I am in the midst of moving! Which people say is one of the the lost stressful things you can do in life. I have moved often and it gets a LITTLE easier, but it's also been a long time and I have accumulated a lot of stuff. But that's not why I'm here!
During this long process of selling house and packing and cleaning and fixing, I haven't been doing any writing. OK- I got one short story done and submitted to an anthology and it got accepted! However 90% of my creative energies have been utterly depleted and I'm not continuing the Carmine sequel I started writing last year and stopped because I got stuck and my other WIP was going better. And I have been feeling guilty!
On top of that I have yet to start another a Middle Grade novel (MG is an age category aimed at children age 8-12) after my MG novel "The Bird Fairies" went down like the Titanic. And yes I know the title sucks!!
What little I have been doing creatively is drawing which takes far less time and mental energy than writing (which is why I like it so much more! But art is even WORSE to try to make a living at unless you are super talented and I. my friends, am not.
SO that left me with maybe 5% creative energies (on a good day) left over for writing. So, what have I done with that (not learned to type, I'll tell you that much). I have been planning! I have been making notes on a couple of ideas for more MG novels. One is a revamp of a project that stalled, and I figured out how to salvage it. The other is a new idea that needs more research. There are a lot of holes, I'm just getting down notes and trying to plan things in my head. I think about the projects a lot. But I haven't done anything yet and I probably won't for awhile. Not until I'm moved and settled.
There are times when outside stress is just too much and you can't write. But during those times, find a creative outlet you CAN deal with, just to keep your brain doing something other than freaking out. And I suppose if all else fails, take a nap.
P.S. I have a short story in the Luna Station Quarterly Best Of anthology!
Between plumbing, AC issues, and wife's surgery, I haven't gotten hardly anything done either.
ReplyDeleteWhen life intervenes I remind myself that the actual writing is just part of the process. There's also the 'cooking' when my subconscious (conscious mind as well) is sorting and arranging ideas, plots, characters, etc. in preparation for the actual writing. And I jot stuff down as it comes to me. So, all is not lost even when the word count is stalled.
ReplyDeleteI just paid $500 for a new pool pump, so by God, I'm swimming! It's going to be 104 degrees this weekend and I'm going to be poolside, reading, sipping ice coffee and not doing a damn thing. Ask me if I feel guilty. Go ahead, I dare you!
ReplyDeleteSunny do you feel guilty? :)
ReplyDeleteNope. (you are so funny, Jewel!)
ReplyDelete