07 October 2020

Not Enough Hours in the Day

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Do you ever feel like there aren't enough hours in the day? I certainly do. I work full time from 6-2:30, then after work my husband and I go straight to the gym most days, since we're really focusing on losing weight and eating healthier right now. Then I like to do at least a half hour of reading, and do a little cleaning, and DISHES so many dishes why are there so many there's only two of us??? And now it's October so hubby and I try to cram in as many horror movies as we can all month (I like to watch ones I've never seen, he just wants to rewatch the classics...guess I do have time to do those dishes...). 

Anyhoo, what does this have to do with writing? Well, basically, that I'm not. At all. I'm not even trying. I'm not even thinking about trying, because I don't know what the next step is. For a while I was rereading chapters 1-26 of UL (not 27, because 27 is a trash fire...wait, have I said that before?), doing some editing as I went and leaving notes where I wanted to change things but couldn't figure it out on the spot. Which was great! It gave me something to do. Like reading, my goal is to just spend 30 minutes every day on something writing related. 

But then I finished my readthrough, and was left wondering, "now what?" Now, if I really sit down and think about it, there are plenty of things I could tackle. I recently decided that I'm most likely cutting Chapter 21, taking any really important bits and fitting them in other parts of the story. There are plenty of editing comments throughout the Word document that I will eventually have to tackle. I want to completely rewrite Chapter 27. And then I still have to write the last two or three chapters. 

I think my problem is that I just feel overwhelmed. I don't feel like I have a lot of time to write, and since nothing I need to do is easy, I'm not able to pick anything at all. When I have a specific task in mind, it's easy to devote 30 minutes to it. But when I've reached the end of a long, demanding day, and I have to actually choose something difficult to work on? I just don't want to do it. 

I think I need a new system. The 30 minutes a day is great, but I think I need to plan way in advance what I'll be working on so that I'm not deciding in the moment. Maybe I should even spend one day a week working on a different project (one of the Sexy Fluffs, perhaps??) so that I can have something new and exciting to motivate me and keep the drive to write going. 

How do you find the time/motivation to write? Any horror movie recommendations??

24 comments:

  1. It's a struggle working full time and exercising after! That's what I do. But after dinner I carve out some time.

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  2. I think you should work on what excites you so you can do it in smaller chunks of time. And when you work full-time, you can't always expect to want to sit down and work at another job, even if you like. I think you should all this time with your husband while you have it and just not worry so much about writing all the time.

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  3. You've probably already seen it because it's older but Train to Busan totally terrified me and made me cry. I still think about it, even now.

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  4. I write a lot. I can't work an outside job anymore due to having become disabled. I don't miss being a slave to a time clock, but I do miss having a steady paycheck. I would have to drive 60 miles to get to a gym. There isn't much I could do there anyway. I miss the therapy pool from when I worked in a retirement community. I could do a lot of things in the water that I can't do on land, like running and jumping.
    Maybe you can try to carve out a little time for writing on whatever days your weekend is.
    Narcissus

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  5. Well, I'm not one to give advice, since I've been avoiding my rewrites by working on another book! :) Maybe you can take a Wrication to tackle one of the big things until it gets smaller and fits into a 30 minute chunk.

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  6. Absolutely no horror recommendations from me! I'm a movie wimp :)
    I'm always an advocate for having more than 1 story on the go for that reason. When I hit a wall or emotional limit, I always have something else I can work on. Probably comes from having a bit of a Tigger Brain :) Good luck & let me know if I can help!

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  7. Keep up the exercise!
    Writing is a struggle for many right now. Maybe planning out for the week what you will work on each day would help?

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  8. Scene cards. When I'm exhausted and still need to write, I refer to my scene cards. Basically, it tells me exactly what needs to happen in a certain scene (and why). All I have to do, is write it. Maybe that will help you? Good luck!

    As for scary movies... "Corpse Bride", "Little Shop of Horrors" and "Sleepless in Seattle" are always good. (Think about that last one and you'll see the horror elements in it...)

    Ronel visiting on IWSG day Revamp Your Backlist

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  9. I seldom watch horror movies because I am a giant scaredy cat. There's a French film "Them" that was absolutely terrifying, though.

    Usually during my editing process, I end up compiling an editing punch list kind of thing, and at the end of each writing session, I pick which item I want to start with when I sit down to work again. Doesn't mean it always works out that way, of course, but it helps. As does my version of the scene cards Ronel describes.

    And yeah, I also find it helpful to have backup projects to work on if I've hit a wall with my main WIP. Sometimes, our brains just need to focus on something else entirely.

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  10. I thought I would have more time to write once my kids graduated high school, but I still struggle. I don't know if it's that I'm less motivated (sometimes having more free time can do that) or if the fact they come and go during the day (instead of stay at school from 7 till 3) is too much of a distraction. Whatever it is, I need to come up with a plan and BICHOK.

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  11. Writing is never a problem. I'm blessed. It just 'comes' no matter what. It's the marketing that I feel like I am wading through quick-dry cement. If you like Halloween movies that make you laugh you might like Tyler Perry's Boo and Boo2. The two women in it are hysterically funny. But for a real scare it's still The Exorcist. I will NOT watch it again. And it's been over forty years now.

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  12. I vote for sexy fluff. These days, I require regular infusions of sexy fluff, both as a reader & as a writer, to keep my spirits from sinking into the much.

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  13. You look like you're doing something I do - working out what you plan to do as your IWSG post! I think you've got a good plan there but I can't fit editing into 30 minute bouts. It's as long as it needs. The other thing... are you ready for a beta reader viewpoint?

    Go to it!

    Good luck :)

    Jemima

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  14. Not enough time and I am just as overwhelmed.

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  15. I get the time issue and the decision problem.
    Maybe write ideas one day for 15 minutes - like all the places the story could go in a list, then write the next day for 15 minutes on something fun, then tackle one of the choices for 15 minutes on the third day? I don't know. I'm just shooting from the hip, and from something that I've done.

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  16. I have an hour planned every day, but I inevitable steal more. My poor kids are stuck with my husband for bath and bedtime. I also hired a writing coach for a few months to help me since I needed a more organized approach.

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  17. There's never enough time. Sometimes I just have to make the time.

    I was going to ask you for horror movie recommendations...I really like the new Pet Sematary, I also loved The Haunting of Hill House (a series, not a movie, though)... can't think of anymore off the top of my head.

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  18. When I feel overwhelmed, I make a sort of to-do list for the book with small items on it like "search and destroy, the word 'that'" or "add physical description in Jessica's first scene." It keeps me making progress without letting my wheels spin because I'm seeing the whole project at once--which is absolutely overwhelming.

    BTW, I also love to watch as many scary movies as I can in October. This year, I'm trying to revisit old favorites with my daughter. So far we've watched The Ring and The Others. Sweetman and I watched half of The Haunting (black and white movie version of The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson) which I don't think I've seen before.

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  19. Sometimes a break from writing fuels the writing spirit. But then other times, it's the start of a bad habit. Or it could be that the plot wall needs climbed. Instead of writing, maybe switch to what-if scenarios for that chapter. Brainstorm all the ways the story could go from the most mundane to the most absurd. It could be the missing piece of the puzzle- find it and the rest falls into place.

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  20. Not much more to add to the comments, just wanted to say good luck - especially with the exercise. My gym opens again soon, and I'm so excited to get back into a proper workout.

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  21. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, and that's okay. A break is often necessary.

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  22. I can totally relate to feeling overwhelmed by all the writing 'to-dos'. I don't have any different advice to offer, but like Jemi, I find having more than one project helpful in kick-starting my creativity. As a plotter, I end up with all my scenes hand-written on index cards--an informal process initially, but easier to manage in small time chunks--which produces more of a road-map when I get back to the computer. Everyone's process is slightly different, so I hope you find the key for you.

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  23. I can say that deciding what I'd be working on in advance made a difference for me. When I left it up to feeling inspired upon sitting down, it wasted too much time. Other than that, sometimes you need a break.

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  24. OMG, I could've written your part about getting to a certain point (your ch. 27) and not be able to go on from there. Too much work, too little time/energy to fix it. Yeah. I' there, too. Not writing. This has been a weird year and creativity is down more than I thought. Hang in there. It will get better. Right?

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