Wednesday 16 July 2014

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Writing is hard. Writing every day is hard. Being a writer is hard. I've fallen a bit behind in my writing schedule. I could blame it on writer's block or I could say my grandmother died, you won't know if I'm lying either way. Truth is I just haven't tried in a couple of days. Okay, I did try but not hard enough. I know this is a character flaw and it's no excuse but writing is hard.

I don't mean to whine, honestly. I don't have a lot of perseverance. I'm working on it I promise.

I need to stop making promises. I never keep them.

5 comments:

  1. You're right.
    Writing is hard.
    Sometimes we feel it and the words flow.
    Sometimes they don't.
    For me, it gets easier if I write every day. I know, the advice "It's like any exercise..." seems cliche, but I've found it to be very true. The thing is, what I write isn't always progress on my WIP. Sometimes it's flash fiction about aliens who get bored with crop circles and decide to go cow tipping.

    Have a great week! And write something completely silly and frivolous just to shake the cramps out.

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    1. I completely agree and as with everything creating a habit or routine helps also. Sometimes the silliest of story can be turned into the greatest tales! Good luck :)

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  2. Kate, don't beat yourself up. You didn't write. No big deal.

    I imagine there were other things that were priorities for you this week. So, look at all the things you DID achieve this week, and feel good about them. Congratulate yourself. Even give yourself a treat for those achievements. And if you can't remember what they were, I've found that writing my achievements down in a notebook, even if they weren't planned on a To Do List, is very helpful.

    Be kind to yourself. That's the most important thing you can do in life.

    Oh, and you actually DID write this week - the blog post. :)

    As for the other writing you thought you'd do, perhaps there's a reason, other than other commitments, why you didn't get down to writing. Tiredness. Empty well. Stress. All of these things can affect writing.

    One thing I've found that helps motivate me is the lure of Green and Black's organic 85% dark chocolate and a travel mug size rose-oolong tea. I'll only have them when I go into write. And the endorphins from the chocolate make sitting down to write an absolute pleasure. I suppose it's a kind of writing ritual, too, in a way.

    Mindset has a lot to do with writing. If we think writing is a chore and we'd rather be doing something else, then it really isn't going to help us write. Maybe starting small, without putting any pressure on yourself, is the best way to start. Perhaps set yourself a goal of one sentence - "Today I'll write one sentence." When you've done that for 2 or 3 days and it's a goal you have no trouble with, then you could try 2 sentences. And move up to three and so on. Start with small, achievable steps and build on them.

    Take good care of yourself. That's the most important thing.

    All the best. :)

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  3. Me again! I found something that might interest you, if you want to start your writing challenge with small steps...

    http://melissadinwiddie.com/15-minutesaday-challenge

    Melissa is an artist, and her challenge could apply just as well to writers. You get to write your own "rules". Hope this helps. :)

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    1. Thank you so much for your advice and motivation! It has really helped me. You're so sweet :)

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