"Writing energy is like anything else. The more you put in, the more you get out."
- Richard Reeves
While I have been making progress on Seven Circles, my writing lately has not been where I would ultimately like it to be. I have a full time job, a family, and a bag of excuses that would put Santa's famous red sack to shame. These things have a way of slipping into my writing time and energy. The results are not things to brag about.
Now I'm not a big fan of structure. It has its place, but madness and chaos are most often my bread and butter when it comes to creativeness. But sometimes, and I truly hate to admit it, even these steadfast companions go on hiatus.
The Novel is nearing completion but progress has slowly been on the decline. The creative parts are nearly all finished. The plot is complete, the characters are hashed out, the story line is filled in and the fun part is just about done. Now I'm into the tedious and monotonous part of the work: The editing process.
This is the part where I generally get derailed. It's not fun and I don't like doing it.
The result tends to be a creative slowdown. My answer to that is to pound away, and to keep pounding until I have either killed the work, or hammered out something I'm not ashamed of. It's exhausting to say the least.
To help me get back on track, I decided I needed to do something bordering on drastic (and I had 5 days of unused vacation left at work). I decided to go on my first writers retreat. I booked a cabin at Lake Hope State Park in Southern Ohio, packed up my manuscript and all my odd notes and scribbles pertaining to it, my laptop, my current notebooks, my kit of office supplies, a change of clothes, and the dog. I loaded it all into the SUV and got on the road. This was my first actual monetary investment in my writing beyond the basics (i.e. paper, pens, notebooks, laptop, etc...) and it felt pretty good.
What I hoped for when I got in the car to leave, and what I came home with two days later, were two separate things. While I didn't get as much accomplished on the manuscript as I had hoped to, I came away from the trip feeling rejuvenated and excited about my writing at a level I haven't felt in ages. I have new ideas that I want to try out; I have new directions I'm excited to explore; I've found ambition and confidence that somehow got buried in the droll existence of everyday life.
None of these things were things I went looking for, at least not consciously looking for. I just wanted some time away from the normal distractions of day to day living, to concentrate on the manuscript and make some real progress for a change. I can't say exactly what happened, but having nothing to think about but the words was like taking a breath of fresh air. I got to complete thoughts. I got to explore ideas without interruptions. I got to have fun with my writing. It was great.
As far as investments, I'm marking this one down as highly lucrative. I feel like I went looking for oil and struck gold instead.
- Richard Reeves
While I have been making progress on Seven Circles, my writing lately has not been where I would ultimately like it to be. I have a full time job, a family, and a bag of excuses that would put Santa's famous red sack to shame. These things have a way of slipping into my writing time and energy. The results are not things to brag about.
Now I'm not a big fan of structure. It has its place, but madness and chaos are most often my bread and butter when it comes to creativeness. But sometimes, and I truly hate to admit it, even these steadfast companions go on hiatus.
The Novel is nearing completion but progress has slowly been on the decline. The creative parts are nearly all finished. The plot is complete, the characters are hashed out, the story line is filled in and the fun part is just about done. Now I'm into the tedious and monotonous part of the work: The editing process.
This is the part where I generally get derailed. It's not fun and I don't like doing it.
The result tends to be a creative slowdown. My answer to that is to pound away, and to keep pounding until I have either killed the work, or hammered out something I'm not ashamed of. It's exhausting to say the least.
To help me get back on track, I decided I needed to do something bordering on drastic (and I had 5 days of unused vacation left at work). I decided to go on my first writers retreat. I booked a cabin at Lake Hope State Park in Southern Ohio, packed up my manuscript and all my odd notes and scribbles pertaining to it, my laptop, my current notebooks, my kit of office supplies, a change of clothes, and the dog. I loaded it all into the SUV and got on the road. This was my first actual monetary investment in my writing beyond the basics (i.e. paper, pens, notebooks, laptop, etc...) and it felt pretty good.
What I hoped for when I got in the car to leave, and what I came home with two days later, were two separate things. While I didn't get as much accomplished on the manuscript as I had hoped to, I came away from the trip feeling rejuvenated and excited about my writing at a level I haven't felt in ages. I have new ideas that I want to try out; I have new directions I'm excited to explore; I've found ambition and confidence that somehow got buried in the droll existence of everyday life.
None of these things were things I went looking for, at least not consciously looking for. I just wanted some time away from the normal distractions of day to day living, to concentrate on the manuscript and make some real progress for a change. I can't say exactly what happened, but having nothing to think about but the words was like taking a breath of fresh air. I got to complete thoughts. I got to explore ideas without interruptions. I got to have fun with my writing. It was great.
As far as investments, I'm marking this one down as highly lucrative. I feel like I went looking for oil and struck gold instead.
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