Wednesday 8 January 2014

IWSG January

It's the first IWSG of the New Year! Happy 2014 to anyone I haven't visited yet this year!

Thanks as always to Alex J. Cavanaugh and to all the other administrators of the group.

This month is a time of New Year's Resolutions and positivity - a time to turn over a fresh page and enter a new mind-set. In this vein, I'm hoping to feel a little less insecure this year. I've done a lot of thinking and have had a long break from writing (which did me a lot of good) and have managed to feel a lot less 'keyed up' about writing. There is no pleasure in it for me when it becomes a compulsion - and I do not want to lose that pleasure! A schedule in my diary, an old kitchen timer to write to and a fresh approach are how I'm starting this new year.

Good luck to everyone with what they want to achieve - and if I can offer you one piece of advice, it is this: write the way that suits you, in the amount of time that suits you, and try not to resent other areas of your life for infringing on your writing time. I used to obsess about word-count each day - now I am content if I have moved my story on, whether that be by adding 1000 or 200 words. Moving forwards is the key, however small the steps.

Wishing you all a Happy Writing New Year.

Thank you for visiting!

18 comments:

Kyra Lennon said...

Excellent advice! Nothing kills the writing flow more than putting too much pressure on yourself.

Annalisa Crawford said...

Brilliant post! Too much pressure is a sure-fire way to kill all creativity. I'm glad your break has made you eager to write again - enjoy it :-)

Lisa said...

So true! Guilt as pressure doesn't seem to work for me either, only makes me procrastinate! I did NaNoWriMo last November thinking I wouldn't be able to finish 50,000 word in one month, but surprised myself because not only did I surpass that goal, but I ENJOYED every day of it! No guilt intruded, only determination and a desire to see where my story would take me. Pure, wonderful pleasure. Hope you as well have a great new year!

TracyFells said...

Really sensible advice on small steps. I think we can all get too hung up on daily word counts, so I like this approach of just moving something forward. Good luck with your writing goals for 2014.

Suzanne Furness said...

Great advice and attitude to take, Linda. Small steps will move you forward. Best of luck with your writing this year.

Huntress said...

Guilt, when I miss a day or two, tends to crush me. But, as you say, moving forwards is the key. Good post.

Rena said...

That is really fantastic advice. I know that I put a lot of pressure on myself to do a million things, and sometimes there are really only a hundred words for a story that day. Some days there are more, and I really need to make peace with that.

Rachel Schieffelbein said...

That is such wonderful advice! It's so easy to see others writing thousands of words a day and get a bit down. Not everyone can do that, and pretty much no one can keep it up indefinitely. :) Small steps are still moving your forward. :)

Bish Denham said...

That is the best advice ever. We all write at a different pace, in different ways. And I can say for myself, I write what I feel like writing. I write the stories I'd like to read.

Unknown said...

Linda, you sound so much calmer and less stressed about your writing than before. I'm gad you've found something that works for you. Intrigued to know exactly how you use the kitchen time though. Best of luck for teh New Year.

Wendy Tyler Ryan said...

I have to learn to get over hearing friends ask if my book is done yet. It's my third, actually, but I can't help feeling inadequate whenever I hear that question.

Liza said...

Nice suggestion. Move it forward. I'm going to keep that one in mind.

Denise Covey said...

What a refreshing take on writing. Pressure kills creativity. I wish you a successful year of writing your way.

Cathy Keaton said...

I can relate to this so much! Last year, I put so much pressure on myself and stopped loving to write. I've had to find my way back to loving to do it again, and the key has been to let go. To stop worrying and just get lost in the story.

Anonymous said...

Hear! Hear!

I couldn't agree with you more. We write not for money or fame (both might be nice, though). We write because we need to write. It fulfills us in that place in our heart. We enjoy it.

I hope you keep finding that joy.

Leanne ( http://readfaced.wordpress.com )

Elizabeth Seckman said...

I hope 2014 is an amazing year, writerly and otherwise for you!

Jennifer said...

I found your comment about "compulsion" very interesting, because writing has always been that for me. I enjoy being productive, looking back and seeing what I've written, but I've never written because I enjoy it--I really don't like the process itself--but rather because I can't NOT do it, or everything goes wonky. Whatever our motivator, however, here's to a year of satisfactory output, and meeting the goals we set for ourselves.

Anonymous said...

I am pleased to have found your blog via the Insecure Writers Support Group and will be following you. I look forward to reading.