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Tuesday's Tinted Ink

Can you take stressful situations and turn them into creative outlets?

What is stress, anyway?
My dictionary says:

pressure or tension exerted on a material object:

a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances:

particular emphasis or importance...

I would originally have said no. Stress makes me physically sick. I don't handle it very well and do my best to avoid stressful situations.

but look at the last definition up there^^ particular emphasis or IMPORTANCE.

So you stress things when they are important? Sure! But I still don't like it. My stomach hurts, I lose my energy, and I generally can't concentrate on anything but the stressful situation. AND, I cry. Yes, I'm that kind of women.

But I do know that everything happens for a reason and when things don't turn out as I planned or hoped, I cling to the thought that

It will make me a stronger, wiser, person.

And that, my friends, makes my writing more creative because it gives me fuel to write more emotionally charged scenes. so my creativity grows in leaps and bounds.

But, I still don't like stress....

What about you, beautiful guys and dolls? How do you handle stress? What does it do to you in the creative field?

Comments

  1. I hate stress--like most people i suppose. I seem to handle most stresses by ignoring them, which is both a good way to handle things (leaving me much less stressed) and a very bad way to handle things as I sometimes ignore the things that I need to take care of and then they just get bigger and bigger until they're insurmountable and it's way more stressful than it would've been if I just hadn't buried my head to begin with. haha

    BUT--writing stress/querying stress is different for me than any other kind of stress. It's the one thing I seem incapable of ignoring. From the moment I start thinking about querying, my stomach hurts.

    The last time I queried a book with real consistency I had a stomach ache for approximately two months. That is, unfortunately, not a lie. On the upside, I lost ten pounds cause I never wanted to eat...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I write to handle stress. Losing myself to an alternate reality gives a much needed break, and time for the back of my brain to think of solutions. I'm a solution oriented type, I can't keep stresses hidden.

    Writing stresses - querying, blogging, contests, writer's block, editing, etc - are ones I enjoy. In the beginning they were overwhelming, but now, I look forward to each step.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Breathe, listen to old MTV Pearl Jam unplugged videos, watch a Fringe episode, find the light glowing in the darkness of my mind, then imagine a world I'd like to go to and write until my fingers hurt. Hmm, perhaps I shared too much. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I don't handle stress well either. It cause physical responses and I hate that even more.

    Now I'm consciously trying to read more inspirational pieces, forgo the news -- especially the political and the hardest one of all -- I'm really trying to distance myself from my kids choices. Stress doesn't usually help my writing, it's a negative impact on everything, so prayer is my go to solution -- not that I get the answers I want or need, or any answers at all -- it is very calming.

    ReplyDelete
  5. If I get too stressed, I have seizures. Fun, right?

    In November I wrote a blog post that is relevant to this topic. It's part of who I tend to write scenes that can be so painfully realistic that I have to pull back.

    http://alysbcohen.wordpress.com/2012/11/03/writers-toolbox/

    Long story short, I write down how I feel in various instances and refer back to it as needed.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Stress is second cousin to tension, which is what I think drives a book forward.

    ReplyDelete
  7. sometimes i yell, sometimes i cry, sometimes i go for a walk...a glass of wine or some chocolate doesnt hurt either =)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I make a point to breathe...just breathe...

    ReplyDelete

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