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G is for Giving Up vs a Creative Charley Horse

I love encouraging others!

Since I love encouraging others so much, I’m sharing Creative Encouragement Memes for this year’s A to Z Blog Challenge. The quotes are from all over, but I took each photo with my iPhone. Here’s today’s featured letter:

(photo by Tui Snider)
(photo by Tui Snider)

Is it Time to Give Up? Or is it a Creative Charley Horse?

Have you ever had a Charley Horse? That’s the nickname for a terrible cramp that strikes out of the blue, usually affecting your calf muscles. When you get a Charley Horse, every instinct tells you to keep pointing your toes, even though that’s the wrong thing to do. In fact, you’ll feel instant relief by doing the exact opposite: pulling your toes back towards your feet.

I mention this because *sometimes* – with a heavy emphasis on the sometimes – you’ll feel the same way about a creative project. All of a sudden, everything in your heart, head and soul will scream at you to give up. You’ll want to chop your creative project into little pieces, heave it out a window, or toss it onto a bonfire. (Of course, if it’s a writing project, the delete key will do the trick. It’s just not as satisfyingly dramatic!)

While I’m a firm believer in trusting your gut instincts, there are times when the opposite approach is better. I call it a Creative Charley Horse. For me, at least, a sudden, overwhelming urge to give up on a project often means that I’m close to a creative break through!

How do you handle the sudden urge to give up? Have you ever had a Creative Charley Horse? 

 

Follow me on Instagram & I’ll follow you back!

If you are on Instagram, I’d be delighted to follow you. Simply follow my photo feed (@TuiSnider) on Instagram and I’ll follow you back! Isn’t Instagram fun? I’ve gone from turning up my nose at the idea of cell phone pictures, to being an avid iPhone photographer. I even had my first gallery show last summer!

What is the April A to Z Blog Challenge?

Each April, bloggers from all over the world participate in the April A to Z blog challenge, and you can too. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to meet other bloggers.

To play along, all you do is make a blog post for each letter of the alphabet during April, then visit as many other bloggers as you can. In addition to my personal blog here, I’m also writing A to Z posts for the the Story Dam writing community. You can check those out by clicking here: Story Dam’s Writing Quotes & Encouragement 

Hey, you! Want to come along for the ride?

No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui's books can take you on a FUN adventure!
No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui Snider’s books can take you on a FUN adventure!

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3 Comments

  1. My last mystery was that way. At times I felt like I was slogging through wet cement. We’ll see how I feel when I tackle the first edit next month. LOL!

  2. I don’t think I’ve ever undertaken a project where there wasn’t a moment of wanting to give up, or feeling like I wasn’t making progress. I like the term creative Charley Horse. WeekendsInMaine

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