“Dear Jim,

I’ve been writing a novel for some time now, but it’s been a struggle. I’ve come on hard times recently with a friend. I’ve felt betrayed and hurt. The problem is that I’m afraid to write while I feel that way. I’m worried that it will affect my writing and change how the story goes. Do you think I should keep going or put it on the back burner until I feel better?

Thanks for any help you could provide,
Jaclyn.

Okay… well obviously you’ve got a lot you’re dealing with right now. The best thing I would do right now is find someone to talk to and get your frustrations out. If all else fails, you have my email. I’d be happy to talk to you further if you just need to vent.

Anyway to answer your question; I know a lot of people would tell you to put your writing on hold and pull yourself back together first. Get all your ducks in a row and then get back to work. It’s sound advice for certain.

That said, I’m going to break the mold here. I think you should continue writing. If there is one thing I’ve found from my writing is that striking the keys and putting emotion on paper is EXTREMELY therapeutic. You say that you feel hurt and betrayed… what would you give to be able to just put all of your inhibitions aside and let loose on the world? How grand would it be to just let everyone know how you feel and not be judged for it or have your reputation damaged?

That’s where writing comes in. Writing, like painting or sculpting, is an art form. The best art is the kind where you can feel the creator’s emotion and see their heart put into it. Now consider, what are the strongest emotions? Love is certainly one of them, as is joy, but then anger, fear, and hatred are also very powerful.

These are all human emotions, when it comes to your art, don’t fight them, embrace them! I invite you to go into a dark room some where, shut the lights out, lock the door, power up your computer, bring up your book, and let your emotions come to a head. Bring out all the anger, the hatred, the sadness, and the feelings of betrayal. Push them all to the surface and then start typing. (You may want to buy a cheap, expendable keyboard for this).

Pound away at the keys, Jaclyn. Take your characters in whatever direction your emotions take you. Don’t let up, don’t be merciful, DO IT! As a favor to me, do this. Then email me and tell me how you feel. I don’t care if you like what you’ve written, that’s what the ‘cut’ command is for, though I think you may be surprised with what you come up with. Regardless of whether or not you use what you’ve written, trust me, you’ll feel worlds better.

My other piece of advice would be to keep what you’ve written. Don’t delete it!!!!! Save it to another file if you choose not to use it and if those feelings come back to haunt you later, refer back to it. Read it again and use it as a release.

My thoughts and prayers for you today, Jaclyn. It will be all right, eventually, everything will be all right.

Best,
Jim

Readers, do you have any other words of wisdom for Jaclyn? Do you agree with my advice? Leave a comment below!

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.
jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com
I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 5 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.
Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Thanks friends!
Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim