fae-academia

[fae-academia]

I'm inspired to write, but words don’t come out. Even I know what scenes I’ll write. It’s been a year of taking a break from writing. :c

hey, anon. this is a really tough spot to be in and i sympathize. we all have dry periods, and as tough as it is to admit, that's part of the creative process.

however, when it's been stretching on for so long that it starts to feel a little bit like despair, then it becomes important to address it and see what you can do to help yourself out.

How To Escape Writer's Block

what i would suggest is to walk yourself through these questions. if the answer to any of is 'no', take the necessary steps to make them 'yes'. usually when i do this, the gears kick back into place before i've even made it all the way down the list.

so, in order of importance:

1. are you sure you're not just burnt out?

this can happen when you have been working hard in any area of your life and can affect your writing even if you haven't burnt yourself out with writing.

if you're burnt out, the cure is time and giving yourself grace. it's ok, you'll get your spark back. i recommend consuming a lot of media you love to get your charge back.

2. are you physically taking care of yourself?

sometimes we get to the keyboard and we are exhausted, hungry, dehydrated, etc without even realizing it (especially if you're neurodivergent like i am and can disconnect from your body pretty easily!! y'all, don't procrastinate eating and drinking and going to the bathroom. don't do that).

take care of those issues before you try writing. i highly recommend youfeellikeshit.com, which guides you through a questionnaire to help you figure out why you feel gross.

3. do you have a regular writing practice?

sometimes you can be not burnt out and physically fine and you just can't seem to write anything when you get a spare moment to.

i highly recommend setting a super super low goal (50-100 words) to hit daily, whether it's for a single project or just overall for whatever you're writing (i do the second one) and then making sure you get to your notebook or your computer or your typewriter or your phone or whatever you use to write and making it happen.

brains are silly and sometimes need training. finding a routine that words for you can do wonders for opening the word floodgates.

4. are you excited about the project you're trying to work on?

simple question. easy answer. sometimes we get caught up writing what we feel like we're "supposed" to be writing. enough with that bullshit. write what you love. write about something that makes you so excited it distracts you from your real life on occasion. write about the thing you daydream about. you can worry about marketability and all that later. this is just about getting the words out of your head and somewhere you can look at them.

yes, this is permission to write that super self indulgent thing. i wrote an extremely self indulgent book and it's being published by a big 5 publisher so like. do it.

5. have you tried writing something unrelated just to get words flowing?

you've made it through the questionnaire and you still draw a blank when you get to your desk/couch/bed/ground/haunted cave/office. it's time to wiggle your pencil. it's time to write literally everything that crosses your brain until you are typing or writing words and making them happen. they don't have to make sense. they don't have to be remotely related to your project. they are just words to get your word-making muscles working. it sounds stupid. try it tho

that's about it for my advice! one note that is essential, though:

if you are ill in any way, mentally or physically, do not beat yourself up if writing doesn't happen. it can be really discouraging to try and write through chronic pain or mental illness, but just know that you are not alone.

it's okay if it's not happening right now. you'll get there. you will have good days. putting pressure on yourself to write isn't going to help you.

remember that writing is fun and unless it is your job/career, you are under no obligation to anyone but yourself, and you're also the only one who can give yourself grace and permission to just be.

for all writers struggling with mental/physical illness and seasonal depression as we approach fall (and the dreaded month of november that is usually either horribly overwhelming or full of FOMO), reach out to your other writer friends. chances are, somebody else gets it. it's always easier to go through it with somebody who understands.

i believe in all of you.

#writer's block #advice #remember #important

[fae-academia]

19 October 2021, Tuesday

Finished my first draft of an introduction to my dissertation. I don't think it's amazing but it's a first draft and I'll take the small victories.

#honestly today was just...hard #so much shit in my life and i have to have a fully fleshed out draft of my dissertation by the 1st of November #i'm just struggling not to fall apart #i know i'll be fine but WOW my mental health is just DOWN THE FREAKING DRAIN #oh well #we'll burn that bridge when we get there #uni life under lock down #studyblr #uni life #anthropology honours #my visual anthro assignment is also stressing me the fuck out

[fae-academia]

I have a 3500 word essay that's due tomorrow and I'm acting like I've got all the time in the world to write it.

#don't worry about me #I'm just burnt out #i don't even care that i'll submit late at this point #i'm just angry with the department

[fae-academia]

[fae-academia]

O saisons, ô châteaux (Agnès Varda, 1958)

[fae-academia]

This just in you can now pay up to $9.99 per month to hear the worst takes of your life 😍

#absolutely fucking not

[fae-academia]

[fae-academia]

the concept of growing into love is so much more intriguing than falling in love. it's like, on all our good days and bad days, I will choose to love you, I will learn with you, I will live my life with you and we will grow into and with each other through the passage of time

[fae-academia]

Me: Okay let's try to write

My brain: HOW ABOUT THIS IDEA THAT'S BEEN IN YOUR HEAD FOR 24 HOURS AND OBSESS OVER IT AND NOT YOUR ORIGINAL WIPS AT ALL????

#HELP MEEEE #Fuck this is a pattern and it's so frustrating #writeblr #I'm begging for just a little silence #Still have to finalise my research question LOLLLLL #I HATE IT HERE

[fae-academia]

I submitted my research proposal!

#four months of WORK AND ITS DONE #I have my proposal hearing next week but I'm so happy it's all done #I still have another assignment to do for next week but we CELEBRATE #uni life under lock down #uni life #studyblr #anthropology #anthropology honours

[fae-academia]

Château de Fontainebleau

[fae-academia]

not 2 sound whiny but i wish more attention was given to the importance of art and literature and philosophy and other humanities again so they'll return to being a really great part of what shapes a decade or an era instead of being seen as useless because they don't fit into the capitalist ideal of a productive society

#YES TO THISSSS

[fae-academia]

You ever see a pretty dress, a well-organised notebook, a peculiar balcony or read one line of poetry and get the overwhelming urge to reinvent yourself

[fae-academia]

never let a good notebook go to waste!

[fae-academia]

I have two huge assignment deadlines next week and my supervisor has not gotten back to me regarding my draft proposal or the meeting I want to have with him.

Pain.

#vent #uni life under lock down #uni life #studyblr #anthropology honours #don't get me wrong I love my supervisor #BUT SIR!!! THIS PROPOSAL IS WHAT I'LL BE RESEARCHING FOR THE NEXT SIX MONTHS PLEASE RESPOND

[fae-academia]

Four rules for a disciplined life

(Credit to reddit user ryans01).

No zero days. ‘What’s a zero day? A zero day is when you don’t do a single fucking thing towards whatever dream or goal or want or whatever that you got going on. No more zeros. I’m not saying you gotta bust an essay out everyday, that’s not the point. The point I’m trying to make is that you have to make yourself, promise yourself, that the new SYSTEM you live in is a NON-ZERO system. Didn’t do anything all fucking day and it’s 11:58 PM? Write one sentence. One pushup. Read one page of that chapter. One. Because one is non zero.’

Be grateful to the three yous. ‘There’s the past you, the present you, and the future you. If you wanna love someone and have someone love you back, you gotta learn to love yourself, and the 3 you’s are the key. Be GRATEFUL to the past you for the positive things you’ve done. And do favours for the future you like you would for your best bro.’

Forgive yourself. ‘Maybe you got all the know-how, money, ability, strength and talent to do whatever is you wanna do. But lets say you still didn’t do it. Now you’re giving yourself shit for not doing what you need to, to be who you want to. Heads up champion, being disappointed in yourself causes you to be less productive. Tried your best to have a nonzero day yesterday and it failed? So what. I forgive you, previous self. I forgive you. But today? Today is a nonzero masterpiece to the best of my ability for future self. This one’s for you, future homes. Forgiveness man, use it. I forgive you. Say it out loud.’

Exercise and books. ‘Pretty standard advice but when you exercise daily you actually get smarter. When you exercise you get high from endorphins (thanks body). When you exercise you clear your mind. When you exercise you are doing your future self a huge favour. Exercise is a leg on a three legged stool. Feel me? As for books, almost every fucking thing we’ve all ever thought of, or felt, or gone through, or wanted, or wanted to know how to do, or whatever, has been figured out by someone else. Get some books.’ 

[fae-academia]

what I really like about all these vintage couple’s portraits is that there is a very certain romatic decorum kept up – certain themes and poses – which, while of course being the mainstream preferred view of couples repeated throughout many studios, are just… so nice to look at. 

this staged affection, a mix of theatricality and intimacy, the couple holding still for a couple of moments and now immortalised in a very set sequence of embraces and kisses. there is a charm to it even when I can’t tell whether this was a genuine couple portait or just actors hired by the photographer.

the kiss on the bare shoulder (eyes perfectly averted), the cheek caress, the piano and the violin, the interrupted embrace, the woman tilted back as in a half-stopped dance…