My challenge today, this week, and next is to figure out how to regain my momentum on my WIP.
My little guy was sick this weekend and is sick today. Last week my husband went out of town unexpectedly. Next week, he has a trip for work.
Tomorrow I have an appointment while my little guy is at preschool (fingers crossed that he's not sick tomorrow) so I can check out his school for next year and get him enrolled. He is in denial about changing schools and insists his white school (color of the building, not the children) is his school. His white school is only taking younger kids next year and is moving all the preschool kids to the elementary school building. I don't want to take him with me since he's so nervous about the idea of changing schools. So I need to go on the tour tomorrow, while he's at preschool, when I should be writing.
My WIP is stuck. Not because I don't know where it's going. Not because I don't like it (I do). It's stuck because I haven't made time to write for a week. I don't like writing when I cross a certain threshold of stress, an invisible line where I don't have clarity, where I can't jump out of my life and into my story.
I slept a lot this weekend. I think sleep is what I needed. At 4:00 AM this morning my sick little guy crawled in bed with me and said, "I'm not feeling very well today." And then he coughed for an hour while I handed him tissues for his runny nose.
I think I need to regain my momentum in small pieces. I have a blurb for each of the next six chapters typed up, staring at me right now, begging me to just write them already. I usually only write if I have time to knock out an entire chapter. I have time for a chapter or two today since my husband is home for the holiday.
The rest of the week, I need to settle for less, a few paragraphs at a time until paragraphs become chapters. But I feel very uncomfortable with this idea of writing partial chapters. It's not how I normally work. My worry is it will be crap without the continuity. But that's what edits are for, right?
Do you write in whole chapters or in paragraphs or by word count? What do you do when life gets in the way of your writing?
Aww, I hope he feels better soon! My son was sick this weekend, too.
ReplyDeleteI write whatever I can, as I can. Sometimes it's a few sentences, sometimes a few paragraphs, sometimes future scenes, sometimes past scenes, sometimes lots of chapters.
That's great you can jump around like that. I hope your son feels better too.
DeleteSorry your boy is sick - and stressed!
ReplyDeleteI prefer to write in stretches, but I never set a limit or goal. Besides, I write so slow, taking time to find the proper wording, that a whole chapter would take five hours or more!
That's really interesting. I need a set goal or I stare at the screen.
DeleteI've never written an entire chapter in one sitting. I'm a very slow writer. I write one to two pages a day. Five pages in a day is probably the most I've done. Last week wasn't a good writing week for me either. I got lost in the weeds a little as far as plot goes. Hoping to figure it all out this week and get back on track.
ReplyDeleteI think one or two pages will be a good goal for me over the next two weeks. I hope you find your way out of the weeds soon.
DeleteHi Emily
ReplyDeleteBoy can I relate. I no longer have small children but I have grandchildren. Recently I have been very ill. It turns out that the place we moved to has numerous toxic chemicals, so I'm moving soon. My writing has taken a back seat and my characters are banging on the front door. When I do write, I don't set rules. I have a childrens book series that is about 14 pages per story, so it is written most of the time in one sitting. My epic fantasy is written usually per chapter, but not always. I also have another story that is in first person, I'm still developing this idea.
Hope the school turns out to be great.
Nancy
I can relate with the toxic environment. I had problems at work where I was the only one that couldn't breathe - except for the guy that moved into my seat when I quit. I started breathing better immediately after quitting and even better after we replaced our home furnace and AC. Good luck on your recovery - I agree your health has to come first.
DeleteI hope your kid feels better soon and that you get some rest to take a look at your WIP with a clear head.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Not a word today, but maybe tomorrow.
DeleteHope your little guy gets better soon! I write in chapters. When I start, I don't stop until I have completed the entire chapter. I write short chapter books for kids, though, so I'm able to do that. If I was writing a novel, I don't think I could. It would be a page or two at a time.
ReplyDeleteThank you. He is doing better and was hilarious talking to the doctor this afternoon, describing all his symptoms like a tiny little man.
DeleteI like the feeling of completion, getting a whole chapter done before I step away.
Sorry I didn't get to read many blog posts today - I'll try to catch up later in the week.
ReplyDelete