Online literary guru Nathan Bransford posted a blog a few weeks back about the struggle to find balance between writing and living your life. You can find the blog here.
I appreciated Nathan's blog because I felt like I was doing something wrong. I couldn't find my balance.
I'm faced with a looming NaNoWriMo print deadline and a wip that is nowhere close to being ready. I have sections of writing to read from my crit group, a dog who needs my attention, Yankee baseball games to listen to, friends to see, sleep to catch, and a full time job.
And oh yeah... there's that little issue of the half marathon in less than six weeks that I'm not quite ready for.
I feel guilty when I choose writing over running, especially as spring approaches.
I feel guilty when I choose running over writing because it leaves me so physically and mentally tired that I don't want to write for the rest of the day
I fear the only option left is one that's going to kill me: I need to wake up earlier.
Just typing it hurts.
The funny part to all of this is that my life isn't really that busy! I'm not a mom. My job doesn't demand that I bring work home with me. My friends are all terribly understanding of both my writing and running obligations. But I can't seem to get my act together lately.
I'm going to blame the arrival of spring until an otherwise suitable scapegoat comes to mind because I refuse to believe waking earlier will somehow whip my book--or my butt--into shape.
Don't be so hard on yourself. As a writer, you are always "working." Computer time and actual writing is probably only 50% of being a writer. The rest is in your head. I bet you'll work out some tough edits during your marathon training.
ReplyDeleteHey TL, thanks for your lovely comments on my blog!
ReplyDeleteMr. Chin has made some great suggestions, which I definitely agree with. Use your exercise as an opportunity to get some "thinking time" with your novel. Plan out new scenes, work on fleshing-out your characters, write tricky paragraphs. But don't feel guilty at all about exercising over writing, cause you don't want your writing to become so consuming it turns into a chore!
Another thing to think about - I'm not sure if this works for you, but I'm actually more productive when I'm busy. When I have heaps of time free to write, I tend to procrastinate like crazy, while deadlines and fewer opportunities means I just sit down and churn through my revisions.
Good luck with it!
Hugs,
Rach
Blaming spring sounds good to me, hehe! Waking up earlier sounds good but ugh, it is so hard to put into practice.
ReplyDeleteI love the suggestions about planning your writing as you exercise. Is that something you already do?
Being a parent or not, it is always hard to find a balance each day for all of the things you enjoy.
I'll call you in the mornings if you need me too! I'll sing the 'Good Morning' song that we both know and love. And I'll keep calling. I won't ever stop.
ReplyDelete