There are so many times in life where we just feel tired, exhausted and just don’t feel like doing anything. And it’s not that we don’t have anything to do. It’s that we just don’t feel like doing anything. Our brains feel like mush. Our bodies feel like they are spent. Yet, there we are with that niggling feeling thumping us at the back of our minds telling us we need to do something.
If we are a teacher it might be grading or planning out the school day. If we are a composer it might be the music for a concert or a movie. If we are a writer it might be that we don’t have the desire to write anything. Maybe it’s because the novel we’re working on isn’t interesting us right now. Or maybe as a reporter the story isn’t working the way we thought. Yet, if we don’t just get it done it will never do it on its own so we must write.
Have you ever heard of five minutes writing sprints? I hadn’t until tonight. I read about how this teacher had her students do five minutes writing session with prompts, one right after another. During this marathon she talked about how they got tired and how it’s not always a bad thing when it comes to writing. In fact, the writer is more likely to let their guard down which will lead them to stop trying so hard to get it just right. As the old Nike commercial would say they would “just do it.” Everyone there when these items were read aloud would get the feeling they were all in this together and somehow the stories all blended together.
Think about that for a moment. Writing to just write. You begin to stop trying so hard and your guard is down. You’re able to really get in touch with the emotions you have within yourself. You somehow begin to feel more free as a result. I’ve never done this personally but it sounds intriguing. What about you. Have you done something like this before or participated some place doing this?
