Pesky Distractions and Writing Avoidance

I admitted today, to my fellow Fictorians, that I am avoiding writing.  This is the first step to recovery – I hope.  There are many reasons I am not writing or not feeling creative in the least.  The suspected top items probably include:  too many other obligations (writing-related and not), my work space is disorganized and a disaster of clutter, and my writing is still lacking and critiques tell me so.

 My plan.  I have a week before this post is due, so let’s do an experiment together.  I will try a variety of things to alleviate said problems and report if they are helping – on a daily basis.  I know you won’t see any of this until the week is up, but go along with me and we’ll see if it doesn’t help me and possibly you at some point in the future.

 Monday – Harsh critique has me depressed, but I have now admitted I have an avoidance problem happening, so this will be my attempt to correct the situation.  I want to take a nap, go to the movies or read a book. Obvious avoidance tactics…. And I succumbed.  I ended up taking a nap, watching a movie, reading and indulging in food therapy.  It was ugly.  But, I’m feeling less depressed.

 Tuesday – So far, still being distracted by other obligations, but I really do have to wrap up the minutes for my online board meeting.  So, working on that.  I’m second banana for my local Utah Romance Writers Conference coming up in October.  I got a lot done on the conference program and on the minutes, but no writing.  Still hopeful.

 Wednesday – Epic fail on the writing again.  More board meeting, more minutes, more program.  But, the minutes are done and the program is 75% done.  Had an evening field trip in relation to the upcoming conference, too.

 Thursday – Honestly, I don’t know what happened today. I did some reading.  Lots and lots and a painful amount of emails, as usual.  I had a powwow with my critique partner about the problem with my plot.  We came up with some thoughts.  Discussed going back to work on another story that I’m more clear on.  Ran some errands, did dishes and stuff.  Alas, no writing.

 Friday – My mom was off today, so we took advantage of her three-day weekend to plan a list of outside honey-do’s that we need to get done before summer disappears.  Something like thirty tasks, some small, some bigger.  Then we checked our storage room for supplies, shopped for the rest and started knocking out this list.  No writing.  Do I sound like a broken record?

 Saturday – More Honey-do list work with an afternoon break for a class and a meeting I had to go and then back to work on the list.  I am so tired.  I’m thinking maybe I need to just bully my way thru on the current writing whether it’s crap or not and just finish it.  I can fix it after.  At least I was thinking about it today. Sigh.

 Sunday – The Honey-do list got more than half crossed off.   Work around the homestead – 1 / Writing – 0.

Monday – My post is due today and it’s a new week.  Last week may have a been a bad week to try and fix this problem, but I did make some headway.  I got other tasks done that I needed to (writing, non, and around the house) and I feel more like stuff is off my plate so I can focus on writing.  I know I should be writing every day even if it is only for fifteen minutes or something.  Does my blog count?  No more excuses.  I will write no matter what!  Having thought about it all week and waffling on how to proceed, I give the current work two hours.  If I can’t write on it, I’m changing to a different story.  I still need to clean and organize my writing space.  I will dedicate one hour a day to getting it sorted out.  I have hope for this week.  Fingers crossed, ya’ll!

Writing to Music

While surfing a few writing boards, one topic that I see appear quite often is the subject of music.  Usually it’s someone asking what music a writer listens to while writing, and how it affects them.  In other cases, I’ve seen people list a few bands and almost ask if it’s ok to listen to it while writing.  My answer has and always will be, if it helps you write, do it!

Neil Gaiman states pretty elegantly in the liner notes to his music cd “Where’s Neil when you need him:” “music was always part of the writing process — different music for different stories.”  Brandon Sanderson wrote in in his blog: “Music is a large part of the writing process for me. Listening to particular songs, with particular beats, can really get me into the writing mood, sparking images and ideas in my head. I depend on it in many cases to make me write when, sometimes, I don’t feel like it.”  Sanderson, when asked specifically what he listens to, he goes from classical, Metallica, Daft Punk, etc.

Personally, I listen to rock when I want a fast paced scene, and classical or Celtic when I want a softer feel.  I try to match the beat to the rhythm of the scene.  Look at the music you like and look at your scene.  Whichever genre or song you think best matches how you want to write, use it.  You don’t need permission, you just need to write!

Manuscript #5: Lessons Learnt

Having just closed the book, so to speak, on the first draft of my fifth novel, MUSE, it’s a good time to think about what I’ve learnt while writing this manuscript.

Lesson #1: What works for others, doesn’t necessarily work for me. I’ve previously mentioned I would love to be able to write from a detailed outline. I’ve tried it but can never stick to the plan. What does work for me is a very loose outline on index cards. It helps keep the story’s path clear in my mind while still allowing the flexibility to move, add or discard scenes as I need to.

Lesson #2: I need deadlines. Without them, I don’t write. I am fortunate to be a part of a wonderful goal-setting group. At the start of each week, we email around our goals and account for the previous week’s progress. I don’t like to admit I failed to achieve my goals so this often pushes me well past the stage where I would have otherwise stopped. And one day when I have to write to someone else’s deadlines, this practice in meeting goals will pay off.

Lesson #3:  I need to keep my mind in my story’s world. This means focusing my free time reading on relevant topics and not spending too much time in front of the tv. The story flows best if I can keep myself in my imaginary world. It starts to fall apart when I get distracted. This year’s season of Master Chef almost killed my story.

Lesson #4:  The this-is-crap stage. With every new manuscript, I wholeheartedly believe the first two thirds is the best thing I’ve ever written. Then I hit 70,000 words and the this-is-crap zone where doubt creeps in: This story is terrible. The plot is too contrived. I’m a lousy writer. What made me think I could write another book? The next 10,000 or so words are invariably painful, progress is slow and I spend weeks, or sometimes months, stalled here. This time, I knew what to expect and when the 70,000 word this-is-crap stage arrived, I pushed through, telling myself I had been here before and it would pass. And the knowledge that this was my this-is-crap stage did help, to an extent. It was still agonising and I wrote far slower than I had until then. But by recognising this as another stage of my creative process, I was able to move on.

Lesson #5:  It doesn’t matter if I can’t write the ending on the first draft. I usually finish just two or three scenes short of the end and it’s not until the first, or even second, re-write that the ending comes out. That’s okay. For me, the first draft is about learning the story and getting to know the characters. I need to sit on the ending, puzzle it through, spend some time getting to know the story again, and then that ending, previously so elusive, usually flows.

So now it’s time to put away MUSE and let it simmer in my subconscious for at least six months before I return to it with fresh eyes and, hopefully, bucketloads of enthusiasm. For now, I’m moving on to a new round of edits on another project. I’ll see you on the other side!

What have you learnt while writing your current manuscript?

Passion vs Marketability

Now that I’ve finished the first draft of MUSE, this manuscript will go into hibernation for a while. So I’ve spent the last few weeks wondering what I should move on to. It’s a battle between a call of the heart or market sensibility.

I can go back to a previous manuscript, a story I dearly love and which has garnered some attention from agents, but not enough for a contract. Clearly, there are problems with it that I’ve not yet identified. I can spend the next six months in a familiar world, with characters I know well and adore, and try to fix the problems with this manuscript. I’ve invested many years in this story — there’s even a first draft for the sequel — and I’m not ready to give up on it yet.

Another possibility is an urban fantasy I started early last year. I came close to the end of that draft and lost both momentum and interest in the story. Yet the idea had been rattling around in my head for several years before I was finally in the right place to write it. I’m sure I will eventually regain my passion for this story but it’s not calling to me just now.

I could start something new. I’ve been playing around with a number of ideas. One has a post-apocalyptic setting, something I’ve always wanted to try.  Think Dan Brown but with more grit. Another is an urban fantasy in which the faerie world still exists side-by-side with the modern world. Human sacrifices, immortality, Pandora’s box. There are so many things I want to write about. The post-apocalyptic story is the one I suspect would be the most sensible to write. It’s controversial and, I think, eminently saleable. It would, if done right, be a gripping read. But it’s not calling to me either. At least, not yet.

I started writing this post about eight weeks ago, at a time when finishing the first draft of MUSE seemed very far off indeed, and over the last few weeks, no matter which idea I try out, it’s that first one, the story I’ve already spent ten years on, that draws me to it. In fact, it seems my subconscious has decided for me because last weekend, without ever making a conscious decision to return to this project, I went to the copy shop and had the manuscript printed and bound, all 585 pages. It’s sitting on the desk in my study now, along with new packs of pens and highlighters. And it’s calling me. For better or worse, this is what I’ll be spending the next few months on. Only time will tell whether it’s a wise use of my time or just another round of edits on a project that will never sell.

How do you decide between projects?  Do you analyse the market and write what you think has the best chance of selling?  Or do you let your heart make the decision?