I'm a slow writer at the best of times. I'm in awe of authors who churn out multiple books a year. I will never be in their ranks. Most of the time I'm okay with that. Right now it's a bit of a struggle.
I began the year with big plans:
✓ Revise and submit Saved by the Belle (It was published by Fire Star Press on Aug 8th.)
✓ Complete and publish the next entry in my Paws and Effect series (It's Meow or Never was published in February.)
__ Complete and submit Dances with Werewolves, the next full-length novel in my Kudzu Korners series
__ Complete Something Whiskered This Way Comes, the 3rd entry in my Paws and Effect series, and submit it to the Kindle Worlds program
__ Use National Novel Writing Month in November to write a rough draft of my first inspirational romance, Finding Faith
As you can see, I only have two of the items on my list checked off. And, I'm struggling a bit with that. You know from some of my earlier posts that my mom passed away earlier this year. For me, grief and writing were not a good mix.
About the time I started getting my writing groove back, we decided to start looking at houses. My husband and I both grew up in the country (some would say the boonies) and we wanted to get back to a rural environment. Almost every evening after work was spent driving endless miles looking at what seemed like hundreds of houses. As exhausting as it was, the process was totally worth it. We closed on our new house at the end of July and moved in the first weekend in August. The past six (eight?) weeks have been filled with a plethora of boxes (packing and unpacking) and next to no writing. As a matter of fact, this post and a post for my personal blog are the only things I've written in the past couple of months. But hey, it's a start!
 |
| Our new house, aka The Cabin |
I'm the queen of beating myself up over things both big and small and it would be easy to get discouraged about the lack of progress I've made this year. But, in my ongoing effort to stop being so hard on myself, I'm choosing to look at things from a different perspective. I have six published stories - six. That's not too shabby for someone who, a decade ago, wouldn't even have dreamed of being a published author. Take that, negativity!
Now that we have our house in a livable state, it's time to dust off my laptop, find a quiet corner, and get back to work on Dances with Werewolves. I'm looking forward to that magical feeling that occurs when the words start flowing. After all, the only way to fail is to give up. Right?
How do you pick yourself up when you're feeling down?
Sign up for my
newsletter here: http://madmimi.com/signups/112968/join
Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/isabellanorse
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/isabellanorse/
Dear Ms. Isabella,
ReplyDeleteWhen I lost my father, after ensuring all personal and legal matters were taken care of, and I had time to grieve, I did just that, and became very introspective. As painful as it was it provided me an insight into myself, and a bit better understanding of human nature, that was positive in the long run.
To get beyond the sadness, I plunged myself into writing, and lost myself in another world. So much so that my dear wife had to pull me back.
The journey was both sad and inspirational.
My writing helped my past that very difficult period, and the time spent within my own mind was...amazing.
I discovered, what for me, were many truths, one of them was "never quit writing." Even if you write junk, letters to loved ones, or tag the sides of buildings...never quit. A life lesson if ever there was one.
Best of everything!
Hi Michael, thanks for stopping by! I'm glad you were able to lose yourself in your own worlds as a part of your healing.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIsabella,
ReplyDeleteI retreat into myself to reenergize when I start feeling down. I've struggled with depression all of my adult life. It's gotten easier to deal with the older I get, but there are those times...
When I retreat, I call it 'going dark'. I step away from social media first, then social interactions, then my computer. I tend to read more and write by hand when I'm in a 'funk'. I've learned if I allow myself to wallow in the feelings for a while instead of fighting them, I pop out of the doldrums before long.
I'll be NaNoWriMo-ing in November, also. I think this is year number 10 for me.
{Love your new house, by the way} *wink*
Hi Kaye!
DeleteI'm so glad you stopped by. I'm glad I'm not the only one who retreats into myself. I'm gradually learning that I just have to let myself feel what I'm feeling instead of forcing myself to do whatever I think I "should" be doing instead.
And thanks. I fall a little more in love with our new house every day.