The writing has not been happening. As in, I have not been writing very much since November. At all.
I have written 7,780 words in all of December and January, because the instant November ended and December 1st dawned upon us, it was like someone shoved my "writing inspiration" lever into shut down mode. My ideas took a hike, motivation went on lunch break, and my energy levels decided that December meant
Needless to say, I am MORE THAN A LITTLE BIT FRUSTRATED.
Sigh. Many sighs. I'm trying to decide if the excitement of Christmas shoved my book to the back burner, and now I'm having trouble picking up where I left off... or if it's the snowy winter weather outside... or if my book is a TERRIBLE IDEA and the truth only now just dawning on me...
(except don't panic guys, because I don't really believe that. I love my little book, even if it doesn't love me very much at the moment. And even though it's being a tantrum-y little toddler, I'm going to finish and edit it anyway, because it is my baby and one does not give up on one's babies. So.)
So I guess this is just me being like, "hey. this is happening." And wondering if anyone out there feels the same way? I've dealt with the lulls of writing before, but never for so long -- usually a couple of days off makes me want to jump back into it again, but I just cannot get my head inside my story right now! I have a plan, I know what needs to happen next, and some of it is EXCITING!! There are going to be fire trucks screaming down the street towards Skylar's house in about two pages (sirens blaring and everything!) and I just cannot make myself care enough to sit down and write about it!
Does this detached feeling ever happen to you? Like, I MISS MY CHARACTERS. I am going to sit down and write determinedly about them this afternoon because I am not going to let this book fall by the side of the road (even though sometimes I almost think I want to!) and maybe tomorrow I will burn with all the fire of new ideas and glorious purpose. Ahem. Mostly, I think I just want to edit. The thought of editing makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Have you ever felt this way? Did you ever wake up and realize that you want to be finished writing your rough draft so you can just edit, already? OR AM I GOING CRAZY??
frantically, but with much affection all the same...
Olivia
p.s.
gifs from my pinterest! woop
I totally understand! My novel is a total wreck right now, it's driving me insane.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, Grace Anne I'm sorry to hear that - but so glad I'm not alone!! We can do this!
DeleteYou are not alone, Olivia! I'm the poster child for this. I'm still working (that is, should be working) on a novel I started almost two years ago. This is ALLLLLLL familiar! Just hang on -- we'll get through this somehow.
ReplyDelete(And yes, December is complete and total hibernation month. Nothing wrong with that. Just KEEP WRITING at the same time. ;-))
THANK YOU, EMMA JANE! I am so thankful for this community of people who can pick me up when I'm wallowing in doubt and frustration. :) I will hang on - and you keep going, too! We got this.
Delete(Whew! Again, GLAD I'm not the only one!)
"One does not give up on one's babies."
ReplyDeleteEPIC.
And yeah, I feel you! I definitely have writing slumps. I've been in one this week for sure. Can't seem to write. Even when I have spare time designated specifically for writing, I seem to always find an excuse to do something else.....like, come on, Er, YouTube videos are no substitute for writing. I miss my characters, too. But I think it is normal. Especially after working so hard on NaNo! :)
Literally all my replies to comments are me saying, "THANK GOODNESS I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE," and reading your comment males me want to scream it from the rooftops!!! Thank you!
DeleteUGH UM SO YES. This post is very loaded. First off, thank you for spilling your writerly guts to us, Olivia dear. ♥ So yeah, this is one of the things that scares me about NaNo. But then, I tend to desert books in real life when there are no deadlines to contend with or anything...so maybe it wouldn't be any different? But girl, you've got TALENT. SO MUCH TALENT with dem words and I just know that your story is fabulous. (And I'm super excited to read it...) It's very VERY VERY hard to get back in the groove of writing after walking away from it for a while, or setting it aside to deal with holidays or trips or other things. It's hard to come back, but not impossible.
ReplyDeleteI was recently watching a vlog by an author and she was talking about NaNo and I thought something she said was kind of interesting: that when you write the first draft of any book, "it doesn't have to be good." Because going back and cleaning things up is what the editing/revision process is for. She also said that when you go back to read your book, chances are you're totally not going to notice when you were writing on a "bad day" as apposed to a "good day." (IDK I'LL HAVE TO TRY THIS OUT AND LET YOU KNOW XD) but I thought that was some interesting thoughts and I wanted to share them with a writerly friend. Even when I struggle with writing, 9 times out of 10 when I go back, I'll be like, "WHOA THIS IS ACTUALLY GOOD OMW." and then everything is okay in the world. xD
editing makes me happy too and nobody else can understand that for some reason so thank you for that word. ♥ haha. Your story sounds epic-ly exciting and I KNOW THAT YOU CAN DO IT. ;)
love,
abbiee
Reading this took a weight off my chest. Thank you for sharing your interesting and helpful and SO RELEVANT information! And girl, I'm so happy to hear that you like editing, too! I just want my book to hurry up and be perfect, already. I MUST MAKE IT SO. *panic attack of perfectionism*
DeleteAhem. Anyhoo. I SHALL KEEP GOING.
I feel your pain! I've had writing lulls that lasted for MONTHS (hopefully yours doesn't last anywhere near that long!) and the good news is that inspiration always come back sooner or later. Also, editing is worlds better than first drafting. Still hard and stressful, but you're trying to make it better, and that feels so good. Wishing you lots of luck with your writing!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Alex!! (Although I'm sorry you know the feeling.... I'm relieved that you understand what I'm talking about!) I will keep plugging through- and good luck to you, too!!
DeleteOkay, seriously, I need to take part in this. I've always thought "I'll do NaNoWriMo sometime", but I just never get to it!
ReplyDeleteLove all of the gifs in this post, by the way :)
Loving Our Creator
Yes, Lauren!! Please do NaNo! It's hard but it is SO worth it in the end. :)
DeleteYou have gotten much farther than I ever have, but I feel your pain. NaNoWriMo is both a blessing and curse.
ReplyDeleteAva ♡
http://landofquiet.blogspot.com
Amen, Ava!! Thanks for commenting!
DeleteOKAY WOW. ALL THESE GIFS = INSTANT FOLLOWER. bc seriously i adore every one of those sHOWS. oh my gosh. I get giddy with EXCITEMENT YES YES YES.
ReplyDeleteso before November started, I knew I wasn't going to make it. I wrote the first two days and then straight after that forgot about it and stopped. *awkward laugh* Um yeah. But now I'm trying to work up the inspiration and go after my book HEAD ON. I seriously can't wait because lately I've been missing writing /so much/.
I feel you.
Here's to hoping the writing woes go away! To the adventurous seas we go!