6. Take it and leave it. | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

Forget The Coffee And Tea, Writers, These Are The 7 Best Ways To Cure Your Stress

Disclaimer: you can still drink coffee and tea.

88
https://unsplash.com/photos/1K9T5YiZ2WU
Tim Gouw

In This Article:

Deadlines, editors, readers you take to heart and claim don't know what they're saying about your work, it all weighs down on our pencil-pushing minds. Writing takes a lot of imagination but also a lot of effort in the real world.

Make no mistake, we writers love this limitless life of learning. But if we have to accept one more limit on our creativity, there might be more bloodshed than a Red Wedding. Luckily, writers have more than one way to kill their darlings, especially the one named Stress.

1. Small Assignments.

c1.staticflickr.com

Sometimes you can't get away from behind the desk. Writing can feel demanding but it doesn't have to. Write small assignments, an idea penned by Anne Lamott, the author of the writing reference book "Bird by Bird."

Rather than write large amounts of pages in one, big sitting, she suggests creating achievable writing goals the size of an index card. Whether it's word count, page count, or character development, give yourself something to work with and to edit later.

2. Read what you write.

c1.staticflickr.com

Do you like what you write but find yourself getting lost in genre? Reading the fiction or nonfiction you long to write and just as well can be a nice refresher and motivator. Maybe it's a complex character or a plot twist you're after and need to see how other books present them.

Or you just need a break from writing and want to read something new or familiar to help your routine. Reading is a great escape and research tool to resort to, during the best of times and the worst of times.

3. Inspired by a true story.

media.npr.org

Films and television can bring stories to life too. Granted you can't see whole paragraphs on the screen spelling it out for you, there is subtext and emotions you can see. Just like books, the silver screen and the tube can show you what scenes are made of. Queue your favorites and enjoy the show.

4. Be Authentic.

upload.wikimedia.org

Submission guidelines can be more vague than a T.S. Eliot poem (I'm looking at you "The Wasteland"). No matter what a publication is asking for, give them what they want. Once you've met their expectations, meet your own.

No one said you can't write what you want, you just have to know your way around the page: between the lines. Like Mark Twain said, establish the facts, then bend them as you please.

5. Multitasking is a myth.

c1.staticflickr.com

Accept the fact that you can only do one thing at a time. No, typing and looking at your screen does not count. You still have to research to write a research paper. You have to read plenty to write well. The process hasn't changed, but the more you focus on a task, the more time you'll have and the more accomplished you'll feel and be in the end.

6. Take it and leave it.

imagesvc.timeincapp.com

Advice can be a good thing, but for others it might not be as helpful. Listen as much as you can to as much as you can. Then decide which advice works. The same applies for media; some people don't like to laugh but maybe they have a different sense of humor. You can't please everybody, but you can please yourself. You don't have to leave it, but you don't have to take it either.

7. Sleep on it and think later.

c1.staticflickr.com

Ideas present themselves after a nap or a good night's sleep. Even when you're head has hit the pillow, ideas can present themselves, and that's because of two things: you weren't working and you weren't thinking.

Thinking too much can get in the way of the imagination. Being patient, even when nothing is happening, when it's just you and silence, is the best time to expect the unexpected. Relax and sleep with your third eye open.

Writers lead the way through remarkable worlds, including our own. Readers might not realize the cost of their tours and that's because it's priceless by the time they've finished the trip. But not before coffee or tea, of course.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
ross geller
YouTube

As college students, we are all familiar with the horror show that is course registration week. Whether you are an incoming freshman or selecting classes for your last semester, I am certain that you can relate to how traumatic this can be.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

Bonus points if it is more than two.

Keep Reading...Show less
friends

Whether you're commuting or dorming, your first year of college is a huge adjustment. The transition from living with parents to being on my own was an experience I couldn't have even imagined- both a good and a bad thing. Here's a personal archive of a few of the things I learned after going away for the first time.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

Economic Benefits of Higher Wages

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

300719
Illistrated image of people crowded with banners to support a cause
StableDiffusion

Raising the minimum wage to a livable wage would not only benefit workers and their families, it would also have positive impacts on the economy and society. Studies have shown that by increasing the minimum wage, poverty and inequality can be reduced by enabling workers to meet their basic needs and reducing income disparities.

I come from a low-income family. A family, like many others in the United States, which has lived paycheck to paycheck. My family and other families in my community have been trying to make ends meet by living on the minimum wage. We are proof that it doesn't work.

Keep Reading...Show less
blank paper
Allena Tapia

As an English Major in college, I have a lot of writing and especially creative writing pieces that I work on throughout the semester and sometimes, I'll find it hard to get the motivation to type a few pages and the thought process that goes behind it. These are eleven thoughts that I have as a writer while writing my stories.

Keep Reading...Show less
April Ludgate

Every college student knows and understands the struggle of forcing themselves to continue to care about school. Between the piles of homework, the hours of studying and the painfully long lectures, the desire to dropout is something that is constantly weighing on each and every one of us, but the glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel helps to keep us motivated. While we are somehow managing to stay enrolled and (semi) alert, that does not mean that our inner-demons aren't telling us otherwise, and who is better to explain inner-demons than the beloved April Ludgate herself? Because of her dark-spirit and lack of filter, April has successfully been able to describe the emotional roller-coaster that is college on at least 13 different occasions and here they are.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments