The one place you can't be limited is in your imagination. Hope you find a happy place whether it's somewhere to sit and write or the writing itself. All the best.
Hi, My parents aren't divorcing or anything, but I do have quite a loud house. When I need somewhere to just get away and think (mostly about writing), I usually go for a walk out to the woods and sit down on a log. For me, it has now become the log. Listening to your favourite song can give your great comfort and deep inspiration. Works for me anyway. Or you could just listen to the birds flutter about and watch nature at its best. That is, being somewhere alone with no noise is great!
It's a funny thing. In my day job, there is a rooftop air conditioner that is probably in poor shape, mechanically. It rumbles and shudders, and turns on and off with a loud kachung. And I never noticed it until my coworker across from me started complaining about it. I have the most trouble concentrating when my surroundings are too quiet, such as thos e Fridays when many of the staff work remotely. At home, I have to have the TV on in the background to do any creative work. It isn't that my life is particularly chaotic, although at some points it definitely was. Too muche environmental chaos can also be bad for concentration. But what is most destructive to concentration is not wanting to concentrate. Then every little thing becomes a distraction.
Use any emotion you feel and work with it. Use any situation you've been in and learn how to turn it into a story. I write romance stuff and I go for happy endings, but that doesn't mean I can't use the times when I am angered or saddened to help. My parents fighting and my inability to be open is what originally got me into writing to begin with. So yes, I probably should have made it very clear, but from that I've gotten to the point where I don't care about my surrounding situations, because when I'm writing the rest of it just doesn't matter.
Unless we know the situation we really can not advise that she move out! For all we know that could cause things to get worse for the poster in so many ways... I was rasied in an abusive home and I can tell you had I left early someone would have died. I'm pretty sure that the OP would have considered this idea long before posting here for a ton of stangers to talk about. Just my thoughts on it.
I think the first thing is to take care of your mental health before your writing. Because the long term effects of that will be a lot worse if you don't and while I think other people's advice of taking the bad situation and using it for your writing may seem good, but I would be worried about the after-affects. What happens when things calm down... will you be able to write without the negative forces, without trigger emotions - because you become used to them? Talk to your parents and tell them how you feel. Tell them that their fighting is stressing you out and it's causing problems. You are a part of that family too and it effects you. Other than that, I don't think I can truly advise.
Blue Lotus, I doubt someone would die if she left, but even so: it's the parents' responsibility to provide a stable, loving home where the kids feel comfortable. If their fighting destroys this and leaves the kid distressed all the time, she's better with another relative until things calm down. It will affect other things besides writing, like school performance. It's not the child's job to mediate between a broken family. The kid's best interests are the ones that should be protected. She's the innocent one in the situation.
I agree with this. My suggestion was to move out even if its just a few weeks for the good of the OP once the situation calms down then she can return to a relaxed environment. +rep mallory
I don't dissagree mallory, Not at all it's not right and it is not fair. But since we do not know the situation we should be carefull about suggesting something that drastic. That is all I'm saying. What if let's say for instance we suggest that she move out she takes that advice even if its was only going to be for two weeks as a "vacation" and dad snaps and does something horrid... we would all feel just ripped over it at least I would like to think so. However since the OP did not give us that information we can only try and understand the whole deal. A better option would be to talk to a trusted adult, such as a school consuler or teacher who might be able to better assist knowing the child, and the family...
I understand what you are saying, but to use your example, someone could snap and do something horrid while she's just with her friends for a few hours, or while she's at school. It's not on her shoulders to be at home all the time to babysit adults acting dysfunctionally. I do agree that talking to a school counselor would be a better source of advice than WF, and that they should understand the whole picture.
yeah it kinda sucks being the only adult when the rents are home.... but thats life and well what does not kill you only makes you stronger. at least that is how I view life.
Writing is an escape from all the bad stuff in your life. I learned this when my mother died a few months ago, and we had to send my moderate/severely autistic sister to live in a group care facility-home, since I go to university in a month and my father has to work a lot to pay the bills. The sudden responsibilities of being an adult--which came far sooner than when I would normally be ready for it--and the slam of tragedies strengthened me emotionally and creatively. Most of my finer, heart-felt writings have surfaced over these past few months. Use the challenges to your strength. Sometimes you may not have access to a computer to write. I always have a 200 pg journal on me when I'm out of the house, or sometimes I just take it with me on my regular walks in the woods of the golf course by my father's house. It comes in handy, especially when I don't want to stick around the house [I don't like being by myself in my parents' house. My mother was "home" when I would come back for summers from college, and it's not the same. Being alone in it without her makes me uneasy and grieved.]. Even though laptops can be light, lugging them around everywhere can be bothersome and a bit dangerous for the laptop. The depth within your writing comes from your own experiences. Sometimes we have to experience them a tad sooner than the average person, but it's not a totally horrid thing. It can be used to your advantage, and better your writing. Heck, even daydreaming while plugging your headphones in to drown out the fighting is enough to placate your creative-ness. Music is good for the soul.
