I greeted March with wild enthusiasm, all set to Write Words and put a serious dent in one of my WIPs.
10 days in and I've written... *drum roll*... 300 words.
I don't know why. I've just... I've wanted to write, but when I've finished what needs doing around the house and with the kids, and sat down with my laptop... nothing has happened. Nothing other than me trailing around on message boards or arsing about on Facebook.
I feel like my drive has gone. This has happened before, but never to this extent. I've never gone for so long without writing anything.
The worst thing is, the longer it goes on, the guiltier I feel. The guiltier I feel, the more stressed I become. And I can't write when I'm stressed. The words get caught up in an emotional bottle-neck. Then the whole damn cycle starts over.
It will pass. I know, because I've been here before. I'll probably be here again. It's just travelling the desert and getting to the other side, hopefully not taking forty years to do so.
I've been there. Just pack lots of water ;)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, when I'm in a slump, I find ways to re-motivate myself. If I can't focus on my novel wips, I read my books on writing. I open my blog and I hammer out 700+ word posts. I look at the list of things I want to accomplish in my life and remind myself that none of it will happen if I don't make the effort to put in the hard work. Even if I only get 150 words a day, at least I'm still trudging onward.
The guilt doesn't help, but tears do. When I get frustrated, I allow myself the freedom to cry about it. Tears help alleviate stress and allow to me think clearly and re-focus my priorities.
Good luck! It may come slowly, but we'll survive March. April-August is the real challenge. Enjoying the spring/summer weather trumps sitting inside writing for me, and I tend to be more productive with writing in mornings.
Been there... it is the worst! Making dinner, cleaning house, getting the kid to sleep THEN sitting down to write is exactly my life too. Sometimes after working all day my mind just can't focus on writing. I need time to wind down and chill before the creative process can flow out of me.
ReplyDeleteIf you can manage to take a day off, or even half a day, do it! Spend that day relaxing and writing.
Also, sometimes I can get out of the writing slump if I go back to the beginning of my WIP and just read through it, editing this or that as I go. My mind gets absorbed in the story and by the time I reach the end of what I've written, I'm ready to keep writing.
Good luck, and remember to just keep swimming!