I am setting a horrible example for my summer writing challenge participants. I just can’t seem to get anything written. At least not on my novel. I’ve been dealing with some personal issues (on top of the whole job fiasco, as if I didn’t have enough to feel depressed about,) and it seems like every time I put a pen to paper, that’s all I can write about. This doesn’t bode well for me finishing my novel by the end of the summer.
So, my accomplishments this week: there was one. I wrote a tragedy arc for one of my characters to try to stoke the writing fires. That didn’t get me far. I’m thinking of writing a tragedy arc for myself next. It might be fun to plot my own demise.
How do you keep writing when the drama in your everyday life is more compelling than what you’ve been putting on the page? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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Yes, I like the idea of writing an arc for yourself. Perhaps it could help you work through some of your own dramatic life plots? At least writing about it will keep you writing, and then who knows how your mind may be processing things in the background for your novel….. Hang in there!
I’m thinking about going back to Mount Mary to take the memoir class so I can get it all out and move on already!
Btw, what are you doing this weekend? Want to meet someplace and write tomorrow? Message me if interested!
Yes! Just texted you.
Where did my comment go from yesterday?
Darn you, interwebs!
Hello.
I barely managed to get through the week because of The Keysmashing Tots making the entire household sick. All I wanted to do was sleep. By Friday, I was working with a fever, cough, and chills. Awesometastic.
I wrote on. Painfully.
Things that helped:
– character journals: taking a character’s POV from a scene already written or one in the works
– while not all of this content would make it to the final draft, it helps me understand the character motivations better
– I’ve also taken time to read more to ease my digits
– reading in my genre and style has opened my eyes to new possibilities and approaches
– rest… sometimes just taking a nap really helped.
This weekend I’m without TKT again. I slept through the night and woke up at 6am refreshed–at least, a little more than during the week–and grinned as I went back to sleep for a few more hours without worrying about diapers, meals, and the like.
Recharge time. I had a productive week, despite the challenges. Hopefully, I’ll have more energy next week for even greater output.
Cheers,
Tonette
P.S. I’m behind on my workshops so I’ll be playing catch up this weekend. 🙂
I have found that reading in my genre and style is a must! It can also help me when I get stuck. The main problem I’m having at the moment is finding the right books to read. I bought one the other day that I thought was going to be very inspiring, but it is horribly written and is irritating me instead. *sigh*
I managed to write almost six pages on July 4th. It probably helped that I was too tired to do anything else but lay on the couch with my notebook and just let the words and story flow. I am also reading a lot. Oddly, it is mostly older work in meta-fiction and science fiction. this may be helping me to stoke my imagination…
I hope you are able to work through all that is happening in your life. I also tend to create plot trajectories for my own life, but tend stop when they edge into the realm of my own demise. That’s usually when I pull back and find time to meditate and just breath. I have found that letting myself live within my own dramas but also let them go in order to step outside of them gives me fresh perspective.
Good luck…
That’s great! What type of novel are you working on?
LOL. I know that feeling. Life sometimes sucks the life out of my writing too:)
It sucks, doesn’t it? I just try to keep writing *something* every day, even if I’m only babbling in my journal. This too shall pass.