[Perzephone]

Hi, everyone...

I've decided to just give up on ever becoming a mortician, for more reasons than one... and decided to pursue a career as a CPA. So, I took a giant leap & enrolled in the local community college for the fall semester w/the so-so support of my husband.

Anyway, I decided I'd knock out English 101 & managed to get an online course, which is cool. What is not cool is that it looks like it will be mostly composition. In other words, writing.

I normally enjoy, or used to enjoy, writing. When I was a teenager & an alcoholic, my depression seemed to fuel my creativity. It gave me something to be angsty about and words flowed like water from my pen. Now... I just don't think I have that many words in me. I can't come up w/an original, creative thought to save my life. The only thing I've written in years (other than the odd & far-between letters to my two remaining pen-pals) is a how-to guide for when I have to train a relief night auditor. Which isn't very creative, but technical. And I do keep a journal, but most of my entries over the past year have been a sentence or two so my account won't lapse from inactivity.

Anyone got any tips for refueling the creative fire?

[h0kie]

What about a writing prompt? There are all kinds out there.

What kind of things do you have to write about? Have you tried brainstorming? I can teach a kid how to write, but I'm not sure how helpful I can be with writer's block.

No matter what though.

[Valis]

I use to be that way before I realized that I was using my writing as an escape from my problems, when your being creative and using those parts of the brain, thier is little room for you to meditate on your problems.

I guess one should call it a coping method?

It took me awhile get pass the stage of writing in my anger and what not...If you stick with writing long enough I think you will find a way to overcome your writers block, and write when your feeling good rather than bad.

[Perzephone]

The class starts in September - I'm hoping the professor assigns subjects to write about - if I have a specific task at hand, I can probably hack something acceptable out. If I have to not only write an essay, but think of the topic as well, I get the feeling I'll be pretty much screwed.

I also worry about if she assigns us some sort of group collaboration thing, because the book focuses on that as well. Since this is an online class, it would mean having to gather phone numbers or e-mail addresses from complete strangers, strangers who are also probably going to be much younger than myself, and trying to go back & forth w/writing something. I am not a people person when it comes to things like that. I'm just hoping my feelings of generalized dread don't build so much that I completely talk myself into withdrawing from the class before it starts.

[h0kie]

I don't think you will have any group work (I could be wrong). I've taken several online courses and it really isn't reasonable to expect you to meet with "classmates". They could be located across the state. Hopefully that will put one worry to rest. Good luck!

[lenjan]

Focus on something besides your fear and depression. I'm a journalist. I have to write a set number of stories per week. It requires interacting with people and pretending to be interested in them. I'm depressed as hell. But as long as you have to pay attention to something/someone else to get the job done, it seems to work OK.

Good luck.