Month: October 2021

Happy Halloween Everyone!

/ introvertinflux / Leave a comment

Keeping things short today because of the holiday (and because I have a paper to finish for my Social Media Campaigns course).

Whenever I think of ghost stories, I immediately flash back to an evening drive back home from Rio Vista over 15 years ago. I was young, still drying off from one last dip in the Sacramento River before departure, stuck in the car with my siblings, parents, and a visiting distant aunt. For some wicked reason, this relative thought a dark drive home was the perfect time to tell us all the story of La Sihuanaba. If you don’t know who she is, well, let me just say she’s La Llorona’s Salvadoran cousin.

La Sihuanaba is a fallen beautiful woman who enchanted a nobleman and caused him to lose his mind. Because of this, she was cursed to forever wander the earth disfigured (sometimes appearing as a skeleton, and sometimes with the face of a horse). She attacks late night strollers, especially men, and is often found near bodies of water.

Safe to say, it was a LONG while before I could look out the car window at night again. Thanks Tía.

JT: Finding the Right Time

/ introvertinflux / Leave a comment
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I would be lying if I said that I write consistently every day. I don’t, and I’ve also failed at trying to get up extra early to do a bit of journaling before work. I’m a night owl who has the unfortunate luck of working a normal eight-to-five. That said, for some, writing first thing in the morning does have some benefit. In her The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron encourages artists (of all kinds) to take up a routine of writing morning pages, or, three pages of stream-of-consciousness/data-dump writing. The goal of this is to help clear the mind and prepare it to face the day. Open up the creative channels that might be otherwise blocked by all the worries we carry around.

I tried this way, and realized that as a night owl, evening journaling works best for me. By evening, I feel like I have plenty to say. (I keep a notepad in my bag to write down potential topics, just in case I need help starting.) After I’ve written my two pages (not three, in my case), I find myself in a quieter state. I’ve noticed that I even sleep better.

So, I encourage you to try writing during different times in your day, see which one best fits your schedule and nature. You can try writing three pages, or, like me, two pages back and front.

What time do you feel fits you best?

***

If you’d like to connect, please reach out at my contact page, or on instagram (@introvertinflux)!

Just A Note:

/ introvertinflux / Leave a comment

What’s something you’ve been meaning to write about, but never got around to? Sometimes, it’s healthy to vent. Get the nasty thoughts in our head out and open up space for the good. Yesterday, I wrote about my frustration with work, with the medical system, with life in general. My grandmother hasn’t been feeling very well, and we’re currently awaiting bloodwork results. I’m scared of what they might find. But, once I got everything down, I realized that maybe I was just letting my anxiety get to me. I sometimes forget to look at the positive when I’m bogged down by a heavy black cloud. So, I encourage you to write down your own black cloud. What’s got you angry, frustrated, scared?

***

If you’d like to connect, please reach out at my contact page, or on instagram (@introvertinflux)!

JT: Sometimes It’s Ugly Up There

/ introvertinflux / Leave a comment
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Even with more than ten years of practice, I still freeze before the blank page. I still have those moments where I let my inner critic whisper in my ear: do you even have anything good to say? The truth is, no, I don’t. Not always. Putting pen to paper doesn’t mean that you’ll only write down the good moments, or the good thoughts. Sometimes, it’s ugly up there and writing it all down helps us void out the bad blood and pus we’ve been carrying around. But, before reaching the point of healing, we must sharpen a blade, sterilize it, and reopen the wound.

It’s as fun as it sounds.

The good thing is that, once you get the words down, you never have to go back and read them again. Not unless you want to. I’ve got a box of notebooks in my mother’s basement, and I can tell you now that I’ve gone back and read none of them. That’s because the notebooks served their purpose. They helped me process and break free of whatever had been trapping me at the time. And, if you’re worried about someone finding them, you can go one step further and destroy them when you’re done. Light a fire and send all that ugliness away in a cloud of ash and smoke.

Or, you can just use a shredder.

Prompts to consider:

  • What’s something you regret?
  • What words would you say to someone who really hurt you?
  • What are some of your worst fears?
  • Write about the skeletons in your closet.

Well, have a good rest of the week. Let me know if you’ve got any other prompt ideas!

JT: Finding Inspiration – Those We Know

/ introvertinflux / Leave a comment
Photo by ELEVATE on Pexels.com

Okay. So now you’ve got the paper, and now you’ve got the pen. What’s next?

If you’re anything like me, you’ll spend at least five to ten minutes staring at the blank page before getting up to make yourself your second cup of coffee for the day. (Black with a splash of cream.) Mug in hand, you’ll sit back down and stare at it some more. Scratch your head. Reach for your cell phone to see if your sister, brother, mother, partner, whathaveyou has texted you their dinner recommendation for the evening. Eventually, you’ll set your phone down, lean back, sigh.

Why is the first sentence always the hardest? It could be that there’s too much to process, like a room full of kids all wanting your undivided attention. Which one do you pick? Or, if you have anxiety, like me, you might start hearing that evil little whisper that asks: your life’s so boring, what do you even have to write about?

But the truth is, there’s a lot to write about. Maybe you’re not ready to write about yourself, and that’s okay. So write about someone you know (or knew). We cross paths with many people in our lives. Some we want around, some we don’t. Either way their presence is there, and so, perfect ammo for the pen. Explore what these people mean to you. How they impacted your life (for better or worse). What about them made you remember them even if they’re no longer in your life. What traits in them do you see in yourself, or wish you didn’t see?

Immediately, I think about my grandmother. (She’s still with us and will most likely outlive me.) A strong independent Latina who loves pan dulce and Pedro Infante. Who baby sat my siblings and I when mom was away at work, and who makes the meanest chiles rellenos I will ever have. I think of my grandmother and I think of love, of food, and of her strong weathered hands. A retired field worker, a single mother, a mean cook (even though she hates cooking), and a dedicated gardener. She means more to me than I can even say. She is also one of the most stubborn people I have ever met, with a blunt mouth and no patience for rudeness. Traits I also have in myself. Personally, I wish I inherited her ability to cook, but I don’t even like to wash the dishes.

Anyway, a few potential prompts to start with can be:

  • Who are the top five people in your life?
  • Who do you wish was still around?
  • What person do you admire most, and why?
  • Who is someone you will never forget, and why?
  • Who is someone you cannot live without? (Pets count, too.)
  • Write about your grandmother, or another parental figure that means the world to you.

If you have any other prompt ideas, please share them down below! Have a peaceful Sunday!

Journaling Thoughts: Getting Started

/ introvertinflux / Leave a comment
Photo by Lisa on Pexels.com

To start, you need paper and ink (or graphite). You don’t even need a notebook per se. Some like to use index cards. Some write on scraps of paper they find around the house, or around town, before storing them in a single container. Tyler Knott Gregson, a photographer and poet, uses a typewriter and scraps of paper to compose his poetry. I imagine, the same can be done for journaling.

Now, before you come at me and say, “well, I can write on my phone too”, I’ll say yes, and no. I don’t recommend keeping a journal on a cell phone for a few reasons. The fact that you need to charge it, for one. And, it brings unnecessary distractions. (Tiktok being my poison of choice.) Another is that writing things with your own hands, rather than typing them out, just hits the mind differently. In my case, I remember things better. It forces my mind to slow down, focus. Once I get going, everything else falls away.

I would also suggest keeping whatever you choose small and portable. You want to be able to carry your journal wherever you go, and not feel like you’re lugging around a brick. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I use pocket sized Leuchtturm1917, or A6 notebooks because they fit the bill. I keep mine in my backpack (along with an emergency make-up/touch-up kit, snacks, a bottle of water, keys, and a thousand post-it notes I need to file away).

Also, choose a good (not expensive) pen. I love fountain pens because they’re flow is smoother than ballpoints (here’s looking at you BIC), and it’s more eco-friendly to use something reusable. However, they’re not always practical, so I also carry a few gel pens that allow me to replace the ink refill once it’s run out. I like pens that glide over paper and require the least amount of pressure to write. After all, if it feels like you’re writing on sandpaper, you’re not going to want to write. (The very sensation gives me chills.)

In all, choose whatever suits your lifestyle, and budget. You don’t need to go crazy or spend too much time deliberating on all the options. The point is to make the action of writing easier, portable, and as painless as possible. (The pain comes later.)

But, if you really must, I guess you can use your phone or laptop.