Lately, I've been a jagged pill and my mood akes over the creative process. The anger works in a certain context, but the dimension of my story is not harsh. Does anyone have any good tips to block out the unwanted emotions which for me lead to writer's block?
Pissed off with a poisonous pen?
- Thread starter Can't Catch A Break
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I would try to write down other needed things...outlines, chapter summaries, character assessments...then go back after you calm down. Otherwise, just add in some tense, feverish moments here and there...or purge the harsh out during the rewrites or edit work.
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Perhaps something like Julia Cameron's morning pages would help with this, where you get to dump all your anger onto journal pages for a set period of time (or number of pages), handwritten (which there's some evidence seems to tap into emotions more directly than typing) and with the intent of putting the anger on the page so you can physically set it aside instead of having it roiling around inside you when you're trying to be creative. The key is probably in the limits -- set some for yourself, and commit to letting go once you've reached the pre-set limit.
Doesn't work for everyone, but it's worth a try. It does help me.
JD
Doesn't work for everyone, but it's worth a try. It does help me.
JD
I understand where you're at...with a pending divorce and more stress than one person should have to carry around, my anger has been getting the best of me lately. Actually, I'm swinging between a crippling depression and the anger. I'd love to say I have some tips for you but I haven't been able to manage it and my writing has suffered terribly. I have tried to pour some of that into short stories and journaling to dump some of it. It works to an extent but it's not perfect.
All I can say is good luck and I hope it passes quickly so you can get back to work.
All I can say is good luck and I hope it passes quickly so you can get back to work.
I like to use my emotions with my writing, all the tidbits of the day go into the story...for instance...
I seen an old man hugging on his daughter in a car, very suggestive I might add, and I used that as a scene in my story...the father is a molestor though.
I seen an old man hugging on his daughter in a car, very suggestive I might add, and I used that as a scene in my story...the father is a molestor though.
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Take a break and write a short story with an angry MC? Or freewrite a few scenes that explore what would really piss off your MC and how they'd react to it. They don't need to end up in your work, but they might help you get it out of your system.
I also recommend Fraggle Rock. Boober has a calming affect on everyone ("Don't! You'll bring death and pestilence!").
I also recommend Fraggle Rock. Boober has a calming affect on everyone ("Don't! You'll bring death and pestilence!").
If you are battling with the wrong emotions in your WIP, I suggest changing your environment. If you have certain triggers that change your mood, hit the ones you need. Think of memories, watch movies, anything that triggers the right emotions. If you are looking for a calm and serene feeling, watch a sunset over a lake, if you are looking for an action type mood, watch a Bond movie. When I am in need of the right mood and can't create one myself, I go to that environment and it works every time. All you need is a notebook and pen/pencil.
Good luck.
And Music, don't forget music. It can be the ultimate mood setter. Relax and let it do it's magic!
Good luck.
And Music, don't forget music. It can be the ultimate mood setter. Relax and let it do it's magic!
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I know exactly what you're talking about. Before I can get back to the 'officialy' writing of the day, I have to clear my head of all the other gunk in it and re-focus on the story at hand. The only way I've found to effectively do that is through my keyboard. It usually takes 15-20 minutes of typing as quickly as I can with anything that comes into my head, typos be durned, before I can focus my energy.
Hey, it works for me.
Hey, it works for me.
I_Shrugged said:
I did actually burn mine. It dawned on me that, were I to suddenly die, the object of the majority of my venom would have access to my rantings. They would not happy memories make. So I had a little ceremony and burned them to a crisp. I still have some pages, but I did burn everything that had the potential to be hurtful. It was very cathartic.
Back to the OP: Maybe try yoga or other exercise to boost endorphins and work through the anger? Whatever's troubling you, good luck with it!
Booze, cigarettes, Benedryl and a night out with a 'bad boy'.
(As a non-smoker...you don't have to light the cigarette, just put a pack in your jacket pocket.)
oh and pardon me...I guess I assume everyone is female or straight, but you can change the 'bad boy' to 'danger girl'
(As a non-smoker...you don't have to light the cigarette, just put a pack in your jacket pocket.)
oh and pardon me...I guess I assume everyone is female or straight, but you can change the 'bad boy' to 'danger girl'
Jaycinth said:
I'm here when you need me honey. . . .
Well. . . ask yourself this: What would Hemingway do? Fiztgerald? Raymond Carver? Any Russian?
The answers are evident, if you will it to be so.
I say, milk it! Use it! Vent (on paper) whatever emotions you're feeling and file them under their appropriate heading (anger-sadness-humiliation). I sometimes cut/paste/revise what I've written and include it in my wip when my MC need to feel deeply.
Can't Catch A Break said:
Try listening to a really beautiful piece of music. 'Spem in Alium' by Thomas Tallis (one of the most gorgeous choral arrangements in music history) is eleven minutes long, and by the time I've finished I feel so relaxed and, well, empty, that I can tackle almost anything.
Here's a link to a site with a sample - have a listen:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tallis-Spem-alium-Jeremy-Summerly/dp/B0009JMEL0/sr=1-2/qid=1157741760/ref=sr_1_2/202-9929984-0593412?ie=UTF8&s=classical
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Definately don't waste the bitterness. Create a character sharing your mindset and stick him in a story. It can be very catharic basking in the feeling for awhile.
And for a sillier suggestion, join a role play game and play a really dark character. Whenever the grouchyness needs to be let out, play out a scene. When it becomes too much, return to your novel.
And for a sillier suggestion, join a role play game and play a really dark character. Whenever the grouchyness needs to be let out, play out a scene. When it becomes too much, return to your novel.
Come get on my damn treadmill...after that monster gets done with you, you won't have the energy to be angry!
Or sit down and contemplate your navel...whichever works best for you!
Or sit down and contemplate your navel...whichever works best for you!
beezle said:
That's the best advice. When I'm pissed, I love writing something angry. It gets it out of me, and it leaves a story that is faintly vibrating (and, usually, badly spelled) sitting in the computer. I don't always even keep the story, but at least it's somewhere else from then on.
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kristie911 said:
I'm quoting kristie911 here but it's really a response to Can'tCatchABreak.
Sometimes one emotion masquerades as another, it's helpful to be able to get underneath an emotion's skin a bit and see what is going on. This is particularly true about anger and depression. Depression is sometimes seen as anger turned inward. In anger we try to flatten the person who makes us angry. If we can't do that we might try to flatten ourselves instead, and that works out in depression, it's a 'safer' way of being angry sometimes. Not better, but safer.
I'm not trying to say too much about krisite911's situation here, except that it highlights something that might serve the original post well.
CatchaBreak - what is it that is making you the jagged pill? Whatever it is seems to be in too much control of your life. And if you can identify what it is, is it really what it seems to be? Or is there another emotion hiding underneath it? You seem to be able to identify something, go a bit further with that identifying process.
Some people have suggested using the emotion to write something else to which it can give its power. I agree with that to a certain extent. However, if you can resolve the emotional tension, you will still be able to use the emotional power in your writing, but you will also have more control over how the emotion works itself into the text.
/Soap box mode off/
Kim
I think I'll follow some of the tips listed here, I rather like the write and burn approach.
I'm in the same boat. I hope the feeling passes soon for all.
I'm in the same boat. I hope the feeling passes soon for all.
Doctor Shifty, it's depression that's eating away at me. At times, the anger does spur me on, but more often than not, the apex of my feelings become sadness and a loss of self worth. It's compunded when all I want to do is write to get away from the toxicity in my life, but that mood alters what I put to paper.
Lately, I've just been taking a breath before diving in. On the upshot, there are times I've been so pissed off and that's when I've created magic. That's how my first novel came about, funneling the rage more costructively. I'm working hard to regain that medium.
Lately, I've just been taking a breath before diving in. On the upshot, there are times I've been so pissed off and that's when I've created magic. That's how my first novel came about, funneling the rage more costructively. I'm working hard to regain that medium.
Sometimes, because you're avoiding whatever strong emotions there are in your head as you dive into your story, you'll find yourself well-focused on your fiction and creating something good easily. When that happens, it can be exhilerating and can easily boost your spirits.
Er, it does me anyway. On those very rare occasions when I come home angry.
Er, it does me anyway. On those very rare occasions when I come home angry.
You might try this: write a scene of the specific cause of some of your anger, a scene featuring one of your characters as if it were happening to them. Now take that same anger and rewrite the scene but giving it a different cause, one that might mor logically appear in your WIP.
This Is Kate Grenville's suggestion, and I find it works.
In a recent scene fear led to anger, a righteous wrath that the recipient did not understand any better than the character. I find the scene stronger and more believable because of the transforming work I did.
This Is Kate Grenville's suggestion, and I find it works.
In a recent scene fear led to anger, a righteous wrath that the recipient did not understand any better than the character. I find the scene stronger and more believable because of the transforming work I did.
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Run!!!!!
No, I'm serious. Doing physical exercise is a good way to calm down and get your emotions in control. Plus, it's good for your health
That's what I do when my emotions get in the way of my WIP.
No, I'm serious. Doing physical exercise is a good way to calm down and get your emotions in control. Plus, it's good for your health
That's what I do when my emotions get in the way of my WIP.- Status