrastinating because of writer’s block, however, it’s probably the reason you have writer’s block. Shocker, right? You need to focus on writing. Maybe even force yourself into it! So trust me, go somewhere you can focus (whether that place is silent or filled with music) and force yourself to write. Even the professionals need to force it sometimes. Just write something to stimulate the ‘creative juices’ - even something childish that makes no sense. Just get some words out, in a place that you can’t procrastinate from it. 

5) Relax.

Go for a walk. Sit in the sun. Put on music. Whatever makes you feel genuinely happy, do it. I know for a fact that I do my best writing on holiday. Why? Because it’s the ultimate time to relax and be left to my imagination. But this doesn’t mean you have to be on holiday, just try something that makes you genuinely happy. We write at our best in a good mood, as The Sims 4 taught us. Duh. Just be your best self, and you’ll produce your best work. I promise.

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5 Ways to Get Back Motivation for Writing After School Drained It Out of Ya

Hi there. If this applies to you, 1) lmao same, and 2) it’s okay, we got this. Don’t lose too much hope. It happens to the best of us. School is so pressuring and stressful that it can often get rid of our creative streak and make us kinda unhappy. It’s sad because this isn’t the purpose of schools, but it’s the way things have become with marketization and all that other crap that makes school just that little bit harder. I found it hard to write again for years. Even when I had a creative writing question in English GCSE, I just found it almost impossible to think of ideas. This is coming from somebody who was once told I should write a novel in primary school. How do just a few years do so much damage? Here are the things I’m trying to do in order to get back my creative streak. 

1) Post on a Tumblr account.

Silly, I know. But I’ve never actually expressed myself online. Besides the occasional Wattpad fanfiction, I suppose. This may not be the kind of writing I had in mind, but there are so many amazing people here to be inspired by. There are writing prompts everywhere on this site! Even writing a post like this can help stimulate your ideas. It’s fun, what can I say?

2) Use your dreams as inspiration.

I know it is typical of most of us to forget our dreams, including me most of the time. But occasionally, there is the odd dream that stays in my head. I take note of it, and though it makes little sense, I can sometimes find a way to twist it into a story. Though I haven’t fully begun to develop these ideas yet, our dreams are from our subconscious and may easily link to any creative ideas that you were already considering, and give you an extra push. After all, J.K. Rowling dreamed Harry Potter, right? (Edit: Maybe not but my point still stands)

3) READ.

This may be an option that NOBODY wants to do. However, if you want to write, you need to read. Especially if you’re an English student who SHOULD BE READING ANYWAY *cough*. You’re only going to see what good writing is like by reading it. You’re only going to be inspired by good literature, by READING IT. It’s probably the most important step, but also the most missed out. Don’t forget about it, whatever you do. 

4) Remember, you don’t have to write chronologically. 

I recently watched a Vanity Fair video of a screenwriter trying to write a scene in just 7 minutes: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoM-tQOOcPw) In this video, you will see she actually begins with the action, without knowing all the full details, and fills in the blanks after. This inspired me to begin writing again, and hopefully, it does for you too. 

5) JUST! WRITE! SOMETHING!

It’s hard, but get doing something. Sometimes you literally have to force it out of yourself, even if it’s bad. Even professional writers have to kick themselves into it sometimes! Honestly, just get something in your notes, even if it makes no sense. If you can’t think of where to begin, plan. Genre? Character? Narrative arc? Flashbacks? Think about what you really want to achieve, and try your best to write it. It won’t be perfect first try, but just make sure you don’t trash it.