Well, then. I've made no secret of the fact that I've been in the weeds this past year. As the old nugget goes, and as I am sure many of you can attest: "Life is what happens while you're busy making plans." (a less cynical version of another old nugget which posits that feces doth occur-and usually at the worst possible moment) No need to go into detail: that's not the point of this piece. The point is that feces is always going to occur; but that doesn't mean that the things that matter should just be allowed to wither away like a seed in too-shallow ground, burning away in the sun.
For me (and hopefully, if you're reading this, for you) one of those things is writing. In order to continue to write, I have had to change my approach to it. Before, I always felt like I had to write on my laptop; writing longhand, it seemed like I couldn't keep up with my thoughts. But then, I found myself unable to get to my computer. And when I could get to my computer, I often found myself responding to social media messages and the like, more than I was working. So I went old school. I dug out an old leather organizer with a 3-ring binder section for notebook paper, and an area that allowed a college-ruled note pad. . I got a pack of #2 pencils, sharpened to a needle point. And I got to work.
And guess what? It worked!
I have been making steady progress on re-writes of my second novel, plus a novella, that I've been working on in fits and starts for quite a while. Sometimes, I do find myself frustrated that I can't seem to write as quickly as I think. But there are benefits. The first, and most obvious being that I am not bound by time or location. As long as I've got my writing pad and a pencil or pen, I can write. I can write during TV commercials, during breaks at work, or in hospital rooms, while I'm sitting around, not really doing much of anything. Another benefit, is the lack of many of the dangerous time-sucks clamoring for attention on electronic devices, like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Put Pandora on on my Firestick, break out my writing pad, and I am absolutely golden.
All of which is to say that if you find you are spending more of your writing time screwing around than producing content-or worse, not writing at all, because feces keeps occurring during writing time, or even because you just need to switch things up, get yourself out of a rut, you may need to consider taking another approach. Yeah...some people may be offended that you haven't responded to their FB posts of that cute-AF cat doing that thing that makes you go "Awwwwww...," but you may just find your writing life has become much more fulfilling.
Now, go on. Get outta here and get to work. Those words ain't gonna write themselves.
Ciao,
Chris
For me (and hopefully, if you're reading this, for you) one of those things is writing. In order to continue to write, I have had to change my approach to it. Before, I always felt like I had to write on my laptop; writing longhand, it seemed like I couldn't keep up with my thoughts. But then, I found myself unable to get to my computer. And when I could get to my computer, I often found myself responding to social media messages and the like, more than I was working. So I went old school. I dug out an old leather organizer with a 3-ring binder section for notebook paper, and an area that allowed a college-ruled note pad. . I got a pack of #2 pencils, sharpened to a needle point. And I got to work.
And guess what? It worked!
I have been making steady progress on re-writes of my second novel, plus a novella, that I've been working on in fits and starts for quite a while. Sometimes, I do find myself frustrated that I can't seem to write as quickly as I think. But there are benefits. The first, and most obvious being that I am not bound by time or location. As long as I've got my writing pad and a pencil or pen, I can write. I can write during TV commercials, during breaks at work, or in hospital rooms, while I'm sitting around, not really doing much of anything. Another benefit, is the lack of many of the dangerous time-sucks clamoring for attention on electronic devices, like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Put Pandora on on my Firestick, break out my writing pad, and I am absolutely golden.
All of which is to say that if you find you are spending more of your writing time screwing around than producing content-or worse, not writing at all, because feces keeps occurring during writing time, or even because you just need to switch things up, get yourself out of a rut, you may need to consider taking another approach. Yeah...some people may be offended that you haven't responded to their FB posts of that cute-AF cat doing that thing that makes you go "Awwwwww...," but you may just find your writing life has become much more fulfilling.
Now, go on. Get outta here and get to work. Those words ain't gonna write themselves.
Ciao,
Chris
RSS Feed
