What is your vision for the perfect summer day? Wakeboarding with your Weimaraner? Cuddling with your Calico? Cooking chewy, gooey Chocolate Chip cookies? Sipping spiked lemonade as you relax on a comfy beach chair?
I have newfound appreciation for the restorative properties of summer after a fulfilling but all-consuming stint as a middle school Literature teacher. I was so wrapped up and tapped out, I couldn’t find spare time to read (gasp) or write (groan). Kudos to those of you who have full time responsibilities (inside the house or out) and still find time to write or illustrate!
As I struggle to rekindle my creative spark, I realize I’m not alone: it’s a rare writer who doesn’t struggle from time to time. For me, the key is finding the proper life balance. This is what I tell myself and will happily share with you:
Write about the things that make your heart sing
Write about the things that make your heart ache
Make time for the ones you love
Make time for doing what you love
Be kind to others when critiquing their work
Be kind to yourself when critiquing your own work
Explore the world
Explore your backyard
Read for your own enjoyment
Read to children, dogs, cats, birds, and stuffed animals
Have compassion for yourself and others
Have courage as you face life’s challenges
Look forward, not backward
Look at the beauty all around you
Embrace failure and learn from it
Embrace your loved ones every day!!
What pearls of wisdom help you to rekindle your creative spark?
WRITERS' RUMPUS 
Great advice, Laura! I’ll be rereading whenever the going gets tough. ❤ this beautiful post–the pictures, the words, everything!
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Thanks, Marcia: I’m glad you found this helpful. And pictures of young children with their dogs always make my heart sing!
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Laura, thanks for this post, I really needed it! And Josh, please share your tips with me! I also spend the whole workday (and week) writing, editing, and reviewing, and it’s so hard to spend even more time at the computer when I get free time.
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Dear Marianne: especially considering how hard you work, we are all extremely grateful for your continued support and guidance.
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Insightful post, Laura. I think we’ve all struggled with this as well. For me, I spend a lot of time writing and editing for my full-time job, and there are times when the idea of then coming home and doing *more* writing and editing just feels like too much. Yet somehow I always come back to it, because the writing that matters most to me is not the stuff I do for my day job but rather the stuff I have to fit in around the edges of my other responsibilities — life, kids, home, community, etc.
In the past year or so, as my creative writing as taken on a bigger role in my life, I’ve adopted a motto for myself: “Write joyously.” To me, it means to treasure those times when I am able to set all else aside and work on my creative fiction, even if only for an hour at a time.
Why put myself through the trials and challenges of writing, with no guarantee of the wider public ever seeing my work, if not to embrace and enjoy the actual act of sitting down to write. I’ve found that writing like this, that truly appreciating the process for all its ups and downs, has made me both a happier and more productive writer.
Write with joy, whenever you can, and the rest will follow!
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Thank you for sharing your advice. I completely agree that we should all enjoy the process of writing, no matter what follows. Like you, writing creatively is my “happy place.”
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Yes! Love this post. It is essential to refuel the spirit every once in a while.
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Thanks, Alison! I’m glad you enjoyed this and find time to refuel.
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Excellent post, Laura! I don’t think there is a writer out there that hasn’t dealt with this issue at some point along their writing journey. In fact, I’m pretty sure it happens all the time. I think the important thing is to be kind to yourself and allow yourself time to just be. That creative spark will return, but you can’t force it.
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Thank you, Kim! I don’t know how you manage to balance your personal life and your writing, but you are a shining star.
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