When things go left, go write.

“Tears are words that need to be written.”

― Paulo Coelho

With the pace of our lives ever increasing, sentiments being trimmed down to 140 characters or a series of emoji, the art of writing is starting to take a backspace. I'm not talking about how there are less people writing novels and articles (I haven't researched it and have no idea, there could be more thanks to how easy it is to blog and become an overnight success) I'm talking about putting pen to paper and going from there, starting with the date, writing about thoughts and possibly delving into hidden ideas or suppressed emotions. 

I have been writing a lot lately; and have had so much to say and nothing to say at the same time, which is why I have found a few quotes about writing from the greats. 

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

― Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway was a pretty dark fellow. Things in his life certainly went "left", like when his first love who he wanted to marry abandoned him for an Italian officer when Ernest was recuperating from his shrapnel wounds in both legs. Or when Hemingway pulled a skylight down on his head thinking he was pulling on a toilet chain in a Paris bathroom. This left him with a prominent forehead scar, which he carried for the rest of his life. And so he continued to write.

“Imagination is like a muscle. I found out that the more I wrote, the bigger it got.” 

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.”

― William Wordsworth

Maybe write for no one, with the same abondnoment you did when you were a child writing your name in the steamy car window. 
Maybe write for yourself, a letter to discover in amongst those receipts you keep hoping to claim back on tax. 
Maybe go to write and end up doodling on the top corner of the page, starting with a swirl and rippling it out into stars, cubes and any shape your imagination produces for that fleeting moment. 

Maybe write when you are angry at your sibling for not being in touch with you.
Maybe write when you need to address the way you are being treated by a friend.
Maybe write when you have lost your job, your sense of self or even your mind. 

It doesn't have to be poetic, it doesn't have to be true, it can just be you.
Or you pretending to be someone else, like a Giant who wishes he was small, or what your Grandfather would have written to your Great Grandfather to ask to marry your Grandmother. 

It can be a list, it can be a poem, the most amazing thing is when you write something you discovered that was unknown. When things get hard to bear, bare your soul between the lines.

By being deliberate and making clear sentences, it can help out thoughts unclutter and become clearer. And you can live in the moment as you write it, and reflect over it later. 
Like making a "to do" list when you are stressed...

Make the pen your friend.

When things go left, go write. 

JJ