Anything BUT Writing

Sometimes, the best way to write, is to not to. (Where did I hear that saying? A child I think).

I've been knee-deep in revising, and to be honest, it's become tiring. One moment I'm hopeful and excited, seeing how far I've come and how much I enjoy my story. And then the next moment I notice how far I've still to go and I want to just stand up in a huff and throw in the towel. This roller-coaster of emotions makes for a frustrating writing atmosphere. And then you add in the fact that my kids are on summer break and despite their ages, still feel the need to follow me around the house (any room I choose to write in), and then fight with each other right beside me.

That's when, yesterday, I decided to make the best decision for my current crazy state of mind, and for my writing. I decided not to write. No, I went outside and did yard work. My hubby was mowing the lawn, so I figured, why not? I pulled weeds, then watered the plants. It took hours. Hours of quiet. Hours of peace. Hours of time to think.


And when my kids followed me to the yard, I welcomed them and allowed them to chat my ear off as much as they wanted. As long as they were pulling weeds beside me. My oldest wanted nothing to do with dirty hands. And my youngest gladly helped for about twenty minutes or so, told me she was going to take a break, and then never came back out. :) 


I didn't discover any plot revelations. My mind hadn't come up with any amazing one-liners I could add into the dialog. But, for some reason, that physical activity coupled with peaceful nature (even if I WAS killing the weedy part of nature) gave me the gusto I needed to write. 


Do you find that to be true for yourself? Does a little break from writing, to do something physical, surge your writing ability? 


Here's more pictures of the finished yard work. Except the back yard. It still needs a weed hunt. 

 My dog follows me everywhere too, but she doesn't fight with the kids, so I let her stay by my side. :) And yes, that statue is headless. My sisters swear that I got tired of the little girl statue staring at me with her beady little white eyes so I chopped her head off. No. It was that way when we bought the house. 

My Maniac Tendencies

So, on Sunday I heard back from my critique partner about the last few chapters of my WIP. Two words: HOORAY and OUCH. If you've ever had an in depth critique partner, you totally know what I mean. She seems to really like my writing and the story, but the biggest issue she found, what she got completely hung up on, was the last chapter. It had some major flaws.

Yes, that's code for: My kids were home when I wrote that last chapter.

Further meaning that I tried to write this emotional scene with a litany of interruptions.

Lesson learned.

So as you can guess, all day Sunday I was thrilled by her encouraging words while stewing over the "issues" she found. And then yesterday I drove myself crazy with "what if" and "how will I" questions. I literally had knots in my back!

Why do we as writers stress out like this? One day we think we have something great, something readers will love and then the next day we want torch it all?

 I know you guys do this too. I read your blogs. ;)

 
 Is being crazy-emotional about a word document just something that comes with the personality of a writer? I'm thinking so. Did the authors of the past throw their typewriters in the trash bin only to gently retrieve it hours later with love and affection? I wouldn't doubt it.

By the way, I think I fixed the problems she found, and am hoping it's great. And I think I want to do another blog post in a few days about how fantastic critique partners are because her reaction to the story as a reader, and then her advice as a critique partner have been absolutely invaluable.

But for now, tell me about your maniac tendencies as they pertain to writing. Ever throw your laptop in the trash?