Let’s go back to the scene I painted in Packing for Writing, except now you have all the writing utensils, potable water and granola bars you could ask for and you used your vital common sense to inform at least one other person as to your whereabouts. Maybe you’re sitting on a downed log near your backcountry campsite, on a towel on the rocky shore of a lake island, or on a blue fuzzy blanket in your local park with a pen in your hand and your notebook on your lap. What now?
While going about your everyday life, it can feel damn near impossible to write. When in a familiar space like your home or usual writing place, the stresses of life can really get to you. You can be exhausted from work that day, have had trouble sleeping several nights in a row, or just been socially mixed up in friend or family drama, but even if you’ve slept well, ate well, and managed to keep your social life together or at least throw it to the side for now, there’s still so many things to distract you. Most prevalent for me are my Steam account and YouTube. It’s so easy to say you’re doing a little research on Wikipedia and then end up down a rabbit hole, watching Let’s plays and pop music reviews. Many writers often face this feeling of being primed to write and then their mind goes blank like a university student that pulled an all-nighter the night before the exam. As someone who not only sees writing as their passion, but something they want to make a career out of, it can be stressful to sit at your desk, day after day, and have nothing come to mind. Of course, when you’re on vacation and temporarily within nature, you’ve effectively removed yourself from the familiar and from technological distractions.
What happens then, when you finally do get a chance to get away or a least temporarily push aside your usual stresses and distractions and still can’t write? The pressure to write something, and write it right now can be omnipresent, especially if your time within nature is limited and short. It’s an anxiety I deal nearly every time I get the option to get away, but it’s the first thing I have to let go of to get anything done. When you’re alone and trying to write, you’re never really alone. Your thoughts and self-doubt can be crippling to productivity. Most, if not all of my time camping, has been with a least one other family member, and sometimes it can be easier writing at the campsite near other people, with the elevator music of family or friend dynamics being your soundtrack, but there it always a risk of being interrupted, breaking a train of thought. On my first ever visit to the Bruce Peninsula area, I actually kept a tally of how many times I was interrupted, with my cousin’s not housebroken kindergartener “winning” with seven times in a day, only barely beating out my own mother with five times. This wasn’t a case of me not helping with dinner or other chores, but when everyone was just sitting around the fire for down time.
Those precious moments I get to myself on these types of vacations are few and far in between, so taking advantage of them is of the utmost importance. As hard as it is, I have to let myself slow down and breathe, and let my writing performance anxiety melt away on the cool, fresh breeze. For me the key is making a bit of a ritual out of it. Once I gather my writing utensils and let myself sit down, notepad open and pen at the ready, I don’t immediately start writing whether I have a burgeoning idea or not. I let myself take in my surroundings, get as comfortable as the space allows, and then begin writing. I write when the ink/graphite flows easily, and when it doesn’t I stop and breathe. You don’t have to have a set goal in mind when writing. Oftentimes my poems may start with a concept or a single line, but I find it immensely freeing, particularly in nature, to “sight-write.” Write what you see, hear, feel, taste, smell. A great poem could come out of just your impressions around you, or could lead you on course to write a more focused poem. I look around and take in every part of the nature around me as if I may never see it again. Maybe I’ll be able to pick up my writing utensil again, maybe I won’t. Either way, set writing time aside for yourself even if you only sit and enjoy the space around you.
Balancing your love for writing and of nature can be difficult, but it is necessary to find that happy medium. One could equally argue that if you spend your entire time on vacation alone and writing, you’re missing out on the actual experience of being in nature. It’s essential for writing the best nature poetry you can by just taking in your environment without ulterior motives of productivity. The old writing adage to “write what you know” can be very difficult to follow if you have no experiences to draw upon. It can’t be stated enough. My key to writing better poetry, heck, being a more contented person is to let your mind stop running for just a moment, breathe deeply, and enjoy what is with you in the moment.
Ten Ways to Try and Avoid Distraction
Of course, everyone “finds their center” in different ways, but these are different methods I’ve used with reasonable enough results…I wrote this didn’t I?
- Take care of yourself first. It’s a running joke among artists of all shades that the smallest things can distract them from writing, whether that be a messy desk or a messy mind. If you want to really grow your craft, you need to be able to dedicate yourself to it. There are many caricatures of artists who need to be in “enhanced states” to write or work single-mindedly through the night and day forgetting to eat and sleep because they’re deep in a story and many of those stereotypes have truth to them, but these habits won’t help you in the wrong run. Being dependent on something other than your own mind to be creative or burning yourself out for your art will lead to you needing to recover, taking away from your process. Eat healthy, sleep well, get regular exercise, and keep your regular writing space clean to keep yourself from being distracted by bodily needs.
- Note. Book. I know I mentioned keeping a notebook on you at all times so you can write down ideas as they come to you, but it is as important to keep it by your side as you write, even as you transpose its contents onto a laptop or use them to inspire another poem. It’s vital to be actively editing, analyzing your diction, looking at your use of grammar, etc. as you go. Get your mind churning and thinking as not only a proof-reader or artist, but as an editor as well. This means that even if you’re not writing something new, you’re still getting your mind thinking about your writing.
- One small chunk at a time. I think of ideas for another story or poem faster than I can complete them, and sometimes the mere thought of the overwhelming research and time needed to execute these ideas can sometimes create a mind gridlock. Don’t think about finishing an entire novel, think about finishing the scene. Don’t think about writing a whole poetry book, think about crafting the perfect line.
- Make space for writing. On those days where writing feels like an insurmountable task, set a timer on your phone or with an old-school egg timer and just focus on giving yourself the space in the day to write for that time. Maybe you can only do 5 minutes a day, maybe you can do an hour, but it’s still setting aside time for you to write.
- Music vs. silence. Ah yes, one of many old debates between writers whether working with music or in complete silence is better. I personally oscillate between the two, it honestly depends on my mood. Some people prefer playlists full of songs they love, but I usually find myself unconsciously beginning to dance in my seat or sing along, causing me distraction. I prefer instrumental songs, relaxing genres like lo-fi and synthwave, or Spotify playlists with names like “Dreamy vibes.”
- Routine vs. keeping it fresh. I had a partner who could only write after 10 PM at his nearby 24-hr McDonald’s. I always wonder what he does now that he’s moved to another province, but the point is routine works for many people. It often seems that my brain only becomes creatively active past midnight, which has recently messed up my sleep schedule as I find myself working long into the witching hour. This is a habit that isn’t particularly healthy that has worked for me for now, but once I have to start waking up before noon for my day job again, I’m going to have to find other ways to get the writing in. Perhaps I’ll have to have another picnic in my local park with my notepad to shake things up soon.
- Make a ritual out of your writing time. Whether you’re deeply religious or not, there’s no denying that the pomp and circumstance behind religious ceremonies gives them much of their significance and power. Create your own rituals to get you in the mind of writing. It can be as simple as making yourself a cup of tea as you boot up your laptop, because as you go through the motions you’ve personally connected with writing, you’ll already be thinking about what you want to write before you sit down to do it.
- Work to make writing a habit. As mentioned before, I find it very difficult to work regularly, often working in binges, but that doesn’t mean I don’t set myself up to try to get into a regular habit. Currently I’m using two different productivity apps, “everyday” and “Flora” to try to create healthy habits. The Flora app in particular may pertain to nature lovers and writers, as it sets a timer on your phone, over which a little sprout grows and will become a tree when the timer finishes. If you leave the Flora app, you kill your little tree, which virtual or not, I can’t stand for. While you can use these apps completely free, Flora can be set up to donate money towards planting a tree every time you fail for added incentive.
- Take a deep breath, relax your muscles. Proper posture while writing is paramount unless you want a stiff neck or back. Sometimes I hold tension in my shoulders without even knowing it until I force myself to take a deep breath and let myself relax. I won’t tell you to take up yoga or meditation for the sake of clearing your mind and becoming a better writer, because neither of those activities are my strong suit in the athletics’ department, but it is important to be aware of your body even as you focus on flexing your mind.
- Don’t push yourself to write. This tip is probably the hardest for me myself to follow. There are just some days were this passion feels like pulling teeth, and I have to recognize that feeling and pull back. As much as I want to make writing a regular habit and mark writer’s block for the excuse it is, you have to listen to your own mind and body. If you’re having trouble doing something you love, there is probably something else you have to attend to.