Ebbs and Flows
I thought I’d babble a bit tonight about ebbs and flows in writing. This is really affects me in my writing because I tend to have limited windows available for writing. For example, much of December was consumed by work or holiday related activities. I had very little time to work on anything.
This past week, time has opened up slightly. I have been writing after work and I had huge block of time this weekend while the rest of the family was away at a high school theatre festival.
I think like most writers, I have days where it’s a struggle to type one word after another. The words come exceedingly slowly and I just have to painfully trudge through the night, happy to make whatever feeble progress I can. That happened on Monday night of last week as well as a part of Saturday afternoon.
And then there was Tuesday. It was one of those magical nights where my fingers couldn’t type fast enough to keep up with my mind. Everything was magical and easy. As a writer, you live for those days because they are few and far between.
If writing was always as easy as it was on Tuesday night, everyone would do it. I think though, I have more respect for myself as writer when I struggle through those days that it’s almost painful to get the words out of your head and onto the page. It’s like the brief period time I was a runner. Those days where just don’t want to be there and struggle through every step are probably the most valuable because you’re building a practice. You run because that’s what you’re supposed to do. It takes discipline (discipline that I am sadly, currently lacking).
The same thing goes for writing. You write when it’s time to write. It may only be a few sentences, it may be many pages, or likely, something in between. But you write when it’s time to write, regardless of the ebb or flow.
In other news, I finished my draft of the short story for the Stange New Worlds Fan Fiction Contest. I’m spending the next few nights doing final revisions before I submit my story (entitled “If My Grandmother Had Wheels, She’s Be a Wagon”).
Starting this upcoming weekend, it means I’ll be pulling my head back from outer space and back into the clouds with Malcolm, Joan, and Charles.
Until next time, Happy Journeys!
Mike