Frustrated Novelist? How to Deal With Bad Writing Weeks
Do you ever have one of those weeks? When everything goes wrong simultaneously: the dog hurts her leg and your spouse has to work a lot of overtime unexpectedly, your kid (or parent, depending on what part of life you're in) needs extra support. You end up feeling run down, exhausted and ready to quit.
That's the kind of week it's been.
I talk a lot about making your writing a priority. About how easy it is to finish a novel if you use the 15-Minute Writing Method. About how, when your big dreams seem far away, you re-orient yourself and try, try again.
This week I didn't feel like taking a single bit of my own advice. A middle of the night trip to the ER (all is well in the end), a sick child, flooring that's ripped up and a house in chaos, preparing for a book show and trying to keep up with my writing work on less-than normal sleep all spell disaster.
Here's how I coped.
1. Even though I what I wrote may end up being drivel, I still did my priority writing (working on my next suspense novel) first thing every work day. This wasn't easy but it was satisfying.
2. I let my standards go. I like to have a tidy, uncluttered space. It annoys me when there are things dragging around and surfaces are cluttered. Because of an unexpected health crisis in our family, the installation of our new flooring upstairs was rescheduled.
So all week I've been looking at hideously ugly sub-flooring, tripping over boxes of new flooring and trying to remember where things are stored in the interim. I'm not going to lie and say that it hasn't bothered me. That I've found my Zen enough to smile and breathe and let it go. But I do recognize there isn't a thing I can do about it right now and try to ignore my surroundings as much as possible.
3. Scheduled in some time for me. Despite the worry and guilt involved, I left my injured husband and sick child in my mother's care for a couple of hours to have my hair cut and highlighted. It felt AMAZING.
I also tried to be easier on myself by using a nicer voice when I forgot things (over and over). Meeting a friend I hadn't seen in ages and inviting my sister for coffee were wonderful treats. Just having these things to look forward to, as well as a listening ear, were incredibly helpful.
Sometimes life gets in the way
We all dream of having that "perfect" writing experience. Where we type and the words just flow. Where we are so involved in the process that we lose track of time. The times when we feel lit from within with a million sparklers and daydream of seeing our name on the NY Times Bestseller list.
But sometimes a bad couple of days, or a week or a month, get in our way. We can show how resilient we are when we continue to write, to the best of our ability, through these times.
Number one in importance? Your health and taking care of yourself inside and out. Number two? Making time for what is most important to you in your heart. If that's writing then I know you'll find the time you need to get started.
That's the kind of week it's been.
I talk a lot about making your writing a priority. About how easy it is to finish a novel if you use the 15-Minute Writing Method. About how, when your big dreams seem far away, you re-orient yourself and try, try again.
This week I didn't feel like taking a single bit of my own advice. A middle of the night trip to the ER (all is well in the end), a sick child, flooring that's ripped up and a house in chaos, preparing for a book show and trying to keep up with my writing work on less-than normal sleep all spell disaster. Here's how I coped.
1. Even though I what I wrote may end up being drivel, I still did my priority writing (working on my next suspense novel) first thing every work day. This wasn't easy but it was satisfying.
2. I let my standards go. I like to have a tidy, uncluttered space. It annoys me when there are things dragging around and surfaces are cluttered. Because of an unexpected health crisis in our family, the installation of our new flooring upstairs was rescheduled.
So all week I've been looking at hideously ugly sub-flooring, tripping over boxes of new flooring and trying to remember where things are stored in the interim. I'm not going to lie and say that it hasn't bothered me. That I've found my Zen enough to smile and breathe and let it go. But I do recognize there isn't a thing I can do about it right now and try to ignore my surroundings as much as possible.
3. Scheduled in some time for me. Despite the worry and guilt involved, I left my injured husband and sick child in my mother's care for a couple of hours to have my hair cut and highlighted. It felt AMAZING.
I also tried to be easier on myself by using a nicer voice when I forgot things (over and over). Meeting a friend I hadn't seen in ages and inviting my sister for coffee were wonderful treats. Just having these things to look forward to, as well as a listening ear, were incredibly helpful.
Sometimes life gets in the way
We all dream of having that "perfect" writing experience. Where we type and the words just flow. Where we are so involved in the process that we lose track of time. The times when we feel lit from within with a million sparklers and daydream of seeing our name on the NY Times Bestseller list.
But sometimes a bad couple of days, or a week or a month, get in our way. We can show how resilient we are when we continue to write, to the best of our ability, through these times.
Number one in importance? Your health and taking care of yourself inside and out. Number two? Making time for what is most important to you in your heart. If that's writing then I know you'll find the time you need to get started.
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