So Monday went well. I knocked out a fair chunk of a scene that’s been giving me trouble. Did some playing in my sandbox for the new website I’m designing (Lord knows when that will be rolled out). Picked out a new theme to go with that. And the rest of the week feels like a wash so far. I HAVE gotten a crapton of plotting done for the next novel though.
I had planned to finish said troublesome scene yesterday, but I totally cheated and watched the latest episode of Hart of Dixie during lunch (OMG, take it slow? REALLY WADE?), and then my neighbor’s five year old twins popped over for a visit during my writing block, after I’d already gotten home late. So I wound up finishing the book I was reading instead, then had taekwondo and…yeah.
I’m also in the development stages for a couple of new classes for writers. One is an expansion of my Prepare to Launch class about self publishing, which is based on a presentation I did for WANACon last year. The other is more to do with busting excuses about not having time to write and improving productivity. I’m still kind of refining that concept. That said, you can help me with that.
Tell me what your excuses are for not writing.
Yes, I turned comments back on. Turns out I missed them. Since I learned I can block trackbacks and pings, that eliminates a crapton of the approval emails I was getting in the first place. 🙂
Also, what areas do you feel you need more help with in terms of productivity as a writer?
This week’s new recipe over at Pots and Plots is Gluten Free Dairy Free Bacon Corn Chowder. For those of you wondering, yes I do my grilled cheeses in a waffle iron. I used Go Veggie’s Vegan (not the Lactose free–ACTUALLY dairy free) cheddar slices for the grilled cheese.
7 thoughts on “Midweek #ROW80 Check-In”
You can block track backs and pings? I’m off to do that right now! (They annoy me.)
Right? It’s under the Discussion settings.
Busting excuses? Yeah, a lot of us need that. LOL
Sounds like your not-writing was good refilling time – and, dang, that sandwich and chowder looks delicious! Waffle iron! =D
I don’t believe in excuses or blame. When I’m not writing, it’s usually because I need some thinking time, processing time, refilling time, or just – well, I have a spouse, and children, and companion animals, and a house – and a life….which is why I love ROW80 so much.
Accepting that writing involves all of my life, even when I’m not actually writing, helps me to see that it’s all connected, and that those other things feed my active writing time and make it a lot more productive than it would be if I was forcing myself.
The launching class is one I’ll be looking into, when you’re ready!
I was asked last year at a book fair what keeps me from being a better writer..since the question arrived out of the blue I answered instantly..my ancestors. I write a lot of posts about my family tree, doing biography posts of the people in it. I use Ancestry and Wikipedia, and other public sources. The whole thing is easy, also popular with my gentle readers. They give me a great history lesson, but they have made me a lazy writer.
I think fear is my biggest block in writing. I’m terrified I’ll show up at the page and not know what to write. And you know what? Sometimes that happens. I keep showing up anyway, and I’ve given myself permission to work on multiple projects at once, so if I get stuck on one I can move on to the other until I’m unstuck. I think a section on silencing the inner critic and dealing with writer’s block or fear would probably be good for a lot of writers out there. Also, just some general info on setting a writing schedule and sticking to it would be helpful.
I definitely want to push my writing to the next level–write faster, work a little harder, be more productive–so your class sounds like it would be a good fit. Will it be offered through WANA International or your own website?
Through WANA. My goal is to make it an On Demand class so people can just take it whenever.