The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is the online place to discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writers – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. To join the group yourself, click here and get ready to sink into a warm, comforting bath of support.
The awesome co-hosts for the December 2 posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, Sylvia Ney, Liesbet @ Roaming About Cathrina Constantine, and Natalie Aguirre!
December 2 question – Are there months or times of the year that you are more productive with your writing than other months, and why?
Answer: There are most definitely months and times of the year that I’m more productive than others and THIS IS WHY. THIS, RIGHT HERE:
I can’t blame it all on the holiday season, much as I’d like to follow an established literary narrative. I’m also an easily distracted Pantser and to function AT ALL as a writer I have to set a firm schedule and make myself stick to it. Mornings=fresh brain time=writing. No matter what. When I allow my Pantser self to wander outside the established pattern everything goes cattywampus real quick, let me tell you.
I haven’t yet gotten to the serious level of Author Life where I stand and flounce off after turkey-leftovers breakfast with the dramatic announcement, “I need to write. My word count this week has been abysmal.” Partially this is because there exists no suitably Gothic fainting couch in my mom’s house and throwing your forearm theatrically over your forehead is just not as effective without one. Also, she would laugh at me if I tried.
Mostly this is because I don’t do dramatic monologues, secretly I’m glad to take a break from shoveling out decent prose from my mudpit of ideas, I feel like the holidays are a justifiable excuse to do so, and I tell myself I’ll get ‘back’ into a writing routine ‘after’ the holidays. (HAHAHAHA IT’S LIKE I’VE LEARNED NOTHING AND DON’T EVEN KNOW MYSELF AFTER ALL THESE YEARS.)
In the future I think I need to accept that the months of November and December are going to be slow writing months and stop beating myself up for it. The ideas and words will always be there, but the time with my loved ones won’t. I’m not making money as an author to support my family, and thus have the luxury of being able to take a break without any impacts.
I could see my family accepting that I have a real live deadline, but not a low word count for skipping out on holidays. If I fainted, they’d most likely just prop me up in a corner somewhere. I do hope to have a deadline (and a fainting couch) someday, though. Happy IWSG day.
There’s really no point in having deadlines if you can’t also have a fainting couch, LOL! Happy IWSG day 🙂