In a perfect
world, I’d begin my writing day after eight hours of sleep, a large cup of my
favorite coffee, a clear idea of my story, a perfect outline, and all day to
write.
It’s not a
perfect world. But you knew that already. The overwhelming reason why my
perfect writing day went out the window (or down the toilet) had everything to
do with being sick.
I did everything
right. I got my flu shot. I kept myself hydrated. I got seven to eight hours of
sleep every night. I ate right and exercised. Then how did I get sick! Not only
did I get sick, but it hit me the day after my daughter came home from the
hospital with her new baby.
Here is our new
Caylee Eva. I was quarantined for a week while I got over the brunt of my cold
and finished my antibiotics.
Okay, so I
shamelessly got a picture of my new granddaughter into this post. And this is five months ago. Here she is now now.
But I digress.
Book blogs and
seminars on writing stress that writing every day is key to sharpening your
craft. It’s the old joke, how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice,
practice.
But every day
you don’t write your writing skills dull. It seems that writing dulls faster
than it sharpens. After a week of not writing I knew I would have to work
harder to get back into gear.
My cold had
settled in my chest. Bouts of coughing and wheezing kept me up at night. Our
new cold water humidifier helped some, but not enough. Cold medicines, cough
medicine and even an inhaler got the symptoms under control by mid-week, but
the rust was settling on my writing gears.
I was still
tired, congested and chugging bottles of cough medicine but I made a large cup
of tea with honey and lemon then sat down to write. So here is my list of 5
things that helped me along.
#1 READ
After a few days
of not writing I found I was not close to the story. I read to get back into my
character’s head. In truth, after I finish the first draft I usually step away
from the story for a few days to get that distance. That way when I edit the
story it’s with a fresh eye.
#2 Outline
I do this with
all my projects, but after a few days of not touching the work it was the
perfect time to update my outline and again, get back into the story. I use
bullet points to note what generally happens in the chapter, identify the
point-of-view character, and note in red anything that is missing. This gives
me a quick view of what needs to be done.
#3 WRITE
Now, I’m ready
to write. Depending on my energy level (and this time it was really low) I
decided to add in those pieces that I identified as missing and removed them
from the outline. Later in the week, when I felt better I was ready to move the
story forward. I found that I tired easily and wrote in short spurts, but
several short spurts were better than none.
#4 WORD COUNT
I keep my daily
project word count on an Excel spreadsheet. I have a daily word count target
and try to reach it. This is similar to having a deadline and surprisingly, I
enjoy working toward the deadline. Last month, my local RWA chapter had its own
writing challenge for the month, 30K words. I used my spreadsheet and was
excited as I reached the goal.
#5 REST
Sometimes, no
matter how much you plan or how diligent you are, your body tells you to stop. Another
indicator is falling asleep at your desk. That’s not a pretty sight. Look. When
you’re really sick, you need to put your work, as much as you love it, aside
and let your body heal.
BONUS
One other thing
you can do while you’re sick, journal. Think of it as research for a story that
has a sick character. Write down how you feel, record how others respond around
you, and dream. Your body may be defeated but your mind is fine. Dream out your
story and when you’re ready to write it will be there.
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