#TGFW Thank god for writing

#TGFW was a hashtag that Jane McLoughlin and I came up with the other day on Twitter when we were discussing how we use writing to get through difficult situations and to escape into.

I know we are not alone and I am sure this is something many writers can empathise with. I got back into creative writing rather the professional PR writing that I was doing in my 'past life' when I lost my business and my identity when I became seriously ill. I wrote poem after poem trying to work out who I was. Even now if someone hurts me or abuses me or things go badly wrong I write poems or splurge on the page getting it all out there. No one ever sees them and never will. That is never their purpose and I would never claim to be a poet. They are for me and me alone.

I am also very conscious of the fact that my mental health suffers if I do not write on a regular basis. A friend has even said she knows when I am writing as I am really happy. I don't have to be writing new stuff it can be editing or rewriting. I just need to be involved in the process of working on a project. The worse thing for me is if I am giving lots and lots of feedback on other people's work which I do a lot through both of my jobs but it can mean that it almost sucks the life out of me or should I say the words. I don't have the head space left for my own writing which is very detrimental for my own sanity! I need to deliberately create a time and a space to write. I know this but I so often seem to forget it and let life get in the way. I am trying very hard to timetable a set amount of time each day for writing again and already I feel better for it.

Next week I am off for more surgery and yes I confess I am not looking forward to it but I will be writing to get through it. Probably splurging on the page to deal with pain but also working on my WIP to heal my head too so I stay sane.

There is nothing wrong with this. Writing is like a muscle the more you do the stronger you get. No writing is wasted writing. Even if it doesn't belong in your current WIP keep it in another document you never know when it might just come in useful.

So I hope you 'have a nice day...' and have chance to escape into your writing and remember #TGFW