Get Out and Live So You Have Something to Write About

I’ve noticed Medium has some cobwebs hanging around

I began writing on Medium in early January 2022. By summertime, I was completely hooked and my numbers rose every month. I was riding the pink cloud of writing and sobriety.

Last July I experienced my best month ever, with a large amount of reads which meant a nice payout. I didn’t have enough time in the day to read and respond but I made it work. I was completely addicted to the rush.

I was chasing the dragon. I fell in love with writing and found a release of emotions while emptying the incessant chatter in my brain.

I was also out living in between my writing sprees. I brought my laptop along on my travels and journeys.

While online, I found so many new stories and my inbox was always full with my favorite writers. I found my tribe here, a community of people that I either share interests with or simply admire their writing style and their kindness.

Medium replaced social media for me. I no longer found myself wasting my time comparing myself to others on Instagram. Although, I came to realize that Medium is another form of social media but also different in its own right.

My eyes would light up when I opened my laptop to see new stories by my favorite writer’s faces, waiting for me to click. In my feed, there were many new stories from writers that I knew and also writers that shared common interests with me.

There were stories of sobriety, addiction, yoga, and clean living ready for my viewing. My feed was an abundance of memoirs.

Those days are gone. We haven’t had the bubbleheads for a while now and that’s fine. I got used to not seeing them.

What I don’t get is why my following feed is nobody that I follow. There are old stories and not many of interest to me.

My feed is no longer full of addiction/sobriety stories, memoirs, or anything pertaining to healthy living. I’ve gone through and checked my settings and to no avail, my feed is the same. I can find these stories if I search the topic but I never had to do that in the past.

I rely on my emails, which have been pretty dead lately, too. I also rely on the comments, of mine and my fellow favorites. But recently, I don’t get as many emails. It’s like crickets around here.

I thought there would be a summer slump last year from what I read but it seemed to be completely the opposite for me. I didn’t have enough time to keep up. I completely get that people are busy having their summer fun, which I will be soon, but it seems like a ghost town compared to what it was.

People are out living so they have something to write about. I’ve come to the conclusion that living is replacing the chase.

When I am not living, writer’s block comes knocking

I have a list of titles saved in my notes. Whenever I hear something that sparks my interest on a podcast, movie, tv show, the radio, or after having a conversation with someone, I write it down. While I am walking out in nature and I get an idea, I stop to jot it down.

Although lately, I open my notes and all of the ideas are falling flat. I wrote about my past vacation and a few musings of life but I need to get out and do more living so I have more to write about.

I am sure many writers might feel the same about summer. Now is the time to get out and live, creating memories and filling your idea bank with new story ideas based on the experiences you are having.

Next week I will be in Las Vegas, as we are every year for a week-long dance competition. Last year, my idea box was packed full of new experiences and observations. I put the computer away during the day and went on with life.

When I opened my computer in the mornings, words poured from my brain onto the page. These ideas that were swimming around in my brain after a day at the pool aligned themselves sweetly and made for some great stories.

Since my notes look pretty drab lately and I am not seeing the stories that I used to, I am taking it as a sign from the universe that I am ready for some excursions.

I’m ready to get out of the house during my free time and create my own inspiration. I’m a firm believer that if you write what you know, the story is better and of a higher caliber.

If you write about what you know and your experiences, it reads authentically. Readers can sense the authenticity of a writer. When you are living your life to the fullest, the stories that follow will feel natural to the person that is reading them.

There is simply no substitute for our own lived experiences and feelings. When I write about what I know or how I am feeling at the present moment, there is no shortage of words that spill onto the page.

When my ideas are falling flat and I struggle to drum up memories for a good memoir, it’s my cue to get out and do some living.

Take the walk, go to that lunch, take a trip, and create some memories worth writing about with your loved ones. I am taking that cue and getting out to live.

You need personal experiences for a good story. You need a life worth writing about.

Get out and live if you are seeing the cobwebs hanging around and if your drafts are falling flat.