Writing and the Great Depression...

Like many other folks out there, I’ve had my struggles with depression.

I’ve been on a positive upswing for the past few years, but these past few months have been difficult. Call it persistent feelings of frustration and hopelessness weighing me down. It’s a nuisance I really can’t afford to deal with these days—I have too much on my plate and can’t take some time to just stay on the couch for hours, which admittedly is all I feel like doing lately.

But anyway.

The most annoying part is that my writing is starting to feel the effects. It’s perfectly clear when I’m not at the top of my game mentally or even physically. I’ll go back to read what I’ve done, and I notice a lot of passive voice, excessive “wordiness”, and an overall feeling of…blah. It’s obvious to me, so it must be obvious to others, too. But the thought of going back and editing is overwhelming, too.

I’m curious how others can put aside their own “stuff” and still turn out quality work. I know lots of other writers who struggle with various conditions, and I’m amazed that they can still get it all done. I get it done, but it’s not necessarily my most stellar work.

How do you handle it? How do you continue to churn out projects when you’re simply not feeling up to it?

Guest Post: Soothing the Writer by Ana Rios

Ana V. Rios is a Human Resources professional with a passion for writing. She is a person who enjoys helping people and enjoys sharing what she knows and learns. Her writing journey began almost a year ago and her aspiration is to become a published author of a romantic suspense novel. In her blog, The Writer Today, she writes about her experiences, ideas, writing resources and anything that is relevant to writing or that she connects with.

“To make the right choices in life, you have to get in touch with your soul, to do this , you need to experience solitude…because in the silence you hear the truth and know the solution.” – Deepak Chopra

Getting “in touch with your soul”, through solitude, is one of the best ways a writer can “recharge” the muse within. We are the main character in our own lives, with all its plot twists and turns. It is in our power to make and change our own path, to write and rewrite our direction and go somewhere new. We need to be our biggest fan. “I write because I can” is my new motto. I feel that writers are so busy taking care of other people and things that they do not take the time to take care of themselves and this causes burn out, writer’s block and a lack of purpose. In order to avoid this, I made a list of some things that can be soothing to the writer and allow for more energy, more of an open mind, and of course, more writing.

Find a place for solitude – and use it for reflection, relaxation and inner peace

Get as much rest as possible

Destress with meditation and/or Yoga

Surround yourself with people that give you comfort when you need it

Seek inspirational and motivational resources

Simplify your life whereever and whenever possible

Let your writing place have everything you need to create

Have things soothing to the senses: aromatherapy lotions, candles, music

Be good to yourself – you deserve it


“I keep the telephone of my mind open to peace, harmony, health, love, and abundance. Then, whenever doubts, anxiety or fear try to call me, they keep getting a busy signal-and soon they forget my number.” – Edith Armstrong

What else can you think of that would be soothing to a writer?

Favorite Writing Music

I'm one of those people who just needs to have music playing as much as possible. I have the radio on all day at work, and of course when I'm at home, writing. I need to have background noise. Rather than having it distract me, I find that it helps me stay focused.

Between papers for class, my column, and my various other writing endeavors, I listen to a lot of music. I try to mix it up a little, but there are always some standards that I keep coming back to.

Here are just a few of my current favorites:

Enya, And Winter Came. With its lush melodies and, of course, that voice, the fact that this is technically a Christmas CD is really irrelevant. Some of the songs do have vocals, and to me they sound like they were recorded in an empty Gothic cathedral deep in Italy or Ireland. Just beautiful. And the instrumentals are lush enough and relaxing enough to get you right into that "writer's zone". Love it.

Enya, Paint the Sky With Stars: The Best of Enya. Yes, there's a pattern here. Say what you want about Enya, but in my opinion, there's not much music out there that helps you get into a better frame of mind than hers. I have almost all of her CD's, and with good reason.

Joni Mitchell, Turbulent Indigo and Hits. C'mon. It's Joni Mitchell--need I say more? These are 2 discs I reach for when I have a particularly long paper and just need a little extra push. I particularly love "Sex Kills" and "Turbulent Indigo" off that CD, and "Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody" and "Come In From the Cold" off of Hits.

Carly Simon, Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits. I love music by singers/songwriters from the '70's, and it doesn't get much better than Carly. Though oddly enough, I find that I replay tracks 9-16 over and over again, and most of those were among her best works from the 1980's. Go figure.