WRITER'S BLOCK

Oh no.  Not writer's block.  That moment you open a document, blogger, a notebook, etc.  What am I doing?  What am I supposed to write?  No motivation.  Should I completely stop writing this? All these questions come in and you're really just stuck. Theres no easy way through this block!  But I'm going to share some tips to get through it!

I had writer's block as I have many times, for the past like, two weeks.  I open my fanfiction.  Nothing.  I open Blogger.  Nothing.  And when I tried to write posts, it was terrible.  Even my last post was just hideous.  I'm keeping it up anyways.
For writing my fanfic, it got better when I randomly found this song on Spotify that was so catchy I added it to my summer playlist. Its called Dreaming by Smallpools.
Anyways, heres some tips!

• Pinterest and Tumblr work wonders.  I prefer Tumblr but it takes forever to load. Just scroll through or look at nature pictures or something, anything. 
• Eating.  I can't write when I'm hungry, let alone think!
• Give yourself time! I've left so many stories unfinished because of writer's block and I really regret it. 
• Don't give up just yet.  We all experience these long or short periods without inspiration of writing. 
• Sometimes the words just don't flow through your brain to your hands to type... do they? Just take a break and get inspired! 
• We can feel rushed to get through something that ends up sounding stupid. Even if you don't like it, maybe someone else will, but after writer's block has passed, check up on your work and see how even everything looks.  

What are some ways you get through the dreaded writer's block?

xxLizzie

Comments Questionnaire #1... Music

I wanted to do this post for a while and I actually don't like how it turned out. I was encountering some writer's block while attempting this post. It sounds like an essay or something. But here it is!

Music soothes, refreshes and typically changes our mood with lyrics, tempo, etc.

Today I'm going to be sharing my favorite music and when I listen!

Please excuse my lame edit.

Anytime I can usually listen you One Direction. One thing we people in the fandom say is "We don't listen to them when we want to, but when we need to," They have so many songs to choose from which makes them good for any mood.

Same with 5SOS, to me they have the same qualities I look for yet their music is labeled pop punk rather than One Direction and most artists of today, pop or pop rock mixed with acoustic or dance pop too.

I listen to Jacob Whitesides and Shawn Mendes. They sounds alot like teenage versions of Ed Sheeran. So typically an acoustic sound with pop like lyrics occasionally mixed with the Ed Sheeran style of mixing hip hop to acoustic, sad music. Lets face it, Ed Sheeran makes sad music.

Ariana Grande is put in the same group as Fifth Harmony and Little Mix. Yes... I listen to Pop Girl bands too. Ariana is a solo artist. Their music is kind of hip hop, pop and Ariana more on the electronic sounding side. Also R&B roots. Fifth Harmony and Little Mix take on the typical girl band look.

Pretty much anytime I can find myself listening to Fall out Boy, All Time Low, Paramore, My Chemical Romance and the like! The endless sub genres of pop punk, and even emo pop are enjoyable for me. They have steady rock roots, some more upbeat, some less. Also Pierce the veil (who are coming to Milwaukee next month and its a long shot but I really want to go see them!!! Maybeeee) and their almost twin sounding band Sleeping with Sirens.
many more bands fit in this category.

Halsey. What category is she in? Indie electronic music. She is SO talented I LOVE her so much.

Vampire Weekend makes preppy indie music. I listen to them in the afternoon and find it very good music to hear while writing.

Bea Miller who is Jacob Whitesides current girlfriend is a pop recording atrist who was on the X Factor a few years ago. Looove her and her music, shes just a month older than me!

Let's not forget Lana Del Rey. Her songs are sad too, honestly. Her voice is magical though, wow

I listen to the occasional Selena Gomez song or something on the radio but thats the music I've found myself most likely to listen to!

Share your favorite music and when you listen to it in the comments! My next post is going to be about writer's block!

xxLizzie

Summer Mission Camp with pictures

Like I had introduced in my last post, I went to my summer mission camp from last Sunday to yesterday (Thursday). It was different from our usual camp setup, as this year we were teaching Hispanic children from the area.  In the morning we would have a talk and breakfast and maybe an activity and then in the afternoon we'd set up our activities and games for the kids.  

The children that came were from ages 5-12 and from a local church. The church currently doesn't really have any religious education for the kids, so in winter and spring we hosted day camps for them as well. Now we offered our week of camp to host a camp for them.  We split into rotating groups each day so each team of us could experience the different age groups and activities for them. It was so great.  Everyone loved it and the parents were very grateful.  Also even educational for me when the children spoke Spanish and it was great to learn a bit more and practice with them. I really, really liked this week. 

These two pictures above are from a room in the new addition to the Schoenstatt center in Waukesha. Its  a new room for the Girls Youth that the Wisconsin leaders titled 'The little kingdom', where in May we crowned the picture of the Blessed Mother together as the Wisconsin leaders circle. 

We have new couches, curtains, etc. and it worked really well for hosting our first camp so far in the new room. 

Each afternoon we took the kids outside for their snack. There was around 50 kids total! 

This photo above is of me (I'm 4th from the left side) and the work team I led this week for helping with chores after meals and group discussions through the week,  Two of my friends (both girls next to me) were in my group and three new girls I made friends with :) 

Just a photo of two of the leaders teaching the children about the Schoenstatt shrine. 

Three pictures above are from our bonfire on Tuesday night.  Each night after the children left and after dinner, we all did something fun.  I actually strongly dislike the bonfires at camp but thankfully the weather was nice and there was no mosquitos.  

Wednesday night the whole camp of 35-ish girls went out for ice cream! The photo under my ice cream is (from left to right) My best friend, Ellen, me, my super good friend Clare and our Youth sister in Waukesha. 

This picture is of Clare and I in our matching shirts we bought in Germany!

Me and my team again!^

In the midst of 50 children, my really good friend, Abby, Ellen and I.

We decorated the garage for the children's crafts! 

If you follow my Instagram, you may have seen this top picture. The bottom one is with two college age girls who are involved with Schoenstatt and are travelling around the country to host summer camps, a super special opportunity! 

Apart from endless selfies, these are the photos I took :) I had a really great week, reuniting with friends and making new ones! Also such a wonderful experience teaching and playing with the kids that came!

xxLizzie

Leaving tomorrow! | And more

Let's start with this...

Today is the day before I go to summer camp and I won't be able to post, but I went out with my friend who is staying with me for the past night and tonight until we go to camp.

We were out having a great time! We bought this book called Fight On. Filled with inspirational quotes. I'm going to be posting a quote a day on my Instagram, so make sure you're following me:)  (lizziew99)

Today, at 5SOS's concert, Michael Clifford....my fave member got burned in the fire works. He's doing fine but with face got burned. I was kind of upset and worried about that. According to his tweets he is ok:D I hope he feels okay too. Like I'd probably be kind of in shock after that.
AAAAAAAND I WILL BE HEARING NO CONTROL AND 18 BY ONE DIRECTION WHICH WAS FINALLY ADDED TO THE SETLISTTTT OF THEIR TOUR IM SO EXCITED.
If you actually care, you can Google 'no control project'.

I was planning on this being better. My writing is really lacking lately...

I will be taking pictures at camp!

Have a good week!!

xxLizzie

Guest Post | Sara from Her Electric Ocean

Hey everyone! Today I have a special guest post!!!

Be sure to check out her blog, its great! 
Hey! I'm Sara, from herelectricocean.blogspot.co.uk I'm so excited to be writing for Lizzie, so I hope you guys enjoy my post. If you want to pop over to my blog after reading this, please do- we have a range of different posts ranging from topics like Girl Online to a Budget haul I'm sure you'll be able to find something that tickles your fancy!

We all have those days, when everything seems to be going wrong. When things that seemed simple and well organised yesterday, seem chaotic and impossible today. You just feel like not doing anything, and all you want to do is hide in your bed all day- I hear you, believe me.

"When things aren't going your way, it's your choice to give up or turn things around"

Here are 10 things that you can do when things just aren't going your way.

1. Try to have a positive attitude to your situation
2. This can be really difficult at times, because when things aren't going your way your mind automatically thinks "Oh no" and starts reminding you of everything that has gone wrong, and everything that could go wrong. But what I want you to do, is turn that around and look at the pros of your situation.
3. Recently I've had an issue with school. I chose my subjects for my last year of high school, and it turns out that the way that the timetable worked out, I have to choose between two subjects I was really looking forward to, and am forced to take a subject I didn't really want to take. And my first reaction was to mope around and be really upset about it. But that wasn't going to get me anywhere, and one of my close friends pointed out that actually, maybe this would be more useful to me in the future. On every cloud there's a silver lining, as cliché as that is.
4. Put it in perspective
5. There are actually very few true emergencies in life, so maybe it's time for you to realise that your situation might not be as bad as it seems. No matter how bad your day is going, it probably doesn't mean as much in the big scheme of things. Problems are inevitable, and when life seems hard to bear, remember that someday this struggle will be over
6. Talk to a friend about it
7. Sometimes talking about your problems with a friend (or group of friends) can help you realise how trivial they are. And if after rattling on about your situation you don't feel any better, it might be good for you to listen to an outside view on the problem. Your friends know you better than you know yourself sometimes, and they will be able to give you good advice on whatever is going on- that's what friends are for after all!
8. Do something else
9. If one thing isn't working out, maybe it's time for you to step away for a while and give something else a shot. After having a breather, focusing your attention to something else, or maybe just taking a break and relaxing for a while, you might find yourself in a better head space to tackle whatever has been going wrong.
10. Create a rant book
11. If you find yourself getting agitated pretty often, it might be a good idea to keep a document of it. Not too long ago, I recommended one of my friends to try writing a rant book. Because I wasn't always there to reply to her online or whatever, I thought it might be helpful for her to put her issues into writing, but in a way that she would be able to read over it after a while. Sometimes we make a mountain out of a molehill, and it can always be a good laugh to look back at the times that everything seemed terrible, and realising that things weren't actually that bad. And much like a diary, rant books can help you let off steam without having the worry of offending anyone, because unless you choose to share it with anyone, it's private.
12. Make a list of things you have to do
13. Sometimes people get wound up and agitated because we feel like we have too much. Maybe putting it into a simple check-box list will help you see what you have to do, and let you take smaller tasks on at a time, rather than trying to juggle everything at once.
14. Remind yourself that you are amazing, and you can get through this
15. It can be hard to see anything good in yourself when everything is going wrong. You just feel like blaming yourself for everything bad that is going on, and that can be really tough, because it leaves you feel totally empty of motivation. Taking a few seconds to remind yourself how amazing you are, and that you are strong and determined enough to fight this situation and make it better, can make all the difference.
16. Don't worry about other people
17. When you're in the middle of a catastrophe, and someone calls you up asking for your help, the last thing you want to do is turn them down. But you have to remember that you can't help anyone properly if you can't help yourself. Telling them "Not now" can be hard, but sometimes you just need to be a bit selfish in order to be healthy.
18. What can you learn from it?
19. So the situation sucks, and you feel rubbish. You can't find anything positive about it, because it just all seems too much for you to bear. But look at it again; what can you learn from this experience? You lost all your documents and drafts? Remember to keep backups for the next time. You fell out with your close friend? Remember what ticks them off, and try not to go there again. There's always something you can learn from your trials.
20. Remember it won't last forever
21. Today might be completely rubbish, but don't stay in that rubbish place forever. There's always tomorrow and there's always a chance for things to get better. Your problems won't last forever, and everything will sort itself out.

Some other things that help me take hold of a bad day/week/month or whatever, are going on runs (exercise is really good for maintaining a positive attitude), listening to music, reading a book or magazine (or blog of course!), or colouring in. Yes, colouring in.

What helps you get out of your slumps?




Thanks again, Sara for this great post!
xxLizzie