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That Overwhelming Thing Called Life #IWSG

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Loni Townsend

Egads. It’s August. That realization comes with the horrible knowledge that we’re three-quarters of the way through the year and I haven’t finished anything. Oh the excuses! I have birthday parties to plan, schooling to arrange, and a plethora of medical situations to deal with. Don’t worry, I’m fine. There was just a health scare with my husband which led to a discovery of his high blood pressure which he tried to resolve through exercise which resulted in an aggravated sesamoid in his foot. Have I mentioned my husband is eternally thwarted?

How does this relate to me being an insecure writer? During this tumultuous time, I’ve found it’s somewhat hard to write humor. As I desperately scramble to finish Murder Most Fowl, I’m struggling with what typically comes easy to me and have been since mid-July. I’ve made good progress on Isto with the serious threat of monsters slaughtering the population. But with its length, I know it’s not a feasible goal to finish this year. So MMF is slated for this fall. What if I don’t get my humor back in time? What if what I write isn’t funny? What if something else happens to my husband?

I know there’s no point in worrying. Funny can be fixed, and there’s no way to prevent my husband from being the eternal target of Murphy’s Law. (He almost drowned on a rafting trip last month, ended up black and blue with bruises, and got burn beyond crispy in the sun.) In the meantime, I’ll just keep writing the action bits and hope things get better.

IWSG question of the month: What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?

The first piece I seriously wrote was called Silver Star Kingdom: Curse of the Fairy Bloodline. It rolled up just under 50K and was pretty much straight telling. I revamped everything about it save for the main character’s name and turned it into what it is today: Thanmir War.

Have you seen life impact your writing? What do you do to get through?

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You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

36 thoughts on “That Overwhelming Thing Called Life #IWSG”

  1. chemistken says:
    August 3, 2016 at 10:59 AM

    My first foray into writing was pretty much all telling too. Even my dialogue was more summary than actual speaking. Of course I didn’t realize this until I began reading up on writing fiction. Had I known how much I didn’t know, I probably would have thrown it all away right then and there.

    The humorous side of your writing will come back. My writing has to be humorous, it’s how I roll, but I’ve had bad things happen over the years that have shut my writing down for a while. But the humor always comes back. Always.

    Reply
  2. Alex J. Cavanaugh says:
    August 3, 2016 at 11:03 AM

    Hey, awesome your first story became you first book as well!
    Your husband is having all the bad luck now.
    The humor will return. Read or watch some funny stuff. Maybe that will inspire you.

    Reply
  3. Crystal Collier says:
    August 3, 2016 at 12:06 PM

    Oh man! I’m wishing your hubby some much better luck in the coming year. Nothing kills the funny like worry. You need some cheese, methinks.

    Reply
  4. Anna says:
    August 3, 2016 at 12:08 PM

    All telling sounds like an outline waiting for attention. Don’t write it off. hehehe

    Anna from elements of emaginette

    Reply
  5. Juneta says:
    August 3, 2016 at 12:52 PM

    Sorry to hear about the scare with your husband. Hope all is okay now. I think everyone is right. Your humor will come back.
    Juneta @ Writer’s Gambit

    Reply
  6. Aldrea Alien says:
    August 3, 2016 at 1:20 PM

    Life seriously impacted my writing last month, in the form of my aunt’s dislocated shoulder.
    Really hope Murphy’s Law stops knocking on your door, for all your sakes.

    Reply
  7. Julie Flanders says:
    August 3, 2016 at 1:22 PM

    Oh geez, I feel for your hubby. I have similar bad luck. I hope things will calm down for you all now. I’ve no doubt your humor will return.
    How cool that your first story turned into something you eventually published.

    Reply
  8. Olga Godim says:
    August 3, 2016 at 1:23 PM

    Take care of your family and don’t worry about humor. It will come back. Later on, when your medical situations are resolved, you’ll look back at every mishap that ever happened to your husband and channel them all into writing. Probably happening to your antagonist. It will be hilarious.

    Reply
  9. Chrys Fey says:
    August 3, 2016 at 1:31 PM

    I have a hard time writing anything at all when my life is full of drama or troubles. I hope your husband is doing better!

    Reply
  10. Madeline Mora-Summonte says:
    August 3, 2016 at 1:53 PM

    Maybe you should wrap your poor husband in bubble wrap. Sending good – and funny! – thoughts your way. Hang in there!

    Reply
  11. Mureesd Dupé says:
    August 3, 2016 at 2:07 PM

    I am so sorry about your husband’s health. Life definitely does impact our writing. My characters have to be happy-go-lucky, but with my depression everybody has pretty much been doom and gloom. I know when you are ready you will find your humor again. Wishing you and your husband well. Stay safe.

    Reply
  12. joylene says:
    August 3, 2016 at 2:27 PM

    Please tell me none of your children took after their dad. I’ve had a few sons this accident prone. One (44) fell off a roof while replacing it, and almost landed on a rod iron fence. Broke his collar bone in several places. And he wonders why I’m gray. Tell your husband to stop fooling around. Seriously, I hope his health improves. Maybe you could wave a wand and fix everything. Or wrap him in bubble wrap as suggested above. Good idea.

    Reply
  13. Sarah Foster says:
    August 3, 2016 at 2:42 PM

    I definitely find it hard to make myself write when life gets in the way. Sometimes it’s hard not to have your own mood reflected in your words.

    Reply
  14. Elizabeth Seckman says:
    August 3, 2016 at 3:22 PM

    Your poor husband! It does seem like bad things happen in clumps. I think one way out is to just write. Even if it’s crap…eventually your brain will switch off from real life to pretend and you may find your humor comes back.

    Reply
  15. Carol Kilgore says:
    August 3, 2016 at 3:26 PM

    I think all writers have life issues. That’s what I want to believe, anyway. I certainly am. I also think women writers are more affected by them than male writers, but I have no evidence to support this theory.

    Reply
  16. J.C. Jackson says:
    August 3, 2016 at 4:10 PM

    Irk! I hope things start going far better. I vote for the bubble wrap idea above.

    Life I think impacts everyone (and your humor should be back soon – then reprimand it for taking a vacation at the wrong time). For a while, I was writing to try and keep my stress levels down, but that was when there was nothing to lose by not working on anything. Maybe a few anxious commenters, but nothing that I couldn’t just ignore because it was for me.

    Now I’m stressing myself out because I don’t want to work on my current project and I have (self-imposed) deadlines to meet. x.x

    Reply
  17. Erika Beebe says:
    August 3, 2016 at 5:18 PM

    I am so sorry to hear about your husband! Yes, life gets in the way of creation when you have your own worries constantly in your mind it’s hard to think of characters and their different set of worries. I have been there and I am definitely thinking of you. Time will help 🙂

    Reply
  18. Kristin Smith says:
    August 3, 2016 at 8:02 PM

    Oh no! Your poor hubby! I hope this month turns out better for him (and for you!) It’s sometimes hard to find my mojo when life gets crazy, so I totally get losing your humor as you’re going through tough times. But it will come back, I promise!

    Reply
  19. Lori L. MacLaughlin says:
    August 3, 2016 at 9:11 PM

    Sorry about your husband’s bad luck. That can put a damper on any humorous endeavors. I hope things smooth out for you soon. Life impacts my writing much more often than I would like, particularly over the summer. It’s great that your first story became your first published work. Looking forward to many more stories to come.

    Reply
  20. Pat Garcia says:
    August 4, 2016 at 1:01 AM

    My Dear Loni,
    Hang in there! You already know that the What If probably never happen. Yet we think about them. Find your peace in knowing that whether the what if happens or do not happen, you control your life and are willing to accept change. I sometimes believe that half of the struggles that we fight through are based on this fact, I Am Willing To Accept Change. When that willingness is there many problems disappear because they know they don’t stand a chance.
    Your humour will come back, and it will come back right on time.
    All the best.
    Shalom aleichem,
    Patricia

    Reply
  21. Roland Clarke says:
    August 4, 2016 at 3:24 AM

    Murphy sounds like he has it in for your husband…not good. Impressed that your first bit of writing evolved into a published book. Now how can we get your humor mojo back. I may have to come knocking on your door when I get to Boise this Fall.

    Reply
  22. Leandra Wallace says:
    August 4, 2016 at 6:34 AM

    Wow, your poor husband! When it rains, it pours. Hope things go better for him soon! This summer hasn’t been good for my writing either. But I always go through those spells, and then in the end always get it done, so I’m trying not to be too mad at myself!

    Reply
  23. Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor says:
    August 4, 2016 at 7:28 AM

    Oh, your poor hubby 🙁 Sometimes, we do lose our funny, but it’s always there waiting to cheer us up when we’re ready. I’m sure yours will be back in no time.

    Reply
  24. Michael Di Gesu says:
    August 4, 2016 at 9:13 AM

    Your poor hubby…

    I hope he has a great sense of humor to get him through all of this….

    Glad to hear your first novel revamped into publication. That is AWESOME!

    Your question….. HITS HOME….. Life has totally debilitated me from writing. Haven’t written anything new in a few years. SO sad. I wish I could pull out from under the weight, but for some reason I can’t find the ‘magic.’ Hopefully life will settle soon…. Getting older doesn’t help. Thankfully I haven’t lost my sense of humor…

    I hope your funny bone gets tickled soon and you can relate it in your story….

    Reply
  25. L. Diane Wolfe says:
    August 4, 2016 at 2:40 PM

    Writing has always been my therapy and I’ve dealt with many issues through my books. That may be how you have to deal with your situation now.

    Reply
  26. Jennifer L. Hawes says:
    August 5, 2016 at 6:08 AM

    Life always impacts my writing! With two teenage boys, how can it not:. Glad your hubs is okay! First stories/drafts are usually all telling. It’s good when a writer knows the difference between showing and telling!

    Reply
  27. Melissa Maygrove says:
    August 5, 2016 at 8:14 AM

    You hubby sounds like my teens… the type you have to chase with the sunscreen. “Hey! Come back here!” LOL

    I’m working on my first WIP in hopes of polishing it up enough to publish.

    I hope you get your funny back. Life tends to suck it outta ya. (Don’t I know that lately!)

    Reply
  28. Michelle Wallace says:
    August 5, 2016 at 12:06 PM

    You have such a wonderful sense of humor that I don’t think you can lose it that easily.
    Congrats on publishing your very first manuscript! How many writers get to do this? To my knowledge, not many. You are part of a special group…

    Reply
  29. Michelle Wallace says:
    August 5, 2016 at 12:07 PM

    My comment disappeared?

    Reply
  30. Sarah says:
    August 8, 2016 at 1:21 PM

    I feel your pain for the buried-under-my-to-do list. Also, the worrying. O_o Hope your husband is feeling better. Health stuff sucks.

    I don’t see you having a problem with humor. At least in your finished products. ? I will wait until fall for Murder Most Fowl and it will be awesome and full of Loni-humor.

    As far as the questions?

    Q: Have you seen life impact your writing?
    A: Hahahaha!

    Q: What do you do to get through?
    A: Cry. And, um, not get through…

    Reply
  31. C.G.Coppola says:
    August 8, 2016 at 7:47 PM

    You’ll get your funny back. And, judging by this post, I don’t think it really left. It’s just hiding out a bit, taking a generous coffee break. But not gone.

    That’s great that you took your first real work and turned it into a published novel! Can’t say the same for my story about four witches in middle school. Heh. Good times.

    Reply
  32. Tamara Narayan says:
    August 10, 2016 at 2:38 PM

    My life impacts my writing every single day. My kids are pretty relentless about bugging the crap out of me if I sit down at the computer. So I’m longing for September and school and some quiet hours. I’ll probably waist a bunch of time just vegging in front of CNN.com.

    My husband is a bit of a disaster too. He is fine today, but back when I was pregnant with our second and holding our then 18-month-old twenty out of twenty-four hours a day, he had the nerve to get a brain tumor. Sheesh! As the years passed, he hit his head on a jungle gym bar, had a traffic bar crash into his head while riding a bike, and a shower rod fall and hit him on his (what else) head. I should just make him wear a helmet all day.

    Reply
  33. Christine Rains says:
    August 17, 2016 at 7:56 AM

    Sorry to hear about your hubby. I have high blood pressure too. Usually I’m pretty good at keeping it under control, but last month was a rotten one. Lots of horrible sickness in the family and traveling at the same time. It’s made it difficult to get back into my writing groove now that my son is back at school. But slowly I’m getting there. Hope you’re having a much better week!

    Reply
  34. Lexa Cain says:
    August 19, 2016 at 10:26 PM

    I’m so sorry for your husband and hope he feels better soon. (My hubby has high blood pressure and some heart problems. He has to take blood thinners and other assorted drugs.) Good for you for having a good handle on what you can write and making a schedule that works. I hope things settle down and you can find the comedy again!

    Reply
  35. Mason T. Matchak says:
    August 21, 2016 at 8:25 PM

    And now August is nearly over. >_< But I hear you. Everything's going too fast, and it seems like there's never enough time to get everything done. But it is better to keep trying, no matter how things go.

    Hope your writing goes well and your husband heals quickly. ^_^

    Reply
  36. Sherry Ellis says:
    August 23, 2016 at 8:58 AM

    Yep. Life gets in the way. But don’t be too hard on yourself. Your hubby and family are way more important than writing.

    Reply

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Welcome to my blog. I post here on Wednesdays most of the time, but you can find me on social media any day of the week. My topics include my stories and writing, life at the Town's End, creating and tinkering with graphics, things I learn and think might be helpful to others, and the occasional amateur photo. Thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you around.

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