Happy Insecure Writers Support Group Day. IWSG is the brainchild of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going.
Thanks to this month's awesome hosts: Gwen Gardner, Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martinson, Chemist Ken, and Cathrina Constantiner!
September 4 question - If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why?
Right where I am--close to the lake (Lake Michigan); closer to my grandkids. After moving around, following my husband's job, I love where I live now.
Maybe that sounds too simplistic. A sign of increasing years? I hate to admit I'm feeling my age. After a few hours chasing the almost 2-year-old twins around (and their 4-yr-old sister who needs her share of attention), I'm exhausted. It's not like I babysit that often. Only in emergency situations when no one else is available. But this past month, it seems like I have no energy to write. Binge-watching old TV shows requires nothing--just sit idle and let the images pour in.
I've often mentioned to others that when the creative well runs dry, it needs to be refilled. Reading is one way. I've binge-read 15 books in a 17-book mystery/thriller series this month. Since I only read before bed, that means reading long into the night then sleeping late in the morning. And that means disrupting my usual writing time.
So, what am I going to do about it? The better question is what do I want to do about it?
If I want to continue writing, I need to follow Nora Roberts' advice. BICHOK. Butt in chair, hands on keyboard.
Hope you have a great month.
Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.
Maybe since we’re still in those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer that has something to do with it. Whenever I take a break, it’s hard to get in the groove again, but I trust we both will.😊
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lucy. It is hard to get back to routing.
DeleteI'm with you on the well refilling. And home is where I want to write. That just means we're happy where we are and have all we need, right?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!
DeleteIf I had a Michigan Great Lake view, I wouldn't be going anywhere else either!!!! Love our lakes! Great blog, Diane.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Diana. I wish I had the view from my deck. It's worth the 15-minute drive, though.
DeleteYes, that often happens, Diane, trying to catch up on so much, often into the night instead of organising the day in a better way. Keep writing and keep reading, but not until the small hours ðŸ¤
ReplyDeleteLOL I know I need to prioritize better.
DeleteThat's not simplistic at all. It's an amazing thing to love where you are and to be content. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chrys. I hope you & your family are safe from the hurricane.
DeleteWow...I envy you your Lake Michigan view :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rachna.
DeleteMaybe all that reading is just refilling the well?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alex. I hope so.
DeleteLove her advice... and her books. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Thanks, Anna. I needed to hear that.
DeleteRefilling - yeah, with lots of coffee and lots of chocolate - and lots of fun too. Why call a writing doctor when I just stopped by and gave you the prescription, eh? Except...*mutters* Oh yeah. I think you said those things first.
ReplyDeleteLOL I love your response, I.B.
DeleteI've been doing a lot of reading this summer, and I have throughly enjoyed it, finding it relaxing and inspiring.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with BICHOK!
Thanks, Madeline. Reading is soothing.
DeleteBICHOK is the first piece of writing advice I received.
ReplyDeleteIt's also the simplest and the best.
Happy IWSG!
Thanks, Michelle. Simple advice, yet so true.
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteBabysitting every now and then for the grandkids is precious. Staying up and reading all night to reconnect to your writing spirit is also okay. You are not doing it for long periods of time. The main thing is that you know what you have to do and I am quite sure that when the urge its you, you are going to get up and do what you have to do. Meanwhile, enjoy your grandkids and your book reading orgy. Time goes by quickly and before you know those small grandkids will be teenagers.
All the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
Thanks so much, Pat. You are so right about the g'kids. The oldest is 12, so the teen years are around the corner. The older kids are so involved in their sports, scouts, & activities that it's hard to keep up. The little ones still need us, but it won't be long before they grow up. Love being with all of them.
DeleteNora got it right and so succinctly. I'm impressed by all the reading you're doing at night. I get in about half an hour before I'm snoozing.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it about simple advice that is so inspiring? The late nights are catching up--and the series is ending in a book and a half. lol I have to get back on a schedule.
DeleteThat's nice that you're already in your perfect spot to write! :)
ReplyDeleteI should probably follow BICHOK more often.
We should all follow that advice. lol
DeleteYour binge reading sounds amazing and BICHOK is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteThanks,Kalpana.
DeleteReading into the night . . . That must be nice. I give myself about a half hour before the book (or worse Kindle) hits me in the nose to wake me up to go to bed. That well of words will refill . . . it better because your books are worth the smack in the nose after a long day at work (where I snuck in the last one on my computer during lunch!).
ReplyDeleteLOL Yeah, my iPad has flopped over a few times, waking me up. Thanks so much for the "endorsement" :)
DeleteIt sounds fantastic to binge watch TV and read a lot for awhile. Enjoy it for a bit and then you can get going on writing again. And I grew up on Lake Michigan. It's such a beautiful place to live.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that, Natalie. I wish I'd grown up here. Instead, I grew up over in the Detroit-area. I love the west side of the state.
DeleteI need to binge read again. It has been a really long time since I have done that. I tend to binge TV series.
ReplyDeleteDon't even talk about binge-watching TV series. I just finished Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and Broadchurch. So easy (too easy) to let an episode bleed into another.
DeleteI find myself missing reading, because all my spare time is spent writing or doing something writing-related. Nothing wrong with downtime. Sometimes we need to reboot. And, of course, home is where the heart it. You got this, Diane. You're doing great!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Gwen. I'm ready to get back to writing. In fact, I opened a short story that I want to expand into a novella. Seeing everyone's comment gave me that push to get back to work.
DeleteHaha I was wondering what in the world Bichok meant. Made me laugh when I came to it - that's advice I need to follow as well.
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome you are happy and settled in your home now. Can't beat that. :)
Thanks, Julie. It is wonderful to feel settled.
DeleteTwins! I can't imagine. Visited a former student of mine who has twins that are 18 months old. The chaos!! LOL
ReplyDeleteI understand about the energy and liking where you live for writing. And those grandchildren are wonderfully exhausting.
They are, Susan. Wonderful and exhausting. lol My DIL is learning that raising boys is a lot different from raising a girl. The boys are such daredevils, which their older sister never tried half the stuff they do.
DeleteBICHOK - good advice. I need to follow it too, but instead, I climb into my armchair and read. Maybe my imagination has dried up after all; it has been rampant all my life.
ReplyDeleteConsider that you are refilling your well with all your reading. When you're ready, your imagination will return.
DeleteMy creative well is dry at the moment, hence the writing slump I've been in. I have been binge reading but recently hit a wall where I don't want to keep reading. Don't know if I'm entering a reading slump now too. Or if it's the particular series I'm reading. Or maybe, dare I jinx myself, it's a sign, a light at then end of the tunnel, that my slump is waning.
ReplyDeleteConsider it the light at the end of the tunnel. It could be a sign that you're ready to get back to writing. I hope so. Being in a slump is no fun.
Delete