Reading, writing, and listening to stories have been a part of my life for as long as I remember. As cliché as it sounds, literature is my first love. In my time at Scripps, I have devoted myself to exploring the possibilities and limitations of language. At the beginning of this semester, I made a decision to write a creative thesis. Since then, I’ve been working to integrate creative writing into my daily routines as fully as possible.
At Scripps, I have numerous obligations that pose barriers for maintaining a writing life. When there are papers due, emails to respond to, meetings/events to coordinate and attend, creative writing usually takes a back seat to more pressing demands. It is easy to let these obligations to serve as an excuse for not writing. It’s easy to put off writing until tomorrow. The draft of that story isn’t going anywhere.
Yet, I have come to realize that the Scripps environment is conducive to writing in so many ways. Here, I can take advantage of classes, events, and workshops among the wealth of resources available in Claremont. But more importantly, there are communities of writers at Scripps who are willing to share, compassionately critique, and motivate each other to produce great work.
At times, writing is incredibly difficult and giving up is too tempting. Maybe the protagonist is stagnant or meandering, maybe the plot is nonexistent, or the setting is all wrong for the characters’ state of mind. Pushing past that wall crushing the chapter that’s not going anywhere seems like an impossible task. I’ve tried to take concrete steps to write for an hour every day, even when inspiration doesn’t strike. Sometimes, going through the motions can lead to a breakthrough.
There will always be challenges to doing creative work, because creativity in our culture is seen as a luxury, and not a necessity. But as I write more often and more consistently, I begin to realize that writing, for me, is a form of self-care. I write because writing is a way for me to process my life. I write to give myself voice.
Outside of Scripps, there will be more challenges if I choose to work and leave this intimate residential community. But I know that I want to sustain a writing life. I’m thinking about pursuing a career in academia, and I would like to teach creative writing someday. Although that seems like a faraway dream, I am determined to nurture my creative outlets no matter what I choose to do after graduation.
How about you? What are your long term plans for sustaining a creative life?