Confessions of a Burned Out Writer
Dull, fish-eye stare.
Grunted, incoherent moaning.
Stiff-legged walk marked by stumbling.
Sound like one of those old-school zombies from Night of the Living Dead?
Nope, just describing my demeanor the last few weeks.
I hereby confess that...I can't do it all.
Whew, that felt good!
Many of you know I participated in the 100 for 100 exercise earlier this year (March-May).
Not familiar with it?
100 for 100 is when you commit to write a minimum of 100 words every single day - minus one for rest - for 100 days.
During that session, I finished the third book in my series. It was a great experience. But coupled with a jam packed book promo schedule, both personal and book travel, and a slew of obligations for the FTJ, it pretty much pushed me to the edge of my limits.
Who am I kidding? It pushed me over, thus the zombie-like state I've felt I've lived since summer kicked off 30+ days ago.
By the time my fam's annual beach vacation arrived the last week of June, I was more than ready to call it a summer!
Well, 100 for 100 Round Deux started July 16th. Being the good little writer that I am, and having a fourth book to deliver in the series by March, I thought I'd hop onboard and get it done well ahead of schedule. After only a week I realized that it's too early for me to get back into such an intense writing mode.
So, I've withdrawn myself from the exercise.
That's right, I'm taking the rest of the summer off **from writing.
**This excludes any edits that may be required for book 3 (in case my editor is reading.) Hey S!
What 100 for 100 taught me was:
1) I am more than capable of writing every single day.
2) Once you sit your buns down to write 100 words, the writing bug bites and you end up on a hot streak.
3) Writing every day really helps to keep you inside the story, even when you step away from the PC for the day.
4) Being in the story is great for creative dexterity.
If I were able to write every day and shun book promo, resign from coaching and pack my family off to a home across town which I would visit on the one day I chose not to write, life would be perfect!
Well, life's only perfect on those creepy Walgreen commercials. So, the other things I learned from 100 for 100 were:
1) Writing every single day wears you out!!
2) Getting up at the crack of dawn to write in a quiet house eventually leads to an overwhelming sense of fatigue.
3) Writing, prepping for book promo, implementing book promo and researching opportunities to promote the book equals about three full-time jobs.
4) OMG, I actually have four full-time jobs!
5) Writing professionally is not for the faint of heart.
While a hiatus from writing isn't lying on the beach sipping Mojitos, I'm hoping it's the break I need to come back fresh in September.
Pretty much, super woman has left the building...at least until after Labor Day.
Grunted, incoherent moaning.
Stiff-legged walk marked by stumbling.
Sound like one of those old-school zombies from Night of the Living Dead?
Nope, just describing my demeanor the last few weeks.
I hereby confess that...I can't do it all.
Whew, that felt good!
Many of you know I participated in the 100 for 100 exercise earlier this year (March-May).
Not familiar with it?
100 for 100 is when you commit to write a minimum of 100 words every single day - minus one for rest - for 100 days.
During that session, I finished the third book in my series. It was a great experience. But coupled with a jam packed book promo schedule, both personal and book travel, and a slew of obligations for the FTJ, it pretty much pushed me to the edge of my limits.
Who am I kidding? It pushed me over, thus the zombie-like state I've felt I've lived since summer kicked off 30+ days ago.
By the time my fam's annual beach vacation arrived the last week of June, I was more than ready to call it a summer!
Well, 100 for 100 Round Deux started July 16th. Being the good little writer that I am, and having a fourth book to deliver in the series by March, I thought I'd hop onboard and get it done well ahead of schedule. After only a week I realized that it's too early for me to get back into such an intense writing mode.
So, I've withdrawn myself from the exercise.
That's right, I'm taking the rest of the summer off **from writing.
**This excludes any edits that may be required for book 3 (in case my editor is reading.) Hey S!
What 100 for 100 taught me was:
1) I am more than capable of writing every single day.
2) Once you sit your buns down to write 100 words, the writing bug bites and you end up on a hot streak.
3) Writing every day really helps to keep you inside the story, even when you step away from the PC for the day.
4) Being in the story is great for creative dexterity.
If I were able to write every day and shun book promo, resign from coaching and pack my family off to a home across town which I would visit on the one day I chose not to write, life would be perfect!
Well, life's only perfect on those creepy Walgreen commercials. So, the other things I learned from 100 for 100 were:
1) Writing every single day wears you out!!
2) Getting up at the crack of dawn to write in a quiet house eventually leads to an overwhelming sense of fatigue.
3) Writing, prepping for book promo, implementing book promo and researching opportunities to promote the book equals about three full-time jobs.
4) OMG, I actually have four full-time jobs!
5) Writing professionally is not for the faint of heart.
While a hiatus from writing isn't lying on the beach sipping Mojitos, I'm hoping it's the break I need to come back fresh in September.
Pretty much, super woman has left the building...at least until after Labor Day.
posted by Paula at 12:52 PM
1 Comments:
Writing 100 words a day for 100 days is no great feat. It is the endless editing, tweaking and rewriting of those 10,000 words afterwards that does me in.
I'm certainly with you on the dull, fish-eyed stare, the incoherent moaning and the stiff-legged walk. And I can't do it all either, and you are right: admitting that is cathartic. But in my case, I hardly need to tell anyone this: they can already see perfectly well for themselves.
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