There are some times when you know you just have nothing to write about. Like a dry well, the bucket keeps bringing up dust. What do you do in a moment like that? Do you get wrapped up in Facebook? Find yourself lost in Twitter? Or abandoning those two pastimes for something really mundane like Shockwave.com, playing hours of endless, mindless, unproductive games? Yup, that’s me lately. I’ve become the shell of a writer that I used to be. So what do I do now? What about the numerous novels I’ve started? Or how about the ones that are finished, in need of some severe rewriting?
It’s serious time to kick myself in the proverbial britches and write. Did you hear that? I said, “I’m going to write.” I will not play Farmville. I will resist the urge to see how many pointless words I can create on Text Twist. From today, I commit to writing 250 words per day on any work in progress. And should I stray from this less than lofty goal, I will spend that time editing. Either way…Good bye computer…at least in the sense of unproductivity.
I heard once that if you want the muse to inspire you, she better find you hard at work.
It’s now 8:12PM. I figure for the next hour my fingers shall be flying across the keyboard in gross absorption of the literary kind, and maybe, just maybe my muse will tickle my brain.
I am a writer. As long as I can remember, I've loved the way words sound, look, feel. Words have power to build, power to destroy. With words I create my own realities. When you read my words, we take that journey together. Thanks for being my traveling companion. ~Betsy Love LDS Author
Wonderful post, Betsy! I've been trying hard to recommit myself, after a long dry spell too. I've found it helps to have to "report" to someone, which is why I've been posting my word counts on Facebook. When I stopped, another writer begged me to post it again, because she said it "inspired" her to work harder at her writing, too. So write and report! That's my advice. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI know so many women who play that Farmville on Facebook, and it does distract them away from their writing instead of letting them concentrate on a wip. Shouting out that you've recommitted your time to your writing is a great first step in breaking that seemingly innocent habit of on-line gaming. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteKudos to getting back to writing. It's amazing what you can get done even in small amounts of time when you keep at it. Keep us posted!
ReplyDelete~Tamara
Rah! Rah! Rah! for getting back in the writer's saddle again! I'm with you!
ReplyDeleteGreat writing!! I need to do the same thing. Keep on writing!!!
ReplyDeleteYOU go Betsy! I miss you!
ReplyDeleteWrite Write Write!!!!
See you at the conference!!!