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:
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?
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Tui Snider is an author, speaker, and photographer who specializes in North Texas travel, cemetery symbols, and haunted lore. As she puts it, “I used to write fiction – but then, I moved to Texas!”
Snider’s best-selling books include Paranormal Texas , Understanding Cemetery Symbols, and 100 Things to Do in Dallas - Fort Worth Before You Die.
Snider has several more books in progress, and enjoys connecting with writers and readers all over the globe through social media, her newsletter and her website: TuiSnider.com.
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!
I like applying that concept to writing.
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