SHORT AND SIMPLE TODAY!
I think we need a time of motivation.
So, the last couple of days are some of those that I could care less to repeat. We've all had those days. Right? For me, I have spent countless hours trying to play catch up with all the work I had to do, and then, on top of all that, I had additional meetings to attend. Oh, and I can't forget to mention that the email server went down as well. (ahhh, technology) Not exactly fun.
As writers, it seems like those days happen. Things get in the way of our writing. The time we had planned to work on that next chapter is somehow interrupted by that thing called, the REAL WORLD.
When those things happen, we have to return to Disney for our motivation. I have brought this up before, but hey, we always need a refresher.
Dory, in FINDING NEMO simply says "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming." She is right. When things like this happen, we need to just keep moving forward toward our goal. We just hit a bump in the road.
So, what do you all do to "Just keep swimming?"
For me, it is to just dive into the mess again and start from scratch. And as for the last two days lost. I AM going to get through those piles today.
Scott
When the real world interrupts, and usually this has to do with housework, I clean the house. Then the office. Once everything is bright and shiny again, I feel I can work with a new attitude.
ReplyDeleteWhen other real life interuppts and I can't escape, I tend to get really cranky. If I can't write for days, I get antsy, angry, rebellious. I HAVE to write, something, anything, every day.
I've had a similar week. Although I was tempted once or twice to jump, I plodded along. As John Irving wrote in Hotel New Hampshire, "You've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed. You have to keep passing the open windows."
ReplyDeletePlus I consume alarming amounts of caffeine.
I use my best mental motivator when I'm having a tough go on a run, but I think it can be translated to most situations.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm exhausted & feel like quitting I say to myself "when I look back on the next ten minutes of my life, how do I want to remember it? Will I remember the pain and fatigue? Probably not. Do I want to remember giving in and walking? NO. I will remember myself RUNNING. Because this 10 minutes will pass, but the memory of how I performed will be with me forever." Never fails to keep me running, and essentially it is exactly what Dory says... just keep swimming!
I motivate myself by looking at the whole picture and cutting it to pieces. Then I put them in order of importance and take a step. Sometimes I tiptoe, groaning and swearing all the way, but as long as I move forward, I'm happy at the end of the day. This goes with revisions. It can be overwhelming, but by focusing on one area, things usually move along, and before I know it, I'm done. Of couse, I dance around and think I'm a genius. But hey, a moment or two of delusion gives me energy to put all the pieces together.
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