Writing can be a stressful pursuit, and we live in stressful times.
Where do you go for moral support? What’s your go-to de-stresser?
For me it’s a mix of friends, family, loved ones in “real life,” but I also draw a lot on online community as well, whether it’s you commenters and Forums posters (yes you!) or like-minded posters on social media.
How about you?
I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and consultations! And if you like this post, check out my guide to writing a novel.
Art: Drei Freunde by Benjamin Heinrich Orth
My colleague in the office next to mine. We dance it out. Not like Ally McBeal. More like something Mr. Bean might do.
Family and friends and online too. Reading and walking. And a life coach, with whom I had a conversation tonight about my WIP and his (second!) PHD thesis, among other things. We both wondered what possesses us to do what amount to endless homework and exams/tests when it's been so many years since we really had to do such things!
BTW, your first sentence set me to wondering if writing, and our present time, really are that stressful, compared to other activities and times. A question for a future post, perhaps?
A walk in the woods clears my head. I mediate and practice qi gong which helps greatly. Family and friends of course help as well. Online forums etc help more than I realized before writing this comment. We are all sort of online "compadres in spirit"; strangers who are pursuing similar goals with similar struggles. I feel that you all on here and the writers and agents that I follow on twitter are more than just online words; we are a collective spirit full of encouragement, information and help. I would have had no clue how to query or narrow down an agent and for that I am extremely grateful. 🙂 A book spilled out of me that wasn't planned and I have no formal training in creative writing. So, the online writing community has been clutch!