Used with permission from Debbie Ridpath Ohi at Inkygirl.com
…I just need to keep telling myself that.
Category: Writing
This is an amazing idea! Will you be watching?
Moments in Writing: Know When to Give Up
I took on a writing commission months ago. The brief was to write a dozen children’s stories for someone’s niece and nephew, working in details of the kids’ lives to make a keepsake for Christmas. I was given a deposit and let loose.
I can’t do it.
It’s not for lack of trying. I’ve tried, and tried, and tried. But I just can’t wrap my mind around writing for children. C says it would be easier to fake it if I were a fantasy writer…“Kids like that kind of stuff.”
True, but I’m not elves-and-magic-beans. I’m murder-you-and-feed-you-to-pigs. I don’t have kids. I don’t know the first thing about age-appropriate stories. I didn’t even read kids’ books when I was one.
I think part of growing your artistic career is setting limits and knowing yourself. So as much as I’d love for those kids to get my stories under their tree, I’m going to have to refund that deposit.
I thought I would feel guilty. But instead I feel proud. Proud of myself for moving forward with my career the way I want, not the way other people expect. It feels good.
There’s Dedication, Then There’s DEDICATION
Well? What’s it gonna take to write that novel?
Back to the Grind
Ugh, vacation’s over. I’m back to work tomorrow.
Why is it that time spent at work feels so much longer than time spent…well, doing pretty much anything else?
I’ve always promised myself I wouldn’t post much about DayJob, having read the horror stories of people fired for same, but suffice it to say I am not looking forward to going back. That bit’s no secret.
My solution to stay sane: I’m reading 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think and really thinking about ways I can still feel like my creative self while I’m going about my day. I’m not far into the book, but already I’m seeing all kinds of small ways I can get more done.
I bought a new charger for my dead netbook, so step one will be committing to writing at lunch. Tried before, didn’t stick with it, but I’ve reevaluated my priorities and I’m ready to give it another go. Besides, I’ll never get anywhere unless I really push myself.
Step two is nerding it up by self-designing new scheduling inserts for my Filofax. It seems I can’t find any that suit me, and I think I need to visually see where my time is going in order to use it better.
There’s got to be some way to get there.
FREEDOM!
I finally, finally have a week off from DayJob. The last time I was off was in January and I’m pretty much clawing my own eyes out.
I have few plans — I’m trying to keep it that way, so I can get a handle on this whole “relaxing” thing. I give myself a day, two at most, before I’m bored of vegging and back to scribbling. But in the meantime I’m going to do my best to do nothing.
Tomorrow I’m off for some overnight camping (camping used in the sense of a trailer with plumbing; you will not catch me sleeping on the ground, ever. Ew). We’ll be in the middle of nowhere, just us girls and the woods and the things that snap twigs and scare the shit out of you in the middle of the night. I can’t wait!
I’ve got posts scheduled for the week, so I’m still “here” in a sense. Please don’t get bummed out if I don’t get to comments right away; I’ll get there, I promise.
Catch ya later!
Writing Essentials: Death Wish Coffee
“Billed as the world’s strongest coffee…One cup will have you flying and killing it during your company’s next brainstorming session (also, it may make your heart explode).”
Coffee. Beloved friend. Portal to the Muses. Eraser of brain fog. And now, apparently, exploder of hearts.
I need.
(via Cool Material)
BoardZilla
I decided to try the whole planning-a-novel-on-index-cards-thing, so I bought a new cork board to hold them. I already had one in the office, but I decided I needed more space.
Ahem.
The small one is for mere mortals.
I had to move the front seats of the car forward, collapse the back seats, and was barely able to squeeze the trunk shut. The board came from our local Ikea-knockoff, so its size was given in centimeters, and I’m a bad Canadian and suck at metric but I’m thinking it’s at least four and a half feet tall. Maybe five.
I lugged it through the back door. My husband was gaming on the couch in the living room, and when he saw my new monstrosity he just laughed.
“That’s ridiculous! That thing’s HUGE! You could use it as a sled.”
“Shut up.”
“Or hold it over your head for a parachute…or use it to build an addition on the house…”
“SHUT UP.”
“Parasail…area rug…bet it won’t fit up the stairs.”
I rolled my eyes, asked him to kindly shut the fuck up, and went to carry it upstairs. I managed to put a ding in the wall, which made him laugh so hard I thought he’d pee himself.
I love my new cork board. It will be the answer, I know it. I’m guessing this thing’ll hold about 60 index cards, which should get me through just fine (ha!).
I told a coworker about it, and without missing a beat she said, “Flotation device in a flood.”
Shut up.
Writing Game: Race the Commercials
Just a quick game, because I know you don’t have time.
In fact, that’s what this game is for.
Next time you’re watching tv, keep a notebook (or your laptop) nearby. When the commercial break starts, GO. You have 2 minutes and 20 seconds to scribble (or type) like mad. How many words can you get down? Can you write a paragraph? A whole conversation? I’ve read that an hour-long show ends up being only ~40 minutes when you delete the commercials. That’s 20 minutes of time you didn’t think you had.
When your show comes back, your pen goes down. You’re free to completely ignore your story until the next break.
You may find, like I did, that you’d rather work the story than watch the show. And that your 20 minutes of writing just became 40. But if not, you’re still 20 minutes ahead on your story. Congratulations!
sniderwriter 