Keeping Writing on the Front Burner
I write this sitting on my bed, eating chocolate mini doughnuts.
Hm. I think that will be the opening sentence to my autobiography: "Yes, I'm Fat. You Don't Have to Tell Me." Or something like that.
I've been rather frustrated as of late. After the Winter of Hell, where I spent months not wanting to do anything, much less write, I finally have some pep back, and the motivation to write something. And that's what I've been doing, since about mid April. But, that's all been fan fiction up to this point.
This past week or two, I've actually dusted off one of my original projects and started up on it again. The beginning of the Nellie Stories I plan to write. After having decided to overhaul the entire concept and start over, I am now wading my way through character introductions. I've also changed it from first person to third, which gives me a little more wiggle room. And frankly, I've never been very comfortable with being stuck in the mind of a single individual for the duration of an entire novel. It's almost frightening when you really think hard about it. Don't think hard about it.
The part where I'm frustrated has to do with the fact that my keeping a day job is an unavoidable fact of my life at this point. I think the time when I'd write best would be mid morning, roughly. That is when a lot of my ideas come to me. That is also when I'm stuck at work, unable to do anything about those ideas. Hmph! My day job is definitely hindering my writing career.
My irritation was so rampant today that I could barely sit still, and decided to Google what other people have done about this problem. There are a lot of blog entries and articles about this very issue, the day job sucking out your energy that you'd like to save for your writing, or whatever it is you'd prefer doing during the day.
It's nice to know that I'm definitely not alone. Not by a long shot.
Here are a couple of posts I read while I was at work this morning:
Write a Novel While Working for a Living
"If your day job is at all meaningful, it’ll drain your creative juices to a certain degree. If your day job is completely meaningless, it may drain your soul."
How to Find the Energy for More Than Just Your Day Job
"So you’ve got something you’re really passionate about. Perhaps it’s a hobby which you think you could turn into a business. Or a community project, or a novel you’re writing, or a diet or exercise routine which you’re really taking seriously this time.
The problem is, you’ve got a day job. It takes up most of your time and energy each day."
I know that I've been up and down with this whole writing business. It's gotten to the point that I really think that most people don't, or have stopped taking me seriously when I talk about writing, and eventually getting published. I can't blame anyone for that. Even I have stopped believing it a few times.
What most people don't understand is that I have never in my life stuck with something for as long as I have stuck with writing. And now that I'm climbing back in the saddle, as it were, I feel like my progress is still solidly blocked by having to keep a day job, and feeling too pooped to do anything once I get home.
When I Googled my problem earlier today, I was half hoping that I'd see some miraculous way around having to keep a day job, so that I could write full time and not have to live in a cardboard box. Aside from applying for grants (which I'm seriously considering) there is no miraculous solution.
The only way to keep my sanity and my focus is to remember that I, first and foremost, am an unemployed author, not a contractor working for Volkswagen. That's the first thing. The rest I just read in this amazing blog post by David Anaxagoras:
How to Keep Your Day Job from Killing Your Writing Career
"Not all jobs are satisfying in and of themselves. But even bad jobs become an excuse to not write. Because we’re tired, drained, or don’t have any time left over for ourselves.
That’s why we have make a concentrated effort to make writing a priority in our lives. Writing is not the default behavior for the human animal. It’s way down the list on the hierarchy of needs, for one thing. If we want it to happen, we have to make it happen. On purpose."
The first eye opening revelation I received from this post and one of the two listed above, was to make your day about writing. And guess what! It's so easy. Both posts mentioned waking up early and writing a little before going to work. Then, after work, write some more. That way, the day is less about work, and more about your real job. When I read that idea, my brain kind of exploded.
Most people who know me know that I am the anti-morning in human female form. I won't lie, or soften it. Mornings are the devil. However I think I might try doing this for about a week, maybe less, depending on how it goes. But that right there should convince everyone of how serious I am about this. I don't get up early for anything! Even if someone was dying and it was up to me to save them, I wouldn't get up to do it until after 9am.
There are a lot more points made in that post that were equally as revolutionary in my mind.
I need to structure my days around my writing, not my day job. And, it looks like I need to find a local writing group around here somewhere. That has always frightened me. I have an automatic inferiority complex when it comes to... people. I automatically assume that everyone is better, more experienced and so on. I end up intimidating myself, which is weird but true.
But, if I get into a writing group that meets every two weeks or so, it will give me more motivation to freaking write something! That's what I need, especially when I get mopey.
This is something I want to do. I've never invested so much time and thought in anything else in my life. This is something I can do. I'm a writer.
Hm. I think that will be the opening sentence to my autobiography: "Yes, I'm Fat. You Don't Have to Tell Me." Or something like that.
I've been rather frustrated as of late. After the Winter of Hell, where I spent months not wanting to do anything, much less write, I finally have some pep back, and the motivation to write something. And that's what I've been doing, since about mid April. But, that's all been fan fiction up to this point.
This past week or two, I've actually dusted off one of my original projects and started up on it again. The beginning of the Nellie Stories I plan to write. After having decided to overhaul the entire concept and start over, I am now wading my way through character introductions. I've also changed it from first person to third, which gives me a little more wiggle room. And frankly, I've never been very comfortable with being stuck in the mind of a single individual for the duration of an entire novel. It's almost frightening when you really think hard about it. Don't think hard about it.
The part where I'm frustrated has to do with the fact that my keeping a day job is an unavoidable fact of my life at this point. I think the time when I'd write best would be mid morning, roughly. That is when a lot of my ideas come to me. That is also when I'm stuck at work, unable to do anything about those ideas. Hmph! My day job is definitely hindering my writing career.
My irritation was so rampant today that I could barely sit still, and decided to Google what other people have done about this problem. There are a lot of blog entries and articles about this very issue, the day job sucking out your energy that you'd like to save for your writing, or whatever it is you'd prefer doing during the day.
It's nice to know that I'm definitely not alone. Not by a long shot.
Here are a couple of posts I read while I was at work this morning:
Write a Novel While Working for a Living
"If your day job is at all meaningful, it’ll drain your creative juices to a certain degree. If your day job is completely meaningless, it may drain your soul."
How to Find the Energy for More Than Just Your Day Job
"So you’ve got something you’re really passionate about. Perhaps it’s a hobby which you think you could turn into a business. Or a community project, or a novel you’re writing, or a diet or exercise routine which you’re really taking seriously this time.
The problem is, you’ve got a day job. It takes up most of your time and energy each day."
I know that I've been up and down with this whole writing business. It's gotten to the point that I really think that most people don't, or have stopped taking me seriously when I talk about writing, and eventually getting published. I can't blame anyone for that. Even I have stopped believing it a few times.
What most people don't understand is that I have never in my life stuck with something for as long as I have stuck with writing. And now that I'm climbing back in the saddle, as it were, I feel like my progress is still solidly blocked by having to keep a day job, and feeling too pooped to do anything once I get home.
When I Googled my problem earlier today, I was half hoping that I'd see some miraculous way around having to keep a day job, so that I could write full time and not have to live in a cardboard box. Aside from applying for grants (which I'm seriously considering) there is no miraculous solution.
The only way to keep my sanity and my focus is to remember that I, first and foremost, am an unemployed author, not a contractor working for Volkswagen. That's the first thing. The rest I just read in this amazing blog post by David Anaxagoras:
How to Keep Your Day Job from Killing Your Writing Career
"Not all jobs are satisfying in and of themselves. But even bad jobs become an excuse to not write. Because we’re tired, drained, or don’t have any time left over for ourselves.
That’s why we have make a concentrated effort to make writing a priority in our lives. Writing is not the default behavior for the human animal. It’s way down the list on the hierarchy of needs, for one thing. If we want it to happen, we have to make it happen. On purpose."
The first eye opening revelation I received from this post and one of the two listed above, was to make your day about writing. And guess what! It's so easy. Both posts mentioned waking up early and writing a little before going to work. Then, after work, write some more. That way, the day is less about work, and more about your real job. When I read that idea, my brain kind of exploded.
Most people who know me know that I am the anti-morning in human female form. I won't lie, or soften it. Mornings are the devil. However I think I might try doing this for about a week, maybe less, depending on how it goes. But that right there should convince everyone of how serious I am about this. I don't get up early for anything! Even if someone was dying and it was up to me to save them, I wouldn't get up to do it until after 9am.
There are a lot more points made in that post that were equally as revolutionary in my mind.
I need to structure my days around my writing, not my day job. And, it looks like I need to find a local writing group around here somewhere. That has always frightened me. I have an automatic inferiority complex when it comes to... people. I automatically assume that everyone is better, more experienced and so on. I end up intimidating myself, which is weird but true.
But, if I get into a writing group that meets every two weeks or so, it will give me more motivation to freaking write something! That's what I need, especially when I get mopey.
This is something I want to do. I've never invested so much time and thought in anything else in my life. This is something I can do. I'm a writer.