Here’s Mary Winter, today’s guest blogger…
When life happens the muse often decides to go on vacation. It can be tough for writers to get back into the swing of things, especially when the pressures of life seem to get in the way. Dealing with financial stresses, job stressors, and family worries can zap you of energy and you’re not sure if you’re going to finish the book or not. It’s enough to make characters stop speaking to you and leaving you to wonder why.
As an author who has written through personal chronic illness, as well as caring for a family member and her eventual passing away (last month), you could say that a large portion of my career has been written in and through adversity. I’ve found that for me, my writing has become my zen. It’s a refuge where I can retreat from the too rough edges of the world.
Cultivating the attitude that writing is my escape has helped me through many times. When I focus on my writing as my “mental health time” or my “me time”, I find that not only do I appreciate it more, but it also seems to provide a safety net that will encourage me to keep writing through times of adversity, because it’s there for me. It’s the place I can go to where I don’t have to worry, while I’m creating new words that is, about finances, life, health or anything except making sure I’m as good a steward to my characters’ words as I can be.
The sheer act of creation is what makes writing through adversity something that we can cultivate. And when the storm clouds ease and we’re on the other side, we can appreciate our words that much more because they were there for us, quite often when no one else was.
About Mary
Mary lives in the Ozarks on a homestead with her spoiled horses, a flock of highly entertaining chickens, a not-so-itty-bitty-kitty-committee, and her husband. Her first published novel, Ghost Touch, was released in December 2002–back when you had to explain to people what an ebook was. Since then she’s written more than the fifty novels/novellas in multiple genres of romance under a few pen names, as well as nonfiction books under yet another pen name.
In addition, she runs Unscramblet Author Solutions, helping authors unscramble their “to do” lists and their promotions. Learn more at http://unscramblet.com
Author Links-
Facebook page: http://facebook.com/mwawwmk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mwaowmk
Webpage: http://marywinter.com
Amazon page: http://amazon.com/author/marywinter
BookBub: http://bookbub.com/authors/mary-winter
Goodreads Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/181470.Mary_Winter
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