Yesterday was errand day. Gas up the car, go to the bank, and hit the grocery store.
I don't look forward to errand day. For some reason, it always messes up my writing day. I left an hour earlier than usual yesterday, thinking that would help me get back into the writing groove at the usual time, but it didn't work.
After all the errands were done, I kept thinking about the stuff that DIDN'T get done. I have hardly begun my Christmas shopping, and a lot of it has to be mailed. It's been snowy. I don't like going out in the snow, parking, getting into the store, not finding what I want, going back out in the cold, driving somewhere else. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I want to go see the Harry Potter movie. That will kill an entire afternoon, and since I do most of my writing in the afternoon--there's another day gone.
I have to keep reminding myself that writing books is my job and I need to stop letting interruptions keep me from my work.
Of course, the fact that I'm writing something that's REALLY BIG is sometimes also a stumbling block. Writers usually worry about the sagging middle of a story, but this event--which I didn't even know I would be adding to the story until Saturday--is sure to keep readers turning those pages. And the aftermath of this event is going to keep that aspect of the story alive for the rest of the book.
Sometimes when I'm writing these REALLY BIG PARTS I have to approach the computer as though it was about to explode. Be gentle lest it blows sky high, taking me with it. (Stupid, but that's the way I work.) So while I really WANT to write this part, I'm afraid of messing it up big time.
In the end, it will all work out (it always does), but right now...Oy!
How do you approach difficult parts of your job?
I am the same way. It is very difficult for me to get back on task if I am interrupted. Sounds to me like the juices are marinating about this happening in the book you just thought of on Saturday and when the flavors are melded, they will be ready to be written and enjoyed!
ReplyDeletelol I make a cup of tea, and go to my bead table and loose myself ... of course if it's a beading-block, I go grab a book.. but tea is a must! My day job is coding and billing for a hospital.. I work from home.. TONS of things can interrupt the work flow if you aren't careful.. so I plug in audiobooks, somehow I can work and listen at the same time..
ReplyDeleteI do it the way you do, I fret and worry; procrastination always works well, standing in front of the fridge and staring in is good. LOL when I hear someone else in this familiar agony, but you're right, it will all be OK, Ommmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteWe interrupt this comment to bring you a giant squee.
ReplyDeleteSQEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
Susan Branch left a comment on my blog!!!! (If you don't know who Susan is--please, come in out of the cold and check out her majorly kewl web site: http://www.SusanBranch.com )
(I've only read her Christmas book for about the 10th time this season. I read it EVERY year about 10 times--and there's still 16 days until Christmas so I can probably read it another 10 times. Just sayin'.)
I do what you do, do everything under the sun until I have nothing else to do but tackle that big project. I'm always thankful when it's done.
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