Anne, I really resonated with what you said above: " All about how we do all the other stuff without prioritizing our writing. Some of the quotes really spoke to me. I had been feeling good about getting everything else done, but realized I was only serving others in doing that. Hadn't got to my writing on those crazy days. Food for thought for this week. Now sitting in my chair and writing for an hour before doing more of the to do list."
I think this is why there are so many proponents of morning writing time. Even on a super busy day it's possible to get up before the fray and put in some work for the day. I always preferred morning writing, but life sometimes shifted my writing time. Having a puppy required me to once again be really protective of my writing time which means being really protective of my evenings, too--I have to get to bed if I'm going to get up and write!
A quick note about your note: "No deadline to finish, but must keep the habit to write..." I think this is so important. Sometimes it helps to think of writer me as one of the besties I tend to prioritize above myself. A while back I made a New Year's Resolution to make life easier for future Cathy, which meant I did things like take a detour to stop for gas on the way home instead of having to get gas before a road trip in the morning. It also meant I set up my bag the night before and did thing like mix the new jar of peanut butter instead of making future Cathy do it when she next needed peanut butter.
I think putting our writer selves first fits with the idea of putting our future selves first. We feel better when we write, so making time to write is making life easier for our future writing selves. Not to mention if one of our big goals is to finish a book, then we HAVE to put our future writing selves again and again and again because our books aren't going to write themselves (no matter what the short-sighted masterminds over at ChatGPT have to say about it.
RECKONING—I finished chapter 27 and read my notes for the last two chapters and epilogue. I finished reading the first chapter in Wonderbook and LOVED it, but did NOT finish the post about it. Also, Shiloh has been approved for day care which means that once a week I'll get a day of concentration!
ANALYSIS–I'm glad I didn't rush last weekend to finish Chapter 27--it simply needed a little more TLC and I'm glad to give it. I am also looking at the long revision process ahead of me and thinking I may switch my expectation to getting a rough draft down--it makes little sense to revise when I know that going back to the start will require me to revise the end when I get there, so there's little point in revising it now, however much I'd like to. I think it was important to do revision work for 26 and 27 because they are revelatory chapters for the story, but I think I can move faster going forward. Also, I was delighted to find that when I sat down to read my structural draft notes for the last two chapters and the epilogue, I felt they were the right beats and enjoyed the scenes that are already in various states of drafted (my structural outlines are very long and detailed--my structural outline for chapter 27 was fifty pages because of all the drafts and snippets collected).
PLAN–Hmm. I think I'm going to prioritize writing about the Wonderbook first, particularly since that post is about how I want to change my process moving forward. And then I would like to get through a rough pass of chapter 28 and begin reading the omnibus about the trick that's pivotal for chapter 29 (my book is about a sleight of hand magician, and diving into her signature trick is part of my plan this summer). Also, I would like to finish a draft of the next Tenacity Tales to ship it back to the subject so we can run it in the next couple of weeks. So to recap: Wonderbook post, rough past of 28, research, Tenacity draft. Yes, that's a lot, but also I'm trying to increase my number of hours spent this week by fifty percent or more.
I'm going on a writing retreat in CO this week at which I planned to just do yoga and hiking, but now I may actually do some writing… I'm too shy to spell the plan out because I'm afraid if I do I won't do it, but I just want to let people know that there is a plan! To hold myself at least that much accountable.
I get being too shy too share, but "some writing" is an honorable goal, too. Vague enough that all you have to do is five minutes while you're in paradise and it's a win! Have the best time! Depending on where you go in Colorado, be braced for elevation. We were humbled by how we felt at the top of Pike's Peak! And by humbled I mean hobbled--it felt like I had aged fifty years overnight. So be gentle if you're sea-level cells riot on you.
Anne, I really resonated with what you said above: " All about how we do all the other stuff without prioritizing our writing. Some of the quotes really spoke to me. I had been feeling good about getting everything else done, but realized I was only serving others in doing that. Hadn't got to my writing on those crazy days. Food for thought for this week. Now sitting in my chair and writing for an hour before doing more of the to do list."
I think this is why there are so many proponents of morning writing time. Even on a super busy day it's possible to get up before the fray and put in some work for the day. I always preferred morning writing, but life sometimes shifted my writing time. Having a puppy required me to once again be really protective of my writing time which means being really protective of my evenings, too--I have to get to bed if I'm going to get up and write!
A quick note about your note: "No deadline to finish, but must keep the habit to write..." I think this is so important. Sometimes it helps to think of writer me as one of the besties I tend to prioritize above myself. A while back I made a New Year's Resolution to make life easier for future Cathy, which meant I did things like take a detour to stop for gas on the way home instead of having to get gas before a road trip in the morning. It also meant I set up my bag the night before and did thing like mix the new jar of peanut butter instead of making future Cathy do it when she next needed peanut butter.
I think putting our writer selves first fits with the idea of putting our future selves first. We feel better when we write, so making time to write is making life easier for our future writing selves. Not to mention if one of our big goals is to finish a book, then we HAVE to put our future writing selves again and again and again because our books aren't going to write themselves (no matter what the short-sighted masterminds over at ChatGPT have to say about it.
CATHY'S WEEKLY R.A.P for July 17, 2023
RECKONING—I finished chapter 27 and read my notes for the last two chapters and epilogue. I finished reading the first chapter in Wonderbook and LOVED it, but did NOT finish the post about it. Also, Shiloh has been approved for day care which means that once a week I'll get a day of concentration!
ANALYSIS–I'm glad I didn't rush last weekend to finish Chapter 27--it simply needed a little more TLC and I'm glad to give it. I am also looking at the long revision process ahead of me and thinking I may switch my expectation to getting a rough draft down--it makes little sense to revise when I know that going back to the start will require me to revise the end when I get there, so there's little point in revising it now, however much I'd like to. I think it was important to do revision work for 26 and 27 because they are revelatory chapters for the story, but I think I can move faster going forward. Also, I was delighted to find that when I sat down to read my structural draft notes for the last two chapters and the epilogue, I felt they were the right beats and enjoyed the scenes that are already in various states of drafted (my structural outlines are very long and detailed--my structural outline for chapter 27 was fifty pages because of all the drafts and snippets collected).
PLAN–Hmm. I think I'm going to prioritize writing about the Wonderbook first, particularly since that post is about how I want to change my process moving forward. And then I would like to get through a rough pass of chapter 28 and begin reading the omnibus about the trick that's pivotal for chapter 29 (my book is about a sleight of hand magician, and diving into her signature trick is part of my plan this summer). Also, I would like to finish a draft of the next Tenacity Tales to ship it back to the subject so we can run it in the next couple of weeks. So to recap: Wonderbook post, rough past of 28, research, Tenacity draft. Yes, that's a lot, but also I'm trying to increase my number of hours spent this week by fifty percent or more.
I'm going on a writing retreat in CO this week at which I planned to just do yoga and hiking, but now I may actually do some writing… I'm too shy to spell the plan out because I'm afraid if I do I won't do it, but I just want to let people know that there is a plan! To hold myself at least that much accountable.
I get being too shy too share, but "some writing" is an honorable goal, too. Vague enough that all you have to do is five minutes while you're in paradise and it's a win! Have the best time! Depending on where you go in Colorado, be braced for elevation. We were humbled by how we felt at the top of Pike's Peak! And by humbled I mean hobbled--it felt like I had aged fifty years overnight. So be gentle if you're sea-level cells riot on you.