#Writing

I’m backdating this

This evening, I ended up on a roll and I got a backlog of things done.

That felt great and I was very excited about that until I realized I had forgotten to post here before midnight.

But that highlights a fundamental disagreement I have tracking daily challenges on a device.

To me, I have done something on a given day if I do it between when I get up and when I go to bed.

Using my phone to track the fact that I did something leads to being tied to chronological time so if I do something after midnight it’s actually the next day.

Now, I get that and I understand that it is literally the next day.

However, when it comes to things I want to do daily, I am way more interested in my experience of time than in doing something on a specific date.

I haven’t gone to bed on my Friday so…

like the title says, I’m backdating this.

More think-y than write-y

In the last couple of days, my brain has been absolutely filled with ideas but none of them are finished cooking.

And that makes it really hard to write.

Knowing that all of these cool ideas are simmering makes all of my easily accessible thoughts feel pretty dull and/or makes me feel like I should wait until they are ready before I write.

However, I know better than to fall for that.

Experience has taught me that:

– My current ideas only feel dull in comparison to those simmering ideas because those simmering ideas feel perfect (untested things often do.)

– Waiting until my ideas are ‘ready’ often means that I won’t write at all.

So, here I am writing a post that’s kind of a placeholder but at least it reminds me that any writing I do is helpful in the long term.

August Writing Goals

I have been doing lots of little bits of writing – blog posts, flash fiction, brainstorming – but I haven’t done any longer form writing in a while and I want to get back to it.

There’s nothing wrong with the writing I have been doing but it doesn’t require a lot of focus beyond the time I spend actually writing. Right now, though, I feel drawn to do something that needs planning, outlines, revision, something tangible that feels like I have said something I really wanted to say.

So, in August, I am going to be working on my novel and on a series of blog posts for my coaching blog.

Off to make some notes!

Revisions.

I have been YEARS trying to revise my novel and it has been a struggle.

It’s not that I think my novel is perfect or that I can’t let go of the ideas in there. I don’t and I definitely can.

The problem is that I couldn’t figure out how to take it apart and reassemble it. It was almost a mechanical problem rather than a creative one.

And I’ve tried multiple approaches with minimal success.

Today, it occurred to me that it was time to get back at it.

So, there I am thinking that it had been ages since I had even touched it and dreading the painful process of trying to figure out how to revise when I had a sudden realization.

I was working on my novel in the weeks before my Dad died.

I had figured out a slow way forward.

I was making progress.

It’s not even particularly painful, just a bit slow for my liking.

And it may even speed up as I practice.

It’s odd that I had completely forgotten that it was only a couple of months since I last worked on it (and that I had forgotten that I had figured out *how* to work on it.) but I guess that’s grief showing up again.

Now my job is to get back to some regular revision sessions.

So that’s one thing on Monday’s to-do list,

On retreat but not in retreat

A few times each year, I go away for a weekend retreat with some dear friends of mine for a few days of writing, rest, and snacks.

I could only join them for one night this time but I am making the most of it.

So far I’ve had great conversations and delicious snacks and now I am doing a little resting before doing some writing.

Every time I come to one of these retreats, I tell myself that I’m going to re-create some of this feeling at home.

So the key for me should be making sure that I revisit these ideas.

Of course, that’s often the problem with my good ideas is that I forget to revisit them.

Let’s hope that the smallness of these ones helps.