Writing Through The Pain

Summary

The website content introduces a writing challenge titled "Writing Through The Pain," encouraging creatives to express how they overcome obstacles in their creative process.

Abstract

The "Writing Through The Pain" challenge, presented on June 8th, 2022, is a call to action for writers and other creatives to articulate their methods of surmounting creative blocks, which are likened to overcoming pain or swimming against the current. The author admits to personal struggles with inspiration and articulates the importance of continuing to create despite these challenges, emphasizing that creativity is essential to the well-being of artists. Participants are invited to write poetry or personal essays in response to the prompt, tag three favorite writers, and link back to the challenge page. The initiative is part of the "Know Thy Self Heal Thy Self" (KTHT) series and is supported by KTHT editors Diana C., Spyder, jules, and Ravyne Hawke.

Opinions

The author believes that pushing through creative difficulties is preferable to inaction, which is described as "nothingness" — a state inimical to creatives.
It is suggested that the act of creation is deeply intertwined with the creator's physical, mental, and spiritual health.
The challenge implies that all creatives face similar obstacles and that sharing strategies for overcoming these can be beneficial for the community.
The author acknowledges the struggle as a common experience among creatives, indicating empathy and solidarity with those who face creative blocks.
By encouraging the tagging of other writers, the challenge aims to foster a sense of community and collective engagement in the creative process.

KTHT Challenge Prompt June 8th 2022

As I write this, my mind is a blank. There is no inspiration to be had. Words won’t come. Thoughts are scrambled. I ask myself, how can I possibly inspire others to write when I have no ideas to divulge to them?

Right now, pain has overshadowed everything.

Those words above have sat on my screen for hours, taunting me. They don’t make for the beginnings of a writing challenge, do they? Or do they? I know I am not alone in these feelings. I am sure you too have felt uninspired before. I honestly believe it happens to all creatives when our bodies are in pain or our minds are troubled. This isn’t quite the same as writer’s block. It is more like too many boulders in the way that need to be moved, or trying to swim upstream. The effort is too great.

And yet, I know if I just keep putting words on the page, something will become of them. Nonsense? Possibly. Incoherent sentences? Most definitely.

I call this ‘working through the pain’ and it is a game I’ve learned to play with myself because the alternative is worse, so much worse — nothingness. That will never do, not for a writer, artist, musician, dancer, or other creatives. We need to be creating. It is our passion. Our every breath. Our very heartbeat. This lack of creation affects us physically, mentally, and spiritually. Without it, we would surely wither away.

Recommendations

As stated in our previous challenges, the basic recommendations for your stories are as follows:

1. Use the prompt to write a poem or personal essay.

2. (Tag) Mention at least (3) three of your favorite writers (here at KTHT or elsewhere on Medium) and ask them to participate. Each of those writers will then mention at least (3) three more, and so on.

3. You may submit your story to KTHT or to any publication that allows prompts from other publications.

4. Regardless of where you submit your piece, You MUST include a link back to this page and (Tag) mention one or all of the KTHT editors — Diana C., Spyder, jules, or me, Ravyne Hawke

Stay blessed, my friends.

WRITING CHALLENGE | KNOW THYSELF HEAL THYSELF

Writing Through The Pain

KTHT Challenge Prompt June 8th 2022

The Prompt:

Recommendations