Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Peace

Peace. 


It's not just for hippies.



For writers, I believe peace is something we tend to fight on a daily basis. Having peace in a story is like death to characterization and plot lines, because no conflict can happen in utter peace. But losing peace in our lives can make it ten times harder to write, because stories cultivate out of peaceful times.

So, why peace? Why do we need it, and how do we use it?

1. We need peace to calm our minds


We have too many ideas, and we need to sort them out if our stories are going to make any sense. In any kind of creative writing, too many ideas = confusion. That's what we're avoiding. And the best way to avoid it is to avoid some of the crazy. Find a peaceful spot, a happy place, maybe even some soft music, and content yourself for a while to sit and write.

2. We need peace to be able to sit down and write


For me at least, I cannot write in a loud place or when I'm discontent. It's like there's too many voices in my head, and they're all competing for the lime light. So I need to find that peaceful place, that zone of rest and contentment, where I can sit down and cultivate a story.

3. We use the peaceful moments to offset the crazy ones


We've said it before, and it's still true: we're a little crazy. We can't help it. But it's in those peaceful moments that we're able to offset our crazy and reach some semblance of normality (especially when we need to be normal for a few hours). If we don't have enough peaceful times, our crazy comes out too much and our stories, our friendships, and even our minds can suffer.

4. We seek out peace to avoid the sorrow


It's practically common knowledge by now that creative types tend to lean more toward depression. It happens. It's okay. I'd be the last person to condemn you for that. But it is another reason why we need peace in our lives. If we have that peace, that contentment in our hearts, the depression is staved off. It can't touch us, because we have that little piece of heaven inside us.

And really, that's what we're all trying to achieve.

[love]

{Rani Divine}

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