So I am a creative writer at 19 and in uni and lately due to some stress, I haven't been catching up with my writing. Next year in Jan, I will be doing an internship, and I'm unsure if I'll have time to write during that time. Now, I do have plenty of time to write, so should I just move past my stress and write, or wait for the internship, which I'm unsure about actually?
As someone who is somewhat older than 19 -- okay, a lot older. Right now, you are experiencing stress. You will get through that, and then there will be ... stress, but the situation will change and you will move to ... yes, stress. Much stress is just our internal reactions to how we perceive the world. What happens out there is going to happen. If writing is your goal, you must move toward it everyday. Sometimes, it's writing. Other times, while you work on that stuff out there, which is important because it is life and you must live to write, and while you doing the living part, think about how to move your writing forward. If you want to learn the craft, don't put it on the back burner thinking you will get to it eventually. Eventually may turn into decades, may turn into regret about what might have been. So, yes. Write.
What genegnome says is true. I was going through a stressy time last year, but I decided to pick up writing again. Amazingly, the stress went. I had another focus, something else to think about - but worth thinking about.
Yes. Even if it's fifteen minutes of writing in a day. It doesn't matter what you write, just that you write.
It seems you are unsure of the internship and that may be some of your stress. You can only do your part in getting the position. Be prepared. Find out as much as you can about whatever organization it is, research what to expect, and so on. When interviews come along, be ready to let them know how you are the best person for the position, what you have to offer. Then, it is out of your hands. What happens, happens, but don't stress about it. If nothing else, you have gained an understanding of how certain systems work, knowledge that may one day help your writing. In the meantime, keep a journal of some sort, reflect on the events of your day, jot down story ideas, recipes, whatever. Many people today are so tied up electronically to what everyone else is doing, they think they will miss something if they turn off for a little while. They are missing something by not turning off -- a little detail called real life, perhaps the ability to think for themselves. There is another important step, I think, in learning to write: read. You don't necessarily have to start a book, for instance, and finish it, but slow down and look at what the writer is trying to do, look at their choice of words, sentence style, and so forth. You can pick up a magazine, study a paragraph for maybe two or three minutes and you are on your way again. For most of us, there must be a day job. To decide to become a writer is the start along a road filled with huge pot holes. You must steer carefully if you want to reach the other end.
Yes, just write. Don't worry about the word count, the time, or how horrid the words are. They just need to exist; no one is asking you to write the most masterful word in all of literature.
That's a good way to put it. Baseball players and golfers practice their swing all the time. No score involved, no game hanging on it, no consequences if the swing isn't perfect. The point is that when the time comes for the swing to really count, they can do it on a level where they let their skills do the work, rather than have to focus on the technique at the critical moment.
Write through your stress; it's good therapy and has the added bonus of making you a better writer later.
