Just a reminder that I do run a contest off of the main website at Katie's Keepers Contest. There is a signed paperback copy of Nora Roberts' Montana Sky up for grabs :)
generator home key xpComputer update: I think I should have my computer back at the end of the week, so hopefully I should have some new material written by the end of next week.
Okay, I haven't updated in a while, and I probably won't be updating for another while. Reason: the computer completely died on me yesterday like it did 6 months ago. Last time I was without a computer for approximately 2 weeks. So, no writing for me for the next little bit as I refuse to work in my school's computer lab. Besides, I have a lot of homework that I need to get done ;)
Can anyone explain to me why writing is like pulling teeth at times? It took me what felt like forever to get written what I needed to do tonight. And I want to do this as a full-time job eventually? Why, oh why? Because I'm insane, that's why.
Tomorrow is my goal-setting writers group meeting, so I feel good that I met my goal, just a little tired. Tomorrow we're discussing style and voice, and since I actually remembered to print out something, I'm looking forward to seeing what my group thinks about it. We'll see.
Okay, it's been, what, 2 weeks since I've updated this? If so, that's about how long it's been since I've worked on Seasons. The days are just blurring together, over before I realize that they've begun.
It's April 10th, and I'd hoped to be more than halfway done with Seasons at this point. I'm only on page 160. At least I'm still progressing. I'm thinking that as much as I'd LOVE to have it done by the RWA conference, it's just not going to happen. I'm hoping at this point that once I have a job and am back into a regular routine, work-wise, I'll be able to better focus on writing. I know that the stress from the job search is what's getting to me right now. I noticed today that I'm breaking out. I only break out at this age if I'm under lots of stress.
I have to say though that when I am able to sit down and work on Seasons, I am able to get a lot done. Usually, around 8-10 pages. I don't know what it is about those middles though. Whenever I get to a middle of a chapter, the book, heck even the middle of the amount of pages I want to get written, everything starts dragging. It's really annoying. But once you get to the end, it just keeps flowing. I'd only planned/hoped on writing 7 pages today, 6 tomorrow, so I could meet my monthly goal of 2 chapters for my one writing group. I got 9 written, so that means I only have to write 4-5 tomorrow, and I've got my goal!! Yeah!
With as well as I did back in January, I keep thinking that I shouldn't be struggling to get 2 chapters (~40 pages) in a month, but I am. Very frustrating. I keep telling myself that I'm moving ahead, but the head isn't listening very well. Ah vell.
I was talking with a friend earlier today who is just starting on her first book. A piece of advice that I gave her was to set, at least, monthly goals for yourself. You have to keep them reasonable though. I think my subconcious has a really good sense of what I've been able to handle these last few months, which is why I've been sticking to the 2 chapter goal, rather than going overboard after my January success. Once I graduate and have a job offer in hand though, I'm bumping it up because I have nothing to stress over at that point. Other than paying the bills, and everyone, except for maybe Bill Gates, stresses over paying the bills ;)
Okay, I'm wondering if I'm getting a little burned out. Admittedly, being sick took a lot of me, but I'm not feeling the burning urge to get back to writing. Well, I am, but it's really muted. So, at least it's not totally gone.
I always thought burn out was not wanting to do anything ever again, not apathy. Is it that I'm just at a natural creative break and need to take time to recharge myself? If so, how? It's not like I have writers block because I have no problems writing other things. When I put my mind to it, I can work on the story. I just feel like I can and should put my energy into other things like finding a job and working on my classwork so that I can graduate.