Monday, October 22, 2012

Writer Therapy

Writers are crazy. There's no other explanation for it. We write because we love it, but in order to do so, we spend countless hours walled up in a room, locked inside our minds, doing what the voices inside our heads tell us to do. If that's not crazy I don't know what is. So what do you do with crazy people? You send them to therapy of course!

But writing therapy is a little bit different than normal therapy even if it does often involve a comfy chair or couch. There are certain things writers need to do in order to maintain some semblance of sanity. It's not always easy to appear sane (despite being far from it) but here's my top ten writing therapies that help me hide the crazy!
  • 10. A Good Book - There's nothing like getting lost in an awesome book. Especially if it's MG or YA, and has some kind of sci fi or fantasy element to it. I can loss countless hours in a good book, and I don't mind that I don't know where the day went. Some of my all time favorites, Ender's Game, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games.
  •  9. A Good Movie - Whether it's something I've seen a billion times (**cough cough** Princess Bride and Star Wars **cough cough**) or the latest release at the theater, a good movie is a great way to get my mind off writing problems and open my eyes to a great new story.
  • 8. TV - Whether it's reality TV (yes i watch the Bachelor/Bachelorette and Survivor), teen filled drama on ABC Family, my favorite comedies/dramas on the major networks or my old standby SYFY, TV is my savior. When I watch I can just let my couch suck me in and shut my brain off. It's glorious!
  • 7. A Drive in the Car - There's something about the quiet hum of my Prius and the road that calms me down enough to allow my mind to flow freely. Now if only I could find a safe way to write and drive at the same time when the inspiration strikes. Time to find a recording app for my phone!
  • 6. A Hot Shower - Get your mind out of the gutter right now! It never fails that when I'm stuck and don't know what to write next, Orion, my muse (yes I named him and it's after the constellation) hits me with an arrow when the hot water is pounding over me. I don't know what it is about the shower, and maybe it's because I have zero ability to write anything down, and then have to stop dripping before I can grab my computer, but the muse almost always pays me a visit there. My muse must be some kind of pervert! All that aside, I'm seriously contemplating getting a wax pencil and a board to hang in my shower for these exact moments. The things we do as writers!
  • 5. Write Ins - Every week I venture out of my writing cave to meet up with a group of local writers at a restaurant. We eat, we chat, we laugh, we share stories and advice, we help pull the plot bunnies out from underneath the couch, oh and we write! Good times to be had by all and it never feels like work.
  • 4. Critique Buddies - Misery loves company and there is nothing like a great critique buddy to lift your spirits when you think you suck. They are always there to cheer you on, help you navigate out of a plot corner, and demand more chapters, which is a nice kick in the ass to get you writing or editing again.
  • 3. Facebook - This is my biggest support system. I say I'm writing or I'm editing and not only am I  holding myself accountable for it but I have floods of people liking my posts and cheering me on. You all make writing worth it! Not to mention I can cyber-stalk my friends (ok I swear I'm not really a stalker) and de-stress between writing sessions.
  • 2. Twitter - It's a whole world where I can get advice from people in the industry, share ups and downs and commiserate with my fellow crazies (I mean writers). Plus can we say awesome distraction full of fun links and geeky things?
  • 1. Friends and Family - Nothing like your favorite people to lift your spirits and take your mind off of things. Plus they think it's cool that I write and always want to hear about what I am up to, which is the best gift a writer can ask for - an excuse to talk about my writing. :)
And if you didn't think I was certifiable before, you most certainly do now. Not to mention you are surely waving a giant nerd card at me, but it's a tag I wear proudly! So now that you have my list, I ask all you writers what do you do for Writer Therapy? And if you don't write, tell me how you unwind and de-stress. I'm always looking for new ways to ward off the crazy!

This post is part of the Writer Therapy blog hop

40 comments:

  1. These are terrific therapy! My writing friends and family are my sanity sometimes. LOL

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    1. Thanks! Friends and family definitely help provide some much needed sanity. Either that or they help me embrace the crazy. Both are good :)

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  2. Ways I unwind and destress - I read. My favorite spot's the bathtub with a bubble bath.

    I veg in front of the TV (NCIS, NCIS LA, Big Bang THeory).

    I crochet. It's really a good mindless thing I do. Plus there's usually a movie on at the same time.

    I play mindless games on the computer.

    I just start writing. My journal looks rather funny with the way my thoughts flow and not flow.

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    1. ahh big bang theory how I love thee! Great stress relief :)

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  3. Wonderful writing therapies. You sound very organized, in fact. I love SciFi, and I bet you have some great stories!

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    1. Thanks! It's great to meet other SciFi enthusiasts. Organization definitely keeps me sane! Death to Chaos :P

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  4. I draw ideas from movies and TV too! It helps create the images in my head in HD :-D

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    1. I can always see things more clearly inside my head, especially after movie or tv. Now if only I could draw... alas I think that's why I write, I paint the pictures with words or try to ;)

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  5. Oh, sure Jamie, get all 'listy' on us. Good stuff though. While I can't claim the shower as a location of inspiration, I have been struck by the weirdest ideas in strange places. And, of course, the old stand by of as I lie in bed waiting to fall asleep. Cheers!
    Dave

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    1. haha yes, it always seems like inspiration strikes at the oddest times. And when you are trying to fall asleep is another good one, not to mention waking up in the middle of the night with crazy ideas! That's always fun too!

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  6. Great list! Here's my take coming from my point of view on the list as it relates to me:
    10. A Good Book. Always a great way to gain some therapy for writing!
    9. A Good Movie. This is only occasionally for me. Sometimes a great scene in a movie will help me visualize a story. But usually I just feel creatively empty afterwards. >.>
    8. TV. is NOT one for me. It's more like a creative sucking box of doooom! (I noticed that Chersti used TV as an example in the rules...)
    7. A drive in the car. Good for me away from traffic. Terrible in traffic (Yes, I become Mr. Wheeler >.>)
    6. Hot Shower. I mostly just feel clean afterwards.
    5. Write Ins. Every time I've done this, it works great!
    4. Critique Buddies. This is my #1! :D
    3. Facebook. I waste too much time on facebook. I don't utilize it well xD
    2. Twitter. I get too distracted by all the interesting links people tweet.
    1. Friend and Family. This includes my Critique group that is made up of my brother and friends. :D

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    1. HAHA I love the phrase creative sucking box of doooom! I think sometimes the mind just needs a break... with something mindless ;)

      and yes drives only work if there's not much traffic. Traffic makes me angry, especially stupid drivers! Traffic = headache inducing + rage monster (and I'm not normally an angry person!)

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    2. It totally IS a sucking box of doooom! I think we have to add youtube to that list, because SOMEONE would've had their revisions done if they hadn't been sucked into youtube.... **cough cough Kevin**

      TV sometimes helps and sometimes hurts me. If it's something FABULOUS (Total Recall is an example), then it definitely helps. But most of the time, I've noticed that the more I watch TV, the less I have great creativity. So I try to to stick to limiting my time there, but it honestly helps when I'm so tired and just need to destress. :-)

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    3. YouTube = Time Suck! I try to avoid it unless it's one video on a site otherwise I get sucked in by that (in)convenient little list on the right hand side that displays similar videos....

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    4. Of course, when I say youtube, I am TOTALLY not talking about our webisodes... oh wait. Who am I kidding? We totally created a time suck. lol!

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    5. Haha nope not at all! Your webisodes are separated out one per page, or one page of all, so I don't actually have to go to youtube to see them, which saves me from the black hole of time suck that is youtube! Everything in moderation of course ;)

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    6. Moderation - so true! Love your blog, btw.

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    7. Thanks! We are even cause I love Writer Therapy. **is not a creepy groupie I swear!** :P

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  7. great stuff here! hi *waves* from another reality tv junkie (oh survivor, how would i ever live without you?)!

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    1. ooo yay! I knew I wasn't the only reality TV junkie! So glad to not be alone in the writing world ;) And survivor is a must. Oh the drama and backstabbing! :)

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  8. Wow, this list covers my life and all the things I use for my own "therapy." I think the writing muse in the shower saves me most days - I get stuck on something and a shower solves the problem! And I'm totally a fan of Star Wars and The Princess Bride. Once, I even tried to watch TPBride all the way though on mute to see how many lines me and my brother could do on our own. We almost aced the movie. Reminds me of some of the scenes in Ready Player One (awesome scifi book!). Okay, so I think we just match up on our tastes on most things, considering all your likes mentioned here top my list, too.

    I think the only thing you didn't mention was exercise. Seriously, I get so frustrated with my writing and I hit the treadmill (in a good way), and thirty minutes later I'm feeling relaxed enough to face the stupid chapter again :-)

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    1. **HIGH FIVE** I love Princess Bride! It's so quotable! I love that you were able to make it through nearly the whole movie without sound. I think I annoy people when I watch because I just start spouting out lines right before they are said.

      Yea I kinda did leave off exercise, but that doesn't mean it's not important! I dance twice a week. Tap on one day and on the other, I allow my teacher to kick my butt in conditioning. I'm usually swearing by the end but I always sleep well for the next two nights which means I'm ready to write ;)

      I have not heard of Ready Player One (I hope this does not make me a bad nerd now...) **runs off to Google** ooo audio book narrated by Wil Wheaton... I think I just died of excitement! Oh wait, I see the bit about 80's trivia I did hear about this, at a writing seminar no less. I must check it out!

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    2. Honestly, I'm young enough that the 80s stuff went right over my head -- though I did get like 1 or 2 things and totally freaked out when I was like "I KNOW WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT!" My hubby thought I was weird. Oh well - anyways, hope you enjoy it. And that's awesome that you dance! It's always something I wanted to pick up.

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    3. yea I was born in 1982 so it's likely most the stuff will go over my head too!

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  9. Loved this list! I have always said that writers are sanctioned crazy people :)

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    1. We so are! If Writer does not equal crazy then I don't know what does!

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  10. A drive in the dar? Genius! Brilliant! I can't count on my fingers how many times I've been driving somewhere and some plot hole just fills itself up!
    Great post! Stopping by from the hop=)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! Yes driving is good to clear the mind or fill plot holes, other than the whole using expensive gas thing ;)

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  11. Hi Jamie! Love your post and your background! :P Jolene here from www.penandmuse.com ! A drive in the car was my favorite. Sometimes I just love to drive, windows down blasting music. Gets my creative juices flowing!
    And write-ins? Yes! Those are great too! I'm hoping to do a few of those for upcoming Nanowrimo! Having other creative people around you makes all the difference in the world.
    Thanks for the great post! Have a nice day!

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    1. Thanks! I'm a giant space geek so I wanted something that fit for the background. I was just making my way around to the blogs, trying to savor them all :) Nano and I unfortunately didn't get along great (I have a compulsive need to edit as I write... ) but I did learn how to write in bulk from my Nano experience and for that I am grateful! Looking forward to reading your post.

      Thanks for stopping in!

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  12. Write-ins are heaven. If only there were more days in the week.

    Love your blog. I am a new fan. Well you had me at space geek!

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    1. Thanks! and yay more space geeks! I always enjoy "meeting" others :) And I agree I wish there were more days in the week :)

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  13. Agreed on a majority of your points--driving, however, oi! I live in Philadelphia (I'm a upstate NY transplant) and Philadelphians cannot drive! If I attempted to let my mind wander while driving--something I can totally do home--I think I'd end up in the Schuylkill River (pronounced "Scoogle--like Google but wit a "scoo" in front)!

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    1. Yes I see how driving could be rough in the Philadelphia area. I love the sound of Scoogle.

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  14. Jamie, Lissa and I share many of the same therapies. Especially numbers 10, 9, 4, and 1. Reading good books are indeed therapeutic and we tend to get lost in them very easily! Movies are fun too, especially when they are adaptations of a beloved book. Personally, I enjoy seeing how the screenwriter changes the source material for the screen. Obviously, number four is near and dear to us since we co-author our work; critique buddies are a necessity! Finally, number one, our families and friends definitely help keep us sane.
    Great blog, Jamie! Look forward to seeing you at some SLWG events!

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    1. Thanks! I hope to see you soon at SLWG. :) I miss seeing you guys!

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  15. I love the idea of a Write In. If you're ever in Hong Kong, look me up!

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    1. Wow you are on the other side of the world! If I'm ever in your neighborhood I'll definitely do that. Are there any writers in your area?

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  16. I like driving too-as long as I'm alone in the car. Thanks for visiting my blog earlier. My muse is not named yet, but I know it's a girl and I like the idea of giving her a name :)

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    1. Yes driving alone is key! And you are welcome for the visit! I truly enjoyed visiting all the blogs on the hop :) And you should name you muse, it's a lot easier to curse... I mean praise them when they have one ;)

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