IWSG: Memories of Writing

Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts on the first Wednesday of the month.

The IWSG question for November is: How has your creativity in life evolved since you began writing?

That is a good question! It is fun to take a walk down memory lane through my writing history. This is one of those moments when I wish I still had my first stories I wrote in 6^th grade. I cannot remember what they were like, but I know that my imagination ran wild when I was a child. I had a lot of ideas in my head before I started writing, and I still remember some of the worlds I would pretend to be in when I played. I have some of my high school diary entries, which do not include a lot of creative writing, unless you count the number of ways I fantasized about “accidentally” bumping into my crushes. I have a couple cute stories I wrote for my 11^th grade English class. They lack details, but I included some interesting ideas.

 In college, most of my writing was for assignments and tests. A couple of my professors applauded my writing skills, but I’m assuming they were referring to my grammar, because most of my chapter reviews or summaries were complete BS. After rereading some of my homework, I never realized I was so talented at making it sound like I actually read the textbook. Beyond required writing, I wrote a lot of emails during those years, since I was away from my friends.

The most consistent writing I have done over time has been keeping a diary or journal. It seems I have matured in how I approach my journaling. I use it to work through my emotions, to write out prayers, or just to get all of my thoughts out of my head. Sometimes journaling inspires me to work on my fiction stories or poetry. It also inspired some of my past blog posts. I started this blog in 2010, and I actually enjoy reading many of my old posts. I used to think that I’ve lost some of my creative ability, but I think my real problem is that I have been more distracted in recent months than I was eight years ago. My focus has been off of writing. I still add ideas to my list, but I have not actually sat down to work on those ideas. My most creative writing pursuits of the last two years have been my WEP entries and a fantasy story I occasionally work on.

I have found other creative pursuits. From time to time I work on craft and sewing projects. My biggest pursuit lately has been photography. I have always enjoyed pictures, and after getting myself addicted to Instagram about a year ago, my picture taking has increased exponentially. I feel that photography is in a similar plane to writing, because it’s another way of expressing oneself. Also, my pictures make me want to write more – to write about the feelings and experiences behind the photos.