I’ve been in a funk ever since missing HNS London 2012 – which meant missing an opportunity to listen to wonderful speakers like Philippa Gregory, Diana Gabaldon, Elizabeth Chadwick, CW Gortner, Margaret George, Bernard Cornwell. And missing an opportunity to speak on a panel with Emma Darwin, Harry Sidebottom and Justin Neville. And missing a chance to pitch to an editor. And missing the fun of stimulating conversation with so many others involved in the historical fiction community. Sigh.
But, it’s time to stop sulking and GET BACK TO WORK. That’s me shouting at myself.
Almost two months have gone by and although I’ve written some good blog posts, read several novels – historical fiction, of course – become more active on Facebook, done a few guest posts and investigated UK agents, I haven’t seriously engaged fingers and keyboard in the act of writing fiction. As so many authors have pointed out, being successful requires daily commitment to the craft. Blog posts don’t cut it.
Today marks a new chapter.
9 Responses
Bum in Chair! Bum In Chair!
Go Mary.
TX Downith – Sitting there now … gotta close down Facebook and email in order to really get going!
Go Mary!
Good luck. But. Blogging is like stretching. Doing it on days when you’re not getting ready to run a race is never wrong.
Many thanks for that perspective – Servetus. I’ve been doing too much stretching and not enough running!
So you should be in good shape 🙂
The best way is to spread “Crazy Glue” on the chair and sit down.
Seriously, lull times are also functional and germinal brewing. It gives us time to ruminate, contemplate and see the plot, theme or characters from afar. It’s a time where the brain process information that will come in handy later on when fingers fly above the keyboard. So any time spent in not writing is also time in processing the information before hand.
A lovely thought, Lilian. I think the past few weeks have germinated a few ideas just as you suggest.
Sitting in the chair can sometimes mean going back to the same habits: Social media or online shopping. Google is so good at splashing stuff back at me on the sidelines of a webpage, luring me back to those supple boots. Jerks.
A change of locale is sometimes needed for me. What I do is pick up one of my research books, a notepad, and go sit somewhere else. But I don’t go to Starbucks because that’s a cliche.