As a writer, I don't subscribe to the notion that I must write every day, let alone write X amount of words on a daily basis. I do as I please.
Because it is not the word count that counts; it is my imagination. If I cannot see, hear, and feel my characters and the story in my imagination, well, neither will my readers. So how is pushing writing as a daily activity going to fuel the very mechanism that is my creativity?
It does not.
Writing for the sake of writing is just writing...
Undawnted is where the imagination is unpredictable, insatiable, and undeniably... unleashed. This statement is how I live my craft. Everyone should have a guiding principle, or vision, for their writing career.
What is yours?
Ask yourself:
- What do you see in your writing that you would like others to enjoy?
- What do you want to convey that is unique to you?
- How do you want your reader to feel when they are done reading what you have written?
- What is it that you want out of writing that would satisfy your audience and your compulsion to write?
Another question to ask yourself is why do you write? I make this inquiry because I see many writers who have one-sided political views that they use to social engineer their audience. The psychological manipulation of your audience or writing for a small segment of the population will eventually sour people to your writing.
But... I want to be "inclusive!" Watch out for buzzwords. Those types of words usually resonate with fads and failures. I want to represent the underrepresented! If that segment of society is at 5%, then that is pretty much a forgone conclusion. A writer in this category is not interested in being inclusive but rather to the exclusion of 95% of the population, and thus creating a sect, or club. Maybe even a cult mindset in their writing.
Writers need to be wary of such extreme behavior.
If a writer writes exclusively for 15 million people who label themselves "Numerics", then that is all the readership you will hope to cultivate. And, writers must be aware of how their writing is accepted or rejected by this section of society. If you are seen as pandering, then you have pretty much excluded them too.
So what does a writer do? No one wants to be seen as "Numer-phobic," but pandering, and social engineering are just as terrible behaviors to pursue as the former.
How do writers become authentic?
That center for which writers get their creative drive is individual to every writer. If you don't know or feel your writing center, there are a few exercises you can do to center yourself. A writer could go somewhere quiet. Sit under a tree, in a library, or in a bookstore. Watch people interact from all walks of life. Do you feel their energy? Do you feel the trees? books? people? buildings?
With meditation or a creative exercise, find that feeling within yourself. What does that feel like? Can you delve deeper until all there is in the feeling is you? The original emotion that anchors you to a silent reverie of creativity and energy, do you feel that?
Does that center from your spiritual anchor spell out a one-side political or social agenda? Or, is being an authentic person more about all things under the sun, moon, and stars in the sky? Is being your authentic self about personal goals, integrity, and fulfillment?
Then why do you believe that being exclusive and manipulative has anything to do with being a creative architect in the craft of writing? art? media? science? math? instruction? medicine?
If you are an authentic person, then there is no need to belittle your audience with ridiculous or even immature behavior. A creative person, or anyone, who is centered needs only to live their vision statement as a role model. Behavior that manipulates or panders is against that which centers our spirits and anchors our souls.
I take on the challenge of writing from this universal consciousness. There are no inclusive or exclusive energies. I am not beholden to any belief or feel that I must target society as a change agent. The natural course of change is slow over centuries, not quick in the span of two decades (as we have seen in several artificial mass hysteria events since Y2K).
If you know who you are and what you are about, then the psychology and sociology of group dynamics does not affect you. Rather, you are driven by what is authentic, real, and tangible. An authentic person wants a centered sense to their world.
When you place yourself into your writing with the energy of authenticity, then your readers will respond in kind. In that center, you cannot look to others for guidance. That place is where you stand alone. It is you: raw, unfiltered, and unencumbered by outside forces. Since every person has this energy center, no matter their age, race, religion, politics, or orientation, your reader will have a deep connection with your writing, and your imagination.
Who do you want to be? Do you want to be your authentic self? Or, are you content with being a marionette in someone else's vision of you?
I choose to be authentic.
Have a great and wonderful day.
_____
A
writer at heart, Undawnted's own creative spark, DL Mullan, began
writing short stories and poetry before adolescence. Over the years, Ms.
Mullan has showcased her literary talents by self-publishing several
collections of her poetry. She also writes novels, designs apparel, and
creates digital art. Ms. Mullan‘s creative writing is available in
digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies.
As an independent publisher, she produces her own book cover designs as
well as maintains her own websites. She is an award-winning digital
artist and poet.
Currently, she has embarked on writing her multi-book Legacy Universe, Supernatural Superhero Series.
With her education and
experience in writing, DL Mullan shares her knowledge via her
newsletters. If you too want to become a Fearless Phile, then subscribe
to one of her newsletters on Substack.
Her innovative style teaches writers how to reach their creative potential, and write more effectively.
Learn. Grow. Master… with Undawnted.
