Last week, I shut down my computer to get it ready for moving. Unfortunately, I accidentally shut down my gumption hump* while I was at it. Friday when the phones were dead, I didn't even bother to set my computer up. I didn't set the damn thing up all weekend. I was tired, sure, but I could've worked. I should've worked.
I didn't.
Now my computer is set up and online. I have everything I had before. Except gumption. I forced myself to work Monday night. I got 110 words edited out of Spectacle. (i.e. I hit the bare minimum of my promised work before I lost the inertia.) Last night I was home alone, and I still couldn't bring myself to sit here and work.
Maybe it's being between new novels, and in the middle of editing three others. Maybe I just feel like I'm in limbo now that AWJ is finished, and I haven't gotten into writing Bloodflow yet. (Or maybe it's that AWJ is currently so underfinished that I know I have a lot of work ahead of me.) *shrug* Whatever the problem is, it's dragging me down.
My husband thinks I just need a break. He may be right. It's been a busy year, after all. But I take a break and I feel guilty. So, this forced break is really guilting the hell out of me.
So, what I need is a jump start. A spark of some kind that will make working more interesting to me than the next rerun of CSI. I'm not looking for a push--my engine doesn't work that way--but maybe a bit of juice from a friendly battery.
What sparks you? Maybe your sparks will ignite my own.
*Gumption Hump: Like a camel's hump, only full of motivation instead of water.
The Long Trek Back
2 weeks ago
7 comments:
I think you need a break. What works for me is reading (and not necessarily romance) and watching movies. Get to a museum, too, if you can. That kind of stuff seems to refill my creative well.
Thanks, Kristen. You (and my hubby) are probably right. I might just kick back and wait for the writing to let me know when it's ready to go at it again. I picked up an Allison Brennan at the library today, and my TBR pile is huge. I wish I could get to a museum. The closest real one is hours away.
Sounds to me, too, like you might need a proper break. But, in case it's any help, I find how-to books good for inspiration when I need a jump start. I have several on my shelves; a few pages of a good one and I'm usually ready to go again.
I don't force it. I sit and think for a while. There is no writer's block; there's only the need for more cogitation. Notebooks help. Jot down your ideas.
Watch a movie or read that is similar to what you want to write. Before I started writing STARCASTER, I sat and re-watched many of my Jane Austin movies, and I re-read Pride and Prejudice. Why? Because STARCASTER is a blend of Jane Austen and James Bond.
(Hmm. I guess that means I should have rented Goldfinger or something.)
Ditto the reading. I've been picking up some different genres and writers lately, and it's giving me a charge the same-old-same-old can't.
Take lots of naps. Let your mind water. Get a piece of paper and scratch down bunches of what-ifs.
Thanks everyone. You guys are wonderful. =oD
I'll have to agree here. The only two things that work for me are "getting away from it for a while" (without the guilt!)Remember, you'll be a writer for the rest of your life, you don't have to squeeze it all in right now...and reading something inspiring.
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