comes-and-goes

Fits and spurts. . . sounds gross doesn’t it. I guess it is. It’s my creativity level and it comes in fits and spurts. I have yet to have the benefit of a contract so any and all of my writing is sold as a finished project. Which means, if I don’t finish the project I don’t HAVE anything to sell.

Last week (well actually the week before last week) I thought I would be writing up a storm and have half a book finished. You laugh. I can hear you. Don’t worry, it only hurts a little, but I won’t hold it against you. School started last week and I really thought I would hunker down, spend the week in front of my laptop and crank out the book (or 3) I’d pitched at Nationals.

Yeah, well, no.  :no:

I think last week I watched 4 or 5 movies on HBO/Showtime. 2 or 3 on Lifetime (which is actually probably more like 10). And at least 3 trips to the store–four boys EAT A LOT, even when they are in shcool! I did six loads of laundry, 7 loads of dishes and wrote excatly ONE PAGE–over several days. I will say I DID have a migraine so that was part of the problem–but only an excuse, not a real book stopper. :poke:

It’s just that for the most part, I am still in that Writing-takes-a-back-seat mode. How does that work for movie watching, well, again, it’s just an excuse not to write. I do have an extremely supportive husband and the family is so braggy it’s embarrassing. But I still don’t feel like a full-time writer. I could be if I could keep my ass in the chair, but, well. . .  fits and spurts.

Sometimes, you (meaning me) get all hung up on the psychology of the story. What makes so-and-so tick. What is the underlying motivation, blah, blah, blah. You can overthink things. And then you get paralized with the mind crap that engulfs you. Then when you least expect it, like say sitting in your child’s class orientation, you get an idea that puts the book back on track and you’re scribbling notes on the edges of the school traffic route hoping the teacher–who knows you well thanks to older brothers being in her class–doesn’t call on you by name. (It smacks far too close to high school daydreaming.) :doh:

I need to find a way to make it spurt more that fit (again with the gross). I’ve tried the different, timed writing–which actually did work because I am competitive so had to get more pages than Ames or Lynn, but I can’t look for those 5 or 6 times a day until I get the book done–they are busy gals. I’ve tried the poster board plotting, but then I get claustrophobic feeling pigeon-holed into something and I rebel. You name it, and I have probably tried it–and owe Lynn a few lunches by now–learn to stop betting after oh, say, they first two or three times you miss your deadline!

It may come down to good old, sit your ass down and DO IT. I just have yet to train the dogs or fish to remind me of this throughout the day!