So, yeah, I’ve been gone a bit, but sometimes, it IS how it goes. I get distracted by other things and yes, there are times where I get too much stacked up on me and I kind of mentally shut down. It’s an odd thing.
So last month I was harried by going to a horror convention, then went on a vacation and then got back last week and my foot swelled up. My down time to just stay on top of stuff went sideways. It happens, and if you write, or do anything creative (in any field), I’m guessing you get bogged down too.
So, how do you cope, as a writer?
That’s the secret code you have to break for yourself. There are lots of ways to overcome, but it’s individual and not everything works the same way for the same person. Me personally, sometimes I just have to shut everything down and do nothing. I get overwhelmed if I have too many “to-do’s” on my list and the idea of tackling everything one task at a time just doesn’t compute at a certain point. All I see is the multitude of everything that I haven’t done and then literally shut down.
I’m sure it’s some kind of anxiety, but I’ve found I have to walk away for how many ever days is necessary, concentrate only on what I absolutely have to, and then get back in.
So here I am, off cycle on my blogs but I’m back.
Oddly enough, writing never works that way for me. It’s the one place where I can have multiple ideas coming at me and story lines, and my brain pan juggles them all just fine. I can tune in and out of stories as needed and I can click right along. I do not even begin to understand why it works that way, or what the underlying factors are or what’s involved. I just know that it works.
And I trust it.
Writing truly is my oasis. So, for you other writers, the bottom line is, and always will be: find what works for you and do it. Be damned the “teachers” and “experts” who tell you to do this or that, and follow your own instincts and intuitions. The people trying to sell you a book on “The Silver Bullet to writing a great novel” are ONLY telling you how it works best for them. You may glean an idea or two, but they do not hold the magic key to writing.
Alright, go write some words. Pull out that story you’re stuck on and turn it upside down and sideways to see if you can come up with a new angle on it.
You got this.
Craig