Refilling the Well

I know some people who roll the eyes when I say that I need to refill the well and I’m not truly sure why. They are probably the same people who laugh when I talk about my affirmations and I’ve always said ‘writing is fun and easy for me’.  

To be fair neither of these things are quantifiable or actually concrete. One of them is just a feeling I get when I have been writing a lot, which I love to do, but after a while I’m feeling …empty.  It’s not that I avhe writer’s block and that I don’t have any ideas to take to the page, it’s more like I don’t have any creative joy.  That I need to remind myself of the things that make me happy.

I’ve always striven (strived?) for balance in my life.  When my kids were little I was committed to being focused and “there” for them during my time with them.  And the same in my marriage.  When my husband and I are together I put my phone down and focus on us.  It’s hard to keep a relationship healthy when you never make eye contact or talk or laugh together. 

Writing has always been harder for me to balance.  I think because at first I was doing it in every spare second I could find while working full time and figuring out how to parent an infant, but then when it became my job, I had that fear that if I slowed down, I’d forget what I was doing and that the publishers would forget me.

So balance was never something I came close to achieiving with writing. And honeslty, I’m happiest when I’m sitting at my desk creating characters and building their world. Forcing them to face fears that I myself would probably just find a way around, but in my little fiction world, I feel safe exploring them.  

Refilling the well brings me back to joy and a source of contentment.  Sometimes I read to refill the wlel, other times I eat something I’ve been craving or cook. Or call my mom and have a video chat with her and my dad. They make me laugh so hard some times. Always talking to my kids refills my well and sometimes something as small as reaching for my husband’s hand while we are at a party does it.

Other times I get out of the house taking Godiva on a walk and just enjoying nature or on the opposite end of the spectrum treat myself to a day out shopping.

The thing with refilling the well for me is that I’ve built it into my writing process so instead of staring at a blank page while I stress out about a deadline I get up and do one of these things that refills my creativity and then I come back to the page much happier and more productive.

What do you do to refill the well?