Back to my old self
I hesitate to say it for fear of jinxing it or speaking too soon, but I think I can finally declare that I've recovered from the most intense burnout period of my life. It took almost two months, but I actually think I feel like my old self again, with my old energy and productivity. I confess I still feel fragile, like if things get tougher I may lose it all, but I'm hoping I'm actually past that level of exhaustion.
I'm back mostly in my preferred life routine, with regular exercise, careful if not obsessively controlled eating, staying on top of chores, and working on projects on a regular basis. I've gotten into a writing groove I'm pretty damn pleased with. I finished the edit of the Mrs. Hawking pilot and sent that off to my contact, which made for a respectable two-week turnaround. That's one item off my current list. I'm making steady progress on the Hood pilot draft as well, generating at least one scene for it every day. My plan on that is to get it sent in no later than one month after our last meeting, in an effort to keep to a brisk, efficient schedule.
I'm trying to maintain the work habits I've historically found to be the most efficient. I am a big proponent of the "vomit" or "slam" drafting process, which is where you just push to get a complete draft on paper without worrying if it's exactly right or not. I find that editing as I go prevents me from actually getting the words on the page. I do much better if I can just MAKE THE THING EXIST, and then editing and improving it once it does. So my current plan is to get it all technically "complete" without really rereading once it is, and once I've got a full draft, then go back and start fixing. It means I think this one is particularly rough at the moment, but I think it will make the improvement process easier on the back end.
I'm back mostly in my preferred life routine, with regular exercise, careful if not obsessively controlled eating, staying on top of chores, and working on projects on a regular basis. I've gotten into a writing groove I'm pretty damn pleased with. I finished the edit of the Mrs. Hawking pilot and sent that off to my contact, which made for a respectable two-week turnaround. That's one item off my current list. I'm making steady progress on the Hood pilot draft as well, generating at least one scene for it every day. My plan on that is to get it sent in no later than one month after our last meeting, in an effort to keep to a brisk, efficient schedule.
I'm trying to maintain the work habits I've historically found to be the most efficient. I am a big proponent of the "vomit" or "slam" drafting process, which is where you just push to get a complete draft on paper without worrying if it's exactly right or not. I find that editing as I go prevents me from actually getting the words on the page. I do much better if I can just MAKE THE THING EXIST, and then editing and improving it once it does. So my current plan is to get it all technically "complete" without really rereading once it is, and once I've got a full draft, then go back and start fixing. It means I think this one is particularly rough at the moment, but I think it will make the improvement process easier on the back end.