Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Rediscovering Writing MoJo Amidst Holiday Distractions

After I sent off my GH Entry #2, I was hit with the "save Thanksgiving" bug--shopping for turkeys (yes, multiple turkeys for THREE people), buying frozen pies (ain't going to bake for three) and gathering the ingredients for THE MOST AMAZING SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE ever! (I do not lie--it is truly a wondrous food--with no recipe--my DD is in training). But I digress... food... it distracts me. Anyhoooooo.... I enjoyed my holiday weekend. We cooked, we watched the Macy's Parade, we cheered on our football teams, we ate, we ate some more, we decorated for the holidays, we ate leftovers, we went to a Japanese Steakhouse to eat something different, we ate some more.... and then MONDAY ARRIVED.

DD went back to school, and DH went back to work. I faced the mountains of laundry (jeans that probably no longer fit due to eating frenzy), and then I made my holiday lists. But I still faced my current WIP and went through the outline. Ah, a half an hour taken care of. Hmmm... let's add another half an hour and print out the first fifty again just for fun and separate them into lovely scenes. My peeps are talking to me.

BUT there are distractions. And how do I face them, whip them down and remain dutiful to my family through the season?

Distractions:

*tinsel
*shopping
*phone calls
*wanting to play
*post GH Entry letdown
*housecleaning
*cats misbehaving
*worrying about silly things like unanswered agent requests
*wondering if the current WIP is worth the effort
*bit by the decorating bug--I rarely decorate anymore, but suddenly, I am looking for furniture
*missing my old, instant gratification hobbies like scrapbooking -- and puzzles. I love puzzles.
*the Internet
*forums--so many LOOPS, so little time
*FaceBook--at least I don't do that CHEF game or the FARM one, I'd never write if I did....
*emails
*ennui, doubt, old worries, what ifs? All there...

TIME TO GET MY WRITING MOJO IN GEAR... but how?

*turn on the timer
*do a lesson for an online class
*fix small problems first
*tell myself I can't dictate the market, I can only write my stories
*talk to CPs about the unanswered full request and plan a solution (got one!)
*review old craft books throughout the month
*review old craft on-line lessons throughout the month
*remember this is supposed to be fun and laugh
*celebrate prior successes
*anticipate a future success
*pray for GH judges who appreciate story and craft
*pray for GH judges who aren't turned off by sexual content
*research other category lines/reconsider my direction for the next story (less sex? more sex? sex?)
*never give up, never surrender

Finally, I managed to play around with my WIP and work through some scene elements, I spoke to my CP in VA about my current WIP and how to transform it into a SINGLE TITLE (be still my ever beating heart and fear not), and I ran errands. Errands reminded me why I love to write.

I hope you all got your MoJo going on and got some writing, any writing, done today.

Happy Holidays and stay tuned... and keep me posted! Are you writing? Are you managing to look at the MS and pat it over the head and say, "That'll do?" Keep on -- even one sentence is better than none at all during this time.

9 comments:

Gwen Hernandez said...

I'm still writing, but I think I gained a few pounds, my tree is half decorated, my house will probably never be decorated for the holidays, and at this point no one is getting presents.

Oh, and I have to turn off email or risk burial by loop!

Lexi said...

Christine,

Not writing at the moment. Finished my paranormal in October after a solid year of writing and I'm taking a break! . . . sort of. Writing still fills my thoughts. I worry about finding the proper voice for the next WIP and I've been kicking around plot ideas. Dusted off my previous work (mentally, that it) and hashed out some ideas for revising it with a writer friend. Getting pumped about writing again, but tell myself to wait until after the holidays to get re-juiced. Don't know if I can make it! Writing is something of an obsession, even when I'm not doing it!

Christine said...

Gwen, you'll get the shopping done! I always manage, thanks to the Internet LOL. My DD and I will go shopping for her daddy before Christmas hits. But keep writing! Even a sentence a day is better than none, or a word changed...

Jeanie: I love that you are kicking around your ideas with a friend ... that's "writing" as well. I spent an hour on the phone today with my CP up in VA discussing her book and my future, aack, ST attempt. That's writing time, too. As long as your head is in the game, you'll be better off in Jan. than if you parked the van in long term at the airport and abandoned the peeps altogether :)

M.V.Freeman said...

I agree with Gwen..write.

I am doing it in bits.

And I realized today...I have to rewrite my synopsis.

*sob*

OH well.

Got the dratted 7 done, and i am working on 8...

I love your lists btw. I think I am going to shamelessly copy them.

Keep writing my friend!

Christine said...

Thanks MV.. I will keep writing. I am glad you enjoyed the lists, too. Aren't they real? But keep writing and share that dang synopsis with a CP (helloooo????) and we'll figure it out together... that's what writing friends are for...

Ellen Brickley said...

Good luck, Christine! Since I pledged to write a little every day two days ago, I haven't written anything. . . Today will change all that of course, my new resolution is to write something every day, regardless of how short!

I know you read Pub Rants, but if you need a little help with writing for yourself and not the market, you may want to re-read this post from early October: http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2009/10/agent-crystal-ball-myth.html

Christine said...

Thanks for popping in, Ellen. I appreciate the blog post link. I will check it out. I'm glad you're committed to writing a little every day through the holidays. It will help a lot when January rolls around.

Lynn Raye Harris said...

Christine, that urge to redecorate is your creativity trying to find an easier outlet than being forced to work on the WIP. Trust me, I know from experience. *g*

Christine said...

Lynn, you are so funny! You're right. I find myself wistful for scrapbooking and all things easy. But writing is a first priority. I am scaling it back a tad through the holidays (my family likes me to be available during this time).

Sometimes I do miss the uncomplicated days--pre-writing days. But I know I'd miss my peeps more if I stopped altogether.

Striving for balance.