Freelancing to Freedom

“Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath

Creative writing was my favourite class in high school. I loved it. There was no pressure. Sure, I was working for a grade, but I wasn’t worried about criticism and scrutiny. Then I got to university and wrote papers for countless English lit classes. This time the writing was analytical, but I still enjoyed it. Usually the words would just flow.

Then I chose to become a freelance editor and work with other people who were writing instead. And the more I began working with other writers – excellent writers – the more I began to doubt my own ability to write. Even now when I’m approached by a client to do some writing work, I sometimes break into a cold sweat and stammer that it’s not my area of expertise, despite the fact that I know I can do it.

So to break this destructive pattern of thinking, over the past couple weeks, I’ve been scheduling time to write into my week. If it’s in my day planner, it has to happen. I have no rules – it could be a journal entry, a freewrite, or an idea for a book. The point is just to write because I love it.

I have many writer friends out there who have told me that when they’re struggling with a piece or a character, they get frustrated and walk away for too long. Walking away from the writing for a while is a good idea, but don’t lose momentum. Keep writing, keep the creativity flowing. Work on something else. And try to remember why you started writing in the first place – before money or possible prestige was involved.

Stop overanalyzing and trust your instincts. Write for the fun of it – revise later!

This week’s goal: Make time for downtime.

Song of the week:  “Go Ego” – Eight and a Half. And a bonus: “Psychotic Girl” – The Black Keys (not a new find, but I just heard it the other day and remembered how much I love it)

Namaste 🙂

Rachel

Writing for fun on vacation!