This is going to be a rather short post, as I have the day off and should really be working on my novel, rather than writing blog posts. And since I’ve been struggling to find my groove for this new story, I thought I’d talk about my experiences with handling the ups and downs of writing. In my case, staying focused, motivated, and active.
Personal
Posts relating to my personal life or experiences
Balance
I’ll be honest, I’m not entirely sure what to write about today. I know I was supposed to post yesterday, but this week has been kind of hellish. I kind of find comfort in having an outlet to vent, but I also don’t want to discuss work here. Safe to say, it’s been an exhausting week, in every sense of the word. Current plan is to head home tomorrow in the late morning or early afternoon, but that depends on some other moving pieces that I don’t have any control over. We’ll see what happens.
Writing has, unfortunately, taken a backseat to the exhaustion. I’ve set out every night to work on Reader, and so far I’ve succeeded once. I’ve thankfully given myself enough time to get my rough draft done, though the subsequent drafts and edits have much shorter timelines, that I’m not losing a whole lot of ground by not working that hard on it this week. I hate the feeling of losing momentum, though, and I know that’s what’s happening right now.
It’s also been kind of interesting seeing the intersection between my day job and my writing. I’ve mentioned before to my coworkers (we’ve grabbed dinner together the last two nights) that I have to get back to the hotel so I can get writing done, and besides one asking me if it was because I was taking a class, there’s little to no interest in the subject. It honestly feels really awkward to talk about it, even in the abstract of “I have to go write later.” It’s likely a combination of their disinterest and my anxiety disorder, but it leaves me feeling very vulnerable and off-kilter.
I do need to go and at least open my draft. I’m already in bed, though, and the urge to just lay down and read or sleep is quite strong. Maybe I’ll just try to make up the difference on Saturday…
You all have a good evening. Next post will be less introspective and about me, and more about writing.
Beating Writers Block
I think every writer has struggled with writer’s block or a sense of stagnation that can really derail you from what you’re working on. Here’s what I do to deal with it when I’m faced with that inevitable roadblock.
Fukushima Earthquake
This is completely unrelated to my writing, but as I lived in Morioka, Japan (northwest of Sendai) for awhile in college, I am keeping the people of Iwate prefecture in my heart and mind while we wait to see what happens with the potential tsunamis. I still remember getting woken up in the dead of night in 2011 with news of the last major earthquake in that area, one that was one of the costliest disasters in human history, and I am scared for my friends still living in Japan right now.
At least one of my friends in the area has checked in via Facebook. I’ve messaged my host family to see if they’re alright. I’m still waiting to hear from my old roommate who relocated to Japan permanently a few years back. I’ll update this post as I learn more.
I’ve heard from my host family, and they’re all okay. Still waiting to hear from my old roommate. It looks like the tsunami warnings have been lessened, so there’s at least that. I’ve seen some videos of the quake, and it didn’t look good. I’m continuing to hold the people of Iwate close to my heart tonight.
And I’ve finally heard back from my old roommate. She’s fine. Now it’s just a matter of waiting to hear about the damage from the quake.
How Not to Write a Novel
I will admit that when I started working on my first novel, I really had no idea what I was getting into. I’d written plenty of novella length pieces before, generally between 25-30k words, and I naively assumed that my process for writing those would work for writing a longer form piece. Boy, was I wrong.