Welcome 2011!
I hope it will be a good (or at least tolerable) year for us all.
Last year, I kind of took it easy: flitting around writer blogs, taking part in fun blogfests, writing short stories and short-short stories, reading lots and just enjoying the scenery. Maybe I needed this after a 2009 of solitary novel writing with nothing else. When I told Carol Kilgore I’d fooled around too much in 2010, she replied that maybe time was needed to reorganize. That’s a good way to look at it.
We need phases for letting things lie, letting them ferment - for letting our ideas congeal and our identities form. Nothing wrong with that. Everything has its time and place.
But this year I’d like to get back down to work. Novels are hard and the temptation to avoid them is great. But novels are also rewarding. They take time. A lot of time. So I don’t want to waste a minute. This year I won’t be enjoying the scenery. I’ll be focused on my desk and notes.
How about you? Do you see a fun, experimental year ahead of you? Or do you see lots of elbow grease?
My first novel takes place in one of my favorite locales: Cape Cod. It's got mystery, sex, a death, and that gritty-tangy Cape flavor.
Aww. I’m buckling down right with you. I see lots of elbow grease in my future.
Grease is the word!
P.S. everyone, I’m having some technical blog issues today. This post has already disappeared twice (grr).
Definitely elbow grease time. I took a month off and find myself even now, looking for every excuse imaginable under the naked Christmas tree to keep from writing. I wrote 3 books in a year and a half before slowing down almost to a standstill, so I absolutely agree…sometimes you need to stop and enjoy the scenery. (Hugs)Indigo
Hey Indigo. I know what you mean. It’s because it’s difficult. Checking email etc is infinitely more fun and you get instant gratification.
But once you return to the flow of a novel, it’s a lot of fun too. We just need to sit down and start. Start anywhere. Revise anywhere.
In 2009 I plowed through all three drafts of the novel I now have finished for submission. Hope I can get some of that discipline back for the current one. I like Carol’s idea of “structuring” our days. These days, a writer has a million possible distractions. Good luck in your endeavors!
A little of both but more on the elbow grease side. I played around a little too much last year too. ooooo-
No worries, Holly. Just join the club.
Hi Lee! I like the sound of your 2010! I th ink the word is ‘hiatus’. We all need to enjoy one quite often! By all means work hard but do enjoy the scenery on the way. All the best for a fabulous 2011!
If you’re interested, I’m hosting a Publication Party where authors will be sharing their journeys to being published. It will be on my L’Aussie Writing blog in the link above. Starts next Wednesday. Hope you can come along.
Thank you for being a regular commenter to my Pichets in Paris blog. I hope you will still find the time to pop in this year! Here’s to being successfully published this year!
Thank you! I love Pichets in Paris and will def. continue to visit. I don’t read many blogs but I’m loyal to the ones I do read.
Publication party sounds cool. I will check it out.
Lots and lots of elbow grease, but hopefully plenty of fun, too! Happy New Year!
It’s grease lightnin’ for everyone!
Have a great year!
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