SUMMER BLUES
This time of year many writers, yours truly being one of them, find it hard to stay on the writing path. Summer offers so many distractions.
Vacations, the swimming pool or spa, cool drinks on the back porch--or shopping in an air-conditioned mall--all of these rate high on the list of things to do instead of write.
So what can we do to stir up our muse? I know I need to complete my corrections/rewrites of my latest short story collection. And that poetry chapbook is lingering--waiting for me to find markets and write those cover letters. But this is old hat as grandma Della would say. I think my muse needs something invigorating, a mind stretcher. Do you have the same problem?
Do you only write fiction? Why not glance through several of your favorite magazines, do a search for an interesting topic, and try your hand at writing an article? If you write nonfiction, reverse the trend. We all have ideas for stories. Take up your pen or keyboard and write that story that only you can tell.
If you don't have a plan for your writing, maybe these sultry days will give you time to create one. Make a concerted effort to write to whatever schedule you set up. Schedule? Yes, you need one--even for the summer. Make a list of those projects you are working on, thinking of tackling, wanting to research, attempting to begin. Find a certain amount of time during the day or week to write. It is a good idea to set a deadline for each step of these processes--not in concrete but something to give you a goal to set your writing sights on. I have a short list of projects I am working on--so far, some are on track, a few are almost there--and there are ones that haven't been touched. We writers can only do our best.
There is one other thing I am doing this summer--something all writers should do a lot of. I've tackled the stacks of books I want to read. Curl up in your favorite chair--in front of the air-conditioner if necessary--or spread a quilt beneath a shade tree in the backyard. Follow your hero/heroines through their adventures, research that fantasy world you'd like to build, or learn about an interesting subject you feel drawn to write an article about. Read. Enjoy.
And have a pen and pencil close by. Summer ideas will abound.
***
Make a list of projects you want to be working on. Schedule some time for them. Read.
Vacations, the swimming pool or spa, cool drinks on the back porch--or shopping in an air-conditioned mall--all of these rate high on the list of things to do instead of write.
So what can we do to stir up our muse? I know I need to complete my corrections/rewrites of my latest short story collection. And that poetry chapbook is lingering--waiting for me to find markets and write those cover letters. But this is old hat as grandma Della would say. I think my muse needs something invigorating, a mind stretcher. Do you have the same problem?
Do you only write fiction? Why not glance through several of your favorite magazines, do a search for an interesting topic, and try your hand at writing an article? If you write nonfiction, reverse the trend. We all have ideas for stories. Take up your pen or keyboard and write that story that only you can tell.
If you don't have a plan for your writing, maybe these sultry days will give you time to create one. Make a concerted effort to write to whatever schedule you set up. Schedule? Yes, you need one--even for the summer. Make a list of those projects you are working on, thinking of tackling, wanting to research, attempting to begin. Find a certain amount of time during the day or week to write. It is a good idea to set a deadline for each step of these processes--not in concrete but something to give you a goal to set your writing sights on. I have a short list of projects I am working on--so far, some are on track, a few are almost there--and there are ones that haven't been touched. We writers can only do our best.
There is one other thing I am doing this summer--something all writers should do a lot of. I've tackled the stacks of books I want to read. Curl up in your favorite chair--in front of the air-conditioner if necessary--or spread a quilt beneath a shade tree in the backyard. Follow your hero/heroines through their adventures, research that fantasy world you'd like to build, or learn about an interesting subject you feel drawn to write an article about. Read. Enjoy.
And have a pen and pencil close by. Summer ideas will abound.
***
Make a list of projects you want to be working on. Schedule some time for them. Read.
posted by Barb | 2:04 PM
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