Writing Log & Clearing the decks
09/04/2008 - Thursday, half-work at NgithOwl. I seem to have come out of my funk am finally getting some stuff done!
* Penthius freewriting: an idea for a women's lit magic realism best-seller.
* Posted write-up of TCSFWN workshop and associated story ideas.
I know this doesn't look like I did very much, but mostly what I'm working on right now is clearing the decks of the "I have to--" clutter, by taking care of it or by sorting it into its appropriate place in my system. I cannot even begin to explain how much stress this is removing. Some of the things I'm working on are writing things, some of them aren't. I'm trying to balance the proportions.
Here's the thing. Routines are vital in making sure that all the important stuff gets taken care of first. Without them, all the little crap around the edges slips in and somehow the things you care most about--well, there's just never time enough. But you need to check back in on the routines on a regular basis, to figure out where the flaws in your initial allotment were, to make sure that the stuff that matters is what's getting done, not just the stuff that's urgent. And sometimes the routines are working fine and you're making progress where it counts, but you've got this nagging feeling of panic because all that other stuff is building up. That's okay. It doesn't mean the routine should change (unless this happens too often). It just means you need to take a few days to clear the decks.
(You should also plan breaks from routine occasionally to make yourself happier and to spark creativity, but that's another post. Remind me sometime to tell you about my idea for a vacation from routine.)
* Penthius freewriting: an idea for a women's lit magic realism best-seller.
* Posted write-up of TCSFWN workshop and associated story ideas.
I know this doesn't look like I did very much, but mostly what I'm working on right now is clearing the decks of the "I have to--" clutter, by taking care of it or by sorting it into its appropriate place in my system. I cannot even begin to explain how much stress this is removing. Some of the things I'm working on are writing things, some of them aren't. I'm trying to balance the proportions.
Here's the thing. Routines are vital in making sure that all the important stuff gets taken care of first. Without them, all the little crap around the edges slips in and somehow the things you care most about--well, there's just never time enough. But you need to check back in on the routines on a regular basis, to figure out where the flaws in your initial allotment were, to make sure that the stuff that matters is what's getting done, not just the stuff that's urgent. And sometimes the routines are working fine and you're making progress where it counts, but you've got this nagging feeling of panic because all that other stuff is building up. That's okay. It doesn't mean the routine should change (unless this happens too often). It just means you need to take a few days to clear the decks.
(You should also plan breaks from routine occasionally to make yourself happier and to spark creativity, but that's another post. Remind me sometime to tell you about my idea for a vacation from routine.)