Writing in the Margins
Welcome to week five, Patchworkers!
This week we are writing about emotion – the glue that binds our stories together. Whether we are writing fiction or memoir (or even journalistic or academic non-fiction!) emotion is a necessary part of our writing, and can be a difficult element to get a handle on, especially if we have difficulty expressing ourselves for fear of being shamed, ridiculed, or rejected.
Our four prompts for this week are these:
Joy
Excitement
Anger
Grief
Set your timer for fifteen minutes per prompt, and give yourself permission to either stay within a single story as you move through each of the emotions, or take these prompts as an opportunity to tell multiple stories.
Remember to breathe, to pay attention to the tension in your hands, wrists, arms, neck, back, hips and throughout your body. Take a few moments before you begin a timed writing session to check in with yourself. How much energy do you have? How does the prompt feel? If you have a strong response to a prompt, give yourself space to feel whatever comes up, and to write into that emotion.
In your writing with Patchwork, and on your own, pay attention to what works for you and what doesn’t in the guidelines that were shared on Oct 22. Pay attention to your writerly habits – what feels good? What works? What doesn’t?
Give yourself permission to ignore guidelines that are either too challenging or that just don’t feel right for you, and remember that every writer has a different rhythm and different needs.
An example of what works, what doesn’t work, and making space in my own writing practice – I find it incredibly difficult to let go of my expectations for a writing session. Even though that’s a guideline that I’ve come across in almost every writing book I own, and it has the potential to improve my writing practice, it is just so difficult. When I sit down to write, I have expectations. When I fail to meet them, I beat myself up. But letting go of those expectations… wow. Sitting down and just letting the work happen? As much as I want to, and as much as I will keep trying, I have begun to realize that I need to be compassionate with myself when it’s just too difficult. That’s a guideline that both works and doesn’t work for me, and recognizing what’s going on within my own writing practice is important. So take some time to think about the guidelines you’ve read and that we’ve talked about, think about what works for you and what you hope will work for you in the future but just doesn’t right now. Be compassionate with yourself.
Compassion is a critical part of a sustainable writing practice, and part of our self-care as writers. Especially if we are using writing as a tool for exploring our own stories, being compassionate with ourselves is absolutely vital. We will not love each of our past selves. We will not be able to find immediate reconciliation with all of our past decisions, and we may feel guilt and shame and fear when we start to write into our darker truths. Compassion can get us through those moments, through those pages.
Remember that you have value, that you have a unique creative voice, that you deserve to take up space on the page. I am proud of you for being brave enough to write! You are doing good work.
Happy writing!
