Digging Up Creativity (And Gearing Up for NaNoWriMo)

The last couple of years, my home life has taken some seriously major turns. So has my professional life. And since both are connected to my social life, this pretty much rounds things out into feeling a huge ball of oh-my-goodness-what-have-I-gotten-myself-into? Every. Single. Day.

Being that I’m the creative type, this feeling can get a bit overwhelming at times. Overwhelm tends to send me in one of two directions. Either I dive into my creative side and hide there for an endless amount of time (basically shutting out the rest of the world as I write like mad) OR I focus on the more practical side (like my family, home, etc.) and do NOTHING creative for, well, what feels like an endless amount of time. For me, there is really no happy medium.

This is a problem, given my chosen profession, because if I want to keep my readers happy and interested, I still have to produce books. And if I want to keep my family alive and happy, I have to do things like laundry, and making dinner, and homework and doctor/dentist visits, and driving to school and…you know, I should probably shower and stuff sometimes, too.

It’s a dilemma. And yet…through some of the craziest months of life, I managed to get through editing and releasing DESCENDANT, and then re-releasing it, and then somehow a miracle must have occurred, because I also got BIRTHRIGHT done and released as well. I’m not going to lie. They both took everything I had in me at that time, and then some. To this day, I’m still not sure how BIRTHRIGHT actually happened.

I won’t say I forced it, because that’s not true. But I must have managed to dig deep down and find that hidden box of creativity that was cowering inside me. I wish I could tell you how that happened, but it’s still a mystery.  

If you write, at some point, you will hear (probably a million-billion times) people tell you that you should write every day. I’m not going to agree or disagree with that. I think it works for some people, and for others, not as much. I don’t write every day, even though I do try. But for me, there is serious value in having a deadline. A goal. Something to push me forward. Otherwise, I might hang around waiting for life to calm down, which might mean I never write anything new again.

It’s been a few years since I managed to participate in National Novel Writing Month, but this year, I have not one or two, but THREE huge projects (and a couple of smaller ones) to finish, and my creativity has hit a low again. I think November is just the thing I need to kick me in gear. 50,000 words, 30 days, and half a million other writers urging me to keep going. It’s good incentive.

And maybe somehow, I will find my shovel and dig deep again. Because my books are not going to write themselves.

What about you? What motivates you when you’re just not feeling the creative vibe?

**Stay tuned for a possible very exciting announcement, coming soon. If you haven’t already subscribed to my newsletter, that’s where you should go to be among the first to find out! Also, I may, or may not, be giving away free stuff this holiday season. You can sign up on the sidebar.à

Half-way Failed

So remember how at the beginning of the month I was all excited and had big plans for NaNoWriMo? And remember how I was all gung-ho about drafting book 3 in the DESCENDANT series this month?

Well. In case you’re wondering how it’s going, it’s not.

Let me explain: Kids with the flu, husband out of town, other stressful drama, late nights, early mornings, and a complete lack of inspiration=no words.

Well, I mean, I have like 3100 and change, but…it’s the 12^th. I should realistically have 24,000+.

I’ve never started NaNoWriMo and not finished. Never not written the expected 50,000 words. And guess what? I don’t plan to give up now.

What? You don’t think I can do it? I’m really very behind, and this week, I will be leaving town for five days—five more days of no writing. I’ve half-way failed, and yet…I still have hope. I know I can do it. Don’t ask me why or how, but after having written an number of books already, and having won NaNoWriMo each time I’ve participated before, I’m fairly certain I can actually still do it.

This year it may come down to me writing furiously at 11:00 pm on November 30^th to finish at the very last second, but—I believe I have it in me.

I believe I’m up to the challenge.

What about you? What’s your most difficult challenge these days?

A Funny, Some Encouragement, and Perspective

First, a little funny for my friends fighting in the query/submission trenches.

Next, a little encouragement.

Some perspective. 

No matter where you are or where you go, it's always possible to find a lucky star (or starfish, as the case may be). 

And no matter how hard things get, the sun will keep rising and setting, and so will you.

 

And now that I've fulfilled my job as cheerleader, get back to work. 

Carry on! 

Why?

When it comes to being told no, writers are probably the most steadfast, forge ahead, move-on-type people I know. If I didn’t know better (and believe me, I KNOW BETTER) I’d think we actually thrive on rejections of one type or another (consider: agent/publisher rejection, difficult critique comments, negative reviews, etc.). And yet, we write anyway. We submit anyway. And we get feedback anyway.

Why. Why do we try so hard? Why do we keep writing, submitting, critiquing, blogging, and social networking to the point of giving up other important things in our lives—like sleep?

For me, I think it’s because even when I’m miserably disappointed, deep down I remember how happy I am when I get into a rhythm and actually unfurl my creative wings. That happiness is why I write. It’s often why I smile. Sometimes, it’s even why I breathe. And I believe, truly believe, that if I keep working, keep believing, don’t give up, that eventually I will jump the hurdles currently holding me back and finally face the next hurdle.

But what’s true for me might not be true for the rest of you. So tell me. Why do you keep trying?

Sometimes You Have to Get Wet

A couple weeks ago we took our daughters and a bunch of their friends boating. Just as we got to the lake and paid to park my car (took 2 because we had so many kids with us), the sky opened up and it rained on us. Because we were at a reservoir surrounded by mountains, we didn’t have the advantage of being able to see very far in any direction, so there was no way to know if this was going to be a long storm, or if it would pass quickly.

At this point, we had a few choices. We could a) turn around and go home or b) huddle in the car and wait or c) take the travel covers off the boat and prepare to launch, hoping the storm would pass.

We chose to prepare for launch and hope for the best.

David Wolverton (aka Farland) once told me a story of a time when the publishing industry struggled to hold on. After several very lean, dry years, many authors gave up their craft and found other jobs. During that time, some authors stopped writing altogether, while others kept writing, but nothing of much value, believing that the opportunity to publish books had passed. One particular author never quit. Indeed, he kept writing as vigorously as he always had.

Many years passed. Guess what happened? The publishing industry pulled out of the funk it had been in, and agents and publishers looked hungrily for publishable works. While everyone else scrambled to get back into the writing game, the author who never quit now had something like 20 manuscripts polished and ready for submission.

Guess who had the best success rate?

At the lake that day, we ran through the rain, pulled the covers off the boat and loaded our gear. Wouldn’t you know it, ten minutes later, the rain let up and the sunshine came out to push the clouds away. We spent four or five hours as one of maybe 3 boats out there, and had some very happy kids.

Storms and famines will come. And it may take some time, but eventually they always pass. So today I ask a rhetorical question. Will you be the one packing up and leaving before you ever really started? Or will you get wet uncovering the boat while you wait?

Yeah, that’s what I thought. Better get to work then!