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I should be working on a short story, but instead I'm doing this rambly Tumblr post featuring Writing Tools and updates

Question: Tumblr seems like a nice place for a writer to spend some time, so why is it that my most recent post here is over two years old (likely the last time I graced this site with my presence)?

Answer: some combination of forgetfulness, overthinking and "who cares?".

Nevertheless, now that I'm here, I might as well tell you a little bit about what's been going on with me. What better way to productively procrastinate writing the story I'm working on? (Here, we see a generous application of the word "productively".)

Speaking of "productively", Roy Peter Clark of Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer—a book that provides another great method of productive procrastination to any writer more eager to read about writing than to do any writing of their own—assures me that an exception to the "no adverbs ever! not even once!" rule is when said adverb changes the definition of the verb it describes. Surely "productive procrastination" meets this criteria. Clark also divulges his dislike of the use of dashes, but my mentioning that seems to be an even bigger tangent than the one I started this paragraph with and, anyway, I have no such qualms about dashes.

Where was I?

Oh yes, an update on what's been going on with me.

Here, in no particular order, are some creative things I did in 2024 that I'm proud of:

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Got my first ever fiction publication.

Updated my website to reflect my writerly self.

A lot of painting and drawing.

Completed The Artist's Way and maintained a morning pages practice, from which I've since taken an indefinite hiatus.

Read my writing publicly.

Organised and attended my first writing retreat.

Kept an artist diary.

In short, vision boarding works, y'all! (Or so does whatever else you do to stay in touch with your deepest ambitions.)

I went into last year clear as the water in Crystal River on what I wanted out of 2024: a breakthrough. For too long, I'd been bogged down by a bunch of mental mud that I couldn't seem to shake. No more, I resolved. This is my breakthrough year.

And, by golly, it was. What a relief and reason to celebrate!

...not to mention, evidence that I can achieve my writerly ambitions when I set my mind and action to them. That's some heartening insight to take into 2025.

Now I'd better get back to this short story...

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Crossing Tower Bridge, Aug 2022

When we started, we didn't know we'd get this far. We weren't trying or planning or looking ahead to what it could be. We were simply living from one moment of joy and pain to the next, unraveling each other, layer after layer, to uncover the core components that make us us. Many days, many nights, mountains of rock and wave, cliff-side roads and bridges man-made, we've wandered, hand in hand, fingers interlaced.

@melaniealbwrite

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The poison of passivity.

A dusty dank room in a shady little shack on a rough and rowdy road holds a washed-up wanderer who sold his soul and can't get out. I've been wondering where I fit in to it all, to it all, to it all. I realised that maybe I don't fit in at all, in at all, in at all. I lost my voice last night so I can't talk to you right now. Let's let this defect endure so I don't have to talk to you later either. Diamonds are a girl's best friend, but your diamond heart wouldn't let me in, so I dropped it, let it sink, fed it to the bottom of the ocean. Drink it in. Drown on down. I told you I hate you, even if I couldn't say it out loud.

@melaniealbwrite

YouTube (currently on hiatus for an indeterminate period of time)

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Melanie yoga #yoga #jpshiverphoto

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While I was in Bali, I got to have an Akashic Records reading with Marie of @featherly.marie_and_martin. Not only that, but Marie agreed to provide the reading in exchange for me writing about her journey. The entire experience—getting to interview her and learn about how she got to where she is today, putting it all into words that I get to share with you on my blog, not to mention the reading itself—was truly expansive and transformative. It is one for which I am absolutely grateful. Thank you again, Marie, for encouraging and inspiring me, both in and out of the reading. Click the #linkinbio to read the post and don't be shy: let me know what you think! 🥰 . . . #akashicrecords #akasha #healing #pastlives #purpose #lifepurpose #path #clarity #mindset #perspective #meditation #manifest #expanded #inspiration #motivation #positivity #instagood #community #energyhealing #love #reiki #writing #reading #amwriting #writersofinstagram #wellnessblogger #travel #ubud #bali (at Ubud) https://www.instagram.com/p/CC3AlPmHFfc/?igshid=jowiy8f2b3cm

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The path forward is not always clear. For too long, I conflated my worth with my productivity. Forward movement signalled positive self-worth, regardless of whether the direction was right for me. Eventually, the weight of my footfalls, a stampede of self-denial and -neglect, flattened me. Bruised and beaten by a beaten path, I lay paralysed in place, stripped of any productivity, of all worth. In this forced pause, I looked around. My surroundings did not reflect my dreams or desires, never mind my true self. I was nowhere near where I had intended. I had lost sight of intention altogether. Movement for the sake of movement had led me far from my path. Constantly looking ahead left me adrift in diversion. In losing my way, I lost myself. To recover my footing, I had to rediscover myself. Habit told me I had gone too far to turn back. Intuition dissented: it was time to act out of habit, to forge new patterns. I retraced the steps leading to difficulty and disconnect, finding that going back on myself in this way was not progress lost; it was the journey I needed all along­. The path forward is not always clear. Finding your way in the labyrinth of life sometimes means going back—specifically, back to yourself. Clarity comes when I follow my curiosities, trying new things without tying external validation or value to them. To shift my focus from the future and ground in the present, I ask: · What do I notice right now that interests and inspires me? · Can I find any beauty in my present circumstance, even if merely the possibility of learning a lesson, of expanding my perspective? · When facing adversity, how can I make the situation more bearable, more enjoyable even? This pause can feel counterproductive to progress, especially when the answers reveal that I must stay put, no matter how ready I think I am to move on. Rather than feeling trapped or stranded, however, I can feel grounded and rooted. The choice is mine: dwell on feeling stuck or find the beauty, the content, the lesson in the stillness. Those shifts in perception—to my power in the present—may be exactly what is needed to clear the block: to propel me, finally, forward. (at Campuhan Ridge Walk, Ubud) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBoMSHSJ7B-/?igshid=r59ey58yowcc

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A gentle reminder planted at the end of the last breathing exercise. You can try it out with the video on IGTV or download the MP3 from Soundcloud (link in my latest blog post). Inhale, exhale and enjoy <3 . . . #keepbreathing #keepgoing #breath #breathing #healing #wellness #wellbeing #selfhelp #selfcare #selflove #quote #qotd #inspirationalquotes #words #write #writing #amwriting #writersofinstagram #yoga #meditation #mindfulness #motivation #inspiration #instagood #community #goals #blog #linkinbio https://www.instagram.com/p/B_-LAF_J6mb/?igshid=1stvqh4vhmkeu

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In another world, I would be on an airplane right now, feeling the heaviness of forward progress as the craft lifted from the runway and into the sky. As it is, I am officially grounded here on the Island of the Gods. Rather than the heaviness of forward momentum, I feel the weight of grounding down, of going deeper. The past few days have brought emotions as turbulent as my cancelled flight might have been. Before that, I was in an airy state of denial dressed as calm. The swinging of the pendulum seems to have finally reached equilibrium as I centre between acceptance and action. The word “surrender” came to me tonight as I lay in bed pondering the purpose behind this change of plans. Stirred to search for the term in my writings from this and last year, I found these two pieces to be resonant with the uncertain times in which we find ourselves: written 20 March 2020 is a note of encouragement for me and, I hope, you too, called Dear self, from Self; Free to create, from 15 February 2019, reminds of the freedom imagination offers us all. Hope you enjoy. #surrender #freedom #acceptance #words #power #musings #thoughts #poetry #notes #quotes #quoteoftheday #wordporn #art #reading #creativity #create #writing #amwriting #write #writer #writers #writersofinstagram #writersofig #writerslife #life #update #grounded #stayhome #homeawayfromhome #namaste (at Ubud, Bali, Indonesia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_U9kHpJgxn/?igshid=65owho1jq7vy

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Between two places. 🗽 .  .  .  #brooklynbridge #bk #nyc #rolltheb #travel #photography #latergram (at Brooklyn Bridge) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnVfu_9hzV2/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=qxjkynk6ducz

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How do you rid your mind of weeds and fill it with flowers? 🌱🌷 . . . #igotothepark #headofflowers #anxiety #meditation #mind #body #soul #words #throwbackwords #latergram #amwriting #writersofinstagram #freewrite #creativewriting https://www.instagram.com/p/BnVelXihUsS/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1wugmjyg9b7sr

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Nobody saw the man go into the water. 🏝 . . . #throwbackwords #home #homeless #grief #loss #lightning #lettinggo #words #amwriting #writersofinstagram #freewrite #flashfiction #creativewriting

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#selfcaresunday with the help of to two amazing friends, one of whom gave me this book, #BigMagic by @elizabeth_gilbert_writer, and the other, my goyle @_kingkemi, who got me this @lush #rose #bathbomb. (at Battersea)

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I do a good chunk of my writing when I'm not writing 🙃 . . . #writing #tubing #walking #throwbackwords #words #amwriting #onwriting #onthetube #tfl #writerlife #writerthoughts #writersofinstagram #freewrite #writerstreamofconscious #creativenonfiction #creativewriting #crossing #priorities #howstoriesarewritten

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I'll Eat When I'm Dead... I'll read till then. 📚 .  .  .  #bookworm #borrowedreads #illeatwhenimdead #barbarabourland #brainfood #books #bookstagram #latergram #batterseapark #battersea #london (at Battersea Park)

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Vicious 🔄 . . . #repeat #cycle #throwbackwords #words #amwritingb #onwriting #writersofinstagram #freewrite #creativewriting 

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Head of flowers 🌸😍🌸 . . . #blooms #flowers #spring #nature #lookup #latergram #battersea #london (at Battersea)

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🌱 . . . #nature #ancestry #barriers #bridges #bridgeofflowers #freewrite #words #amwriting #writerlife #writersofinstagram