Long Time, No Post

I came to the site to update one of the book pages (I'd noticed a mistake and wanted to fix it before I forgot about it), and it hit me how long it's been since I did a blog post. Two months to the day, in fact. Yikes!

Anyway, February was very productive. I started two new stories - one urban fantasy with werewolf main characters (those are SO much fun!) and a novella that's part of the Mysterious Ways series. I also added a good chunk to From the Heavens, also part of the MW series. February also brought the publication of my latest short story series, Alpha - which is continuing to publish, one story per week, through part of this month. The Complete Collection is available in paperback already, done in February.

March ended up being way less productive as I battled the tail end of the winter blahs. I did manage to get the second book in the Otherworlder series (Visions) ready for publication and the third book (Specters) off to my first reader. For April, I've turned my attention to finishing the final book in that series (Destiny). I did the cover in March, but I'm not yet happy with it. When I am, I'll upload it to the medieval fantasy page of this site. Formatting for publication is a "limited brain function" exercise for me, so at least I was able to use the March "creative dead zone" constructively to some degree. *G*

I have Seasonal Affective Disorder, so March and September and I tend not to get along too well. March is definitely the worst. It feels "darkest before the dawn", and my energy, creative flow, and oomph go on vacation for that month without me. Thankfully, I've dealt with that long enough (all of my life) that I know better than to fight the flow. So aside from the writing-related tasks I mentioned above, I vegged in front of the TV and read books I knew I'd enjoy (which means, I re-read books I've already read that are my favorites). Plus, I got a mountain of crocheting done. Two shawls, about 30 dishcloths, 2 large doilies, and the start of a small doll. ... Yeah, I think that covers it. Not bad for about 3 weeks, eh?

Writing for me is like any other art form for many other "artists". It ebbs and flows. Sometimes the creative flow is strong and moves so fast I'm not sure I can keep up. Other times, it moves at an easy-to-follow but rapid pace. Still others, it stops altogether and my mind rests. Until I started tracking my daily writing, I had no idea how consistently this happened. I used to fight it, but I learned that only made things worse.

I'm not one of those writers who can FORCE myself to "write every day" without serious repercussions. When I do that, it makes writing hard, steals the fun from my work, and stifles creativity. If I hadn't been tracking my numbers so closely, I wouldn't have realized how badly doing that crushed my writing spirit. Once I realized what was happening, I stopped.

Now? I go with the flow. I have unproductive days and even weeks, but when it flows, it really goes. I hope to write 500,000 words this year. Totally doable, I've done it before. I'm already at about 110,000 at this point. Behind overall, I know, but I also know I can catch up very quickly when stories flow well.

All writers have hurdles that cut into writing time. Health issues, family, jobs, life's other distractions and demands. Life gets in the way in a variety of ways. We can either learn to work with them or make ourselves crazy trying to fight against them.

What kind of hurdles do you face? Have you learned to work with them, or are you fighting against them?

Writing Lessons of 2012 - Pt 2

Photo courtesy of Jade on morguefile.com

Last time, I shared what I've been up to over the course of about the last year as far as writing and editing. So what has all this writing, editing and tracking madness taught me, you may wonder. Well, here it is in a nutshell:

1 - I'm capable of far more than I ever dreamed possible. I've spent years selling myself short, doubting myself and my abilities. The Lord has used the last year to show me He's gifted me far above what I ever imagined. But, I have to choose to utilize those gifts. He won't make me do it. But you know what? I'm much happier, content and at peace when I go with His flow instead of my own.

2 - Stretching is a good thing, regardless of the outcome. Being stretched isn't all that comfortable, particularly when we aren't sure about the outcome. Will we succeed? Or will we fail? If you're anything like me, going into something without knowing you can have victory over it can be a very scary thing. But if we don't try, and risk failure in the process, we go nowhere. If we stretch and fail, did we make progress? I bet we did, and we probably learned some stuff in the process. So stretch for that goal even if it feels just out of reach.

3 - I need to be kinder to myself. I tend to set way more reasonable goals for others than I do for myself. In fact, the goals I've often set for myself weren't just unreasonable, they were often unattainable. Funny contradiction to what I wrote above, isn't it? Not really. At least, those of you who are perfectionists probably recognize the dichotomy of ideas there. (See my posting about Flylady and writing if you're curious about more on this.) It's okay to set a goal and give myself permission to not meet it. If I don't make my writing or editing goal for any given month, the world won't end.

Come to think of it, if the world does end because I don't make my goal, YAY!!! I'd certainly trade this life for eternity with the Lord. Wouldn't you?

4 - I put this last, but it's hardly the least important. In fact, it's a doozy.

I work best if I work WITH my body and brain instead of against it. Not exactly a startling revelation, I know. But maybe not as obvious as you would expect. Sure, I have to make sure I get up and move around when I write a lot, or my back and shoulders get REALLY unhappy about too many hours in front of the computer. And I have to make sure I don't get so involved with my writing that I forget to eat, go the bathroom, get things to drink, etc. You know. All those mundane things life requires. But I'm talking about more than that.

With all the writing I've done in the last year as a result of ACFW's Novel Track, NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo, I've noticed definite patterns and trends to the way I work. Not just to writing or editing, but when I do best with both. I have struggled with Seasonal Affective Disorder (aka S.A.D.) for a good portion of my life. (Contrary to popular belief, yes, you can struggle with this even in sunny Arizona, depending on the severity of the case. I don't even want to think about living with it in less sunny climates. It's bad enough as it is in Arizona, thank you very much.) As a result, I've spent many years dreading the onset of winter with the shorter days of sunlight. As I tell people, "Winter and I are not friends."

But I think this winter will be different because the last year has taught me something valuable. I do my best, and most productive, writing during the winter months. Who knew!?!? I've realized with all the tracking I've done this past year that my creativity flows much stronger and clearer during the winter. Summer? Bah! Oh, I can write during the summer, as proved by two successful Camp NaNo adventures. But it's not the same. In winter, the ideas flow fast, easy and feel like a flood at times like opening a faucet fully. In summer, it more resembles pulling teeth. With a spoon and no anesthesia. June, I struggled. July, I took a break (sort of anyway). August, I struggled.

Here's the interesting thing. Only writing is a struggle in summer. Editing is no problem. The opposite is true in winter. Editing in winter feels like trudging through half-frozen mud.

Which brings me back around to the S.A.D.

S.A.D. affects brain function and the brain's use of neurotransmitters and such. It's not there just in winter, as is commonly believed. It's there all year-round, affecting different parts of the brain at different times of the year. My brain shifts gears with changes in the seasons. When it does so, things that are easy part of the year became hard in another part. So writing in winter? Easy. Writing in summer? Hard. Editing in winter? Hard. Editing in summer? Easy. I'm not saying it doesn't require work when something is "easy". Anyone who has ever written knows even when the ideas really flow, it's work. But it's nowhere near as difficult to get it done when they're flowing as it is when you have to drag them out the rooms of your mind kicking and screaming.

This is what the last year has taught me, above and beyond everything else. My brain is hard-wired a certain way. And I need to learn to go with the flow, work WITH the cycles of my body instead of against it. God created me this way. Though at times I'm baffled by this and wonder what He was thinking, He knows best. I just have to accept it and learn to roll with it.

So what have I learned this year? To recognize the gifted woman God has made me to be and appreciate His wisdom in making me the way He has, even if it doesn't make much sense to me at times. To be more patient with myself when I'm unable to make goals or meet my own expectations (particularly if they're unreasonable), but to keep setting goals and stretching for them, even if the outcome isn't what I hoped for.

But more than all of that, for the first time in my life, I'm looking forward to winter. I can hardly wait to see what this coming winter holds as far as writing.

Another photo courtesy of Jade on morguefile.com

So what about you? What have you learned about yourself this past year?