Novelist Notions: Writing, Creativity, and Personal Growth

Time travel isn’t possible yet. We don’t yet have that technology. But what if we did? What if you could go back in time and give your younger self advice? What would you say? I’ve given a lot of thought to this question, and I can’t help but think of a great many things I would tell my past self—if I could resist the urge to slap him first, of course. Come along and take this journey with me, and perhaps you will ponder your past and what you’d do differently. Blogging Platforms Exist, And They’re Right In Front Of You Blogger I graduated from high school in 2007. I had no direction in life. I did not know what I was going to do or where I was going to do it. I can still hear the haunting sound of the speaker’s voice at my graduation referring to me as “undecided” when it came to plans after graduation. Deep down, I think I always knew I wanted to write. I just didn’t know how I was going to accomplish that. You can imagine my surprise, and instant regret to boot, when I found out the...

Writer’s Block? Or Something Different? Writer’s block and what I like to call creative stagnation are often—not always in so many words—used interchangeably. In reality, they are quite different.It's easy to mix up writer's block and creative stagnation, but they're not quite the same thing. Writer's block is usually a temporary hiccup in your writing process, like hitting a wall where you can't come up with ideas or put your thoughts into words. Creative stagnation is more of a long-term funk, where you feel like your creative juices have run dry and you're just stuck. Writer's block is like a minor roadblock, while creative stagnation feels more like a major detour. What causes these issues? Writer's block often pops up because of stress, nerves, or even just a severe case of self-doubt. Sometimes it's external things like deadlines or not having any new ideas. Creative stagnation, though, comes from deeper issues like losing your motivation, bein...