It’s the first Wednesday of the month, making it Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. What has me insecure?
Not Finishing.
One of my goals this year was to be done with Isto, the second book in my epic fantasy series. You’d think this would be an easy task, considering I’d finished the first draft early this year. Well, I decided it needed a bit of a tension increase in the last stretch, and that turned into a sputtering engine in my productivity car. Apparently, my subconscious takes issue with trying to do something that it considers already done.
I thought I knew how I wanted to tackle my problem, but rearranging events isn’t going as planned. I did write 1500 words yesterday. I deleted them this morning.
*sigh*
I have until the end of the month to get this rewritten and still retain some sense of accomplishment. But the kids are out of school starting December 21st, plus there’s the GT expo today, no school on Friday, and a doctor’s appointment coming up pretty quick. By my calculations, I get a total of 10 lunches to work on my revisions.
What can a squirrel get done in 10 hours?
IWSG Question of the Month – How would you describe your future writer self, your life and what it looks and feels like if you were living the dream?
Considering that my dream life is one of slow-paced domestic bliss with a hearty helping of alone time to write, I don’t think I’m going to spend much time on this month’s question. But what I do know for sure, if I were living the dream, there’d be free Red Bull every day!
Did you accomplish your goals this year? Are you feeling the hectic rush of the holidays? What would your dream life be like?
About Insecure Writer’s Support Group
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.
I would love more time for writing. When I do get a free moment, it seems that the dirty bathrooms, neglected cats, and mountains of laundry are all demanding my attention. There really is no finish line when you reach a certain age on chores/to-do lists is there?
Oh, how I wish for more time too. I didn’t get accomplished what I wanted this year either, but next year… Here’s to a great 2020 for all of us!
I didn’t get anywhere close to accomplishing my 2019 goals. Here’s hoping we both get those productivity cars rolling again in the new year.
Wishing you and your family a happy holiday season!
Free Red Bull should make that squirrel do double time, so that 10 hours will become 20 and in 20 hours you can probably write a sequel to War and Peace. Whatever happens, enjoy and have a wonderful Christmas. See you in 2020.
You know, I’ve never had a Red Bull. I may need to try it. My productivity might go through the roof.
You need the Red Bull now, not in your dream life. 🙂
Have a wonderful holiday season, Loni!
I didn’t meet my goals, but I’ve been thinking about them. They need to be adjusted into small attainable bites. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
You’ve got this, Loni!
As for me accomplishing goals… maybe. Right now I’m doing zoomies to get things done with more chaos on the way which doesn’t give me much time to contemplate the notion. x.x
Oh man it’s hard to go back to something when you’re “done” with it, no matter how much you know in your heart you may need to.
Good luck with your drive to the finish line!
You made me laugh about the Red Bull! I’m sorry you’re not where you wanted to be with Isto but no doubt you’ll get there. With such a busy family life I think you should give yourself a huge pat on the back for getting the first draft done! I hope you and your family will have a wonderful holiday season in spite of all the busyness and pressure. Take care!!
Ten hours – you can do it little camper!
Free wine in my world! So yes, revision hell. I’m there, too. That euphoria of being “done” with the first draft soon evaporates once revisions start (maybe that’s why I put it off longer than I should have?). But I’m guessing that a squirrel can get a truckload of work done in 10 hours! 🙂
It’s hard when you have writing plans that just don’t come together. Do what you can in those 10 hours and maybe steal a couple more from somewhere.
More time for writing seems to be a popular request today. If only I could invent a machine that would produce it…
I know I probably couldn’t get much done in ten hours. But I do tend to procrastinate. You can do it!!
Maybe extending your deadline so you can enjoy the holidays with your family would be best. It’s better to get the changes right than rush them. And you’re almost there so you’ve accomplished a lot.
lol yeah, trying to get your subconscious to do something that it already declared done can be a pain in the butt.
You can do it! I’m working on what I’ve been working on, but I get distracted by a lot of things. I guess that’s called life.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
You can totally do this! Ten lunches? Easy-peasy. You’re going to rock this final month in 2019!
I did not complete my writing goals. I did a lot of deleting and rerouting myself.
You can do it. Cheering for you. Happy IWSG!
You get an amazing amount done. When my kids were little, I was lucky if I got a shower in a day, much less held down a job and started a book. Cut yourself some slack and appreciate the fact that you’re not sending a book out into the world until you see it as perfect. That’s not a fail.
Good luck with getting that draft finished. BUT if you don’t, it’s okay. This time of year is extra busy, so we should all cut ourselves some slack.
Maybe the book needs more time than you thought? I had one that I shelved and then picked back up two or three years later and it is so much better for that, even though during those years I felt like I’d failed by not finishing it when I thought I “should”. Sometimes the deadlines we set aren’t the ones the story itself needs.
I admire you for juggling all your commitments regardless. Instead of deleting, I end up adding new events/crimes and end up with a new ‘Book 1’ in my police procedural series. As for Christmas – I attempt to escape as the best Christmases were my memories of yore.
10 hours isn’t much time but it might also be exactly right on writing time too. I wish you luck. 🙂