In which I continue to muse
Back to yesterday's post--honestly, I have no idea how it posted. I hit control somethingorother and POOF. There it was. Honestly.
Anyway, as I was saying, sometimes a change in your physical environment is helpful in supporting creativity. I have also taken all the tiny notes I had posted all over the wall next to my desk and typed them up into a single sheet of paper titled "Miscellanea". It's just an odd little jumble of mundane facts, snippets of lines I dreamed and want to use in a book someday, names for future characters, etc. Nothing earth-shaking, but nothing I wanted to lose. So I gathered it up in one spot and freed up rather a lot of real estate next to my desk.
I am also supporting my creativity with changes to my writing schedule. Just for now--GULP--I am not answering e-mail, blogging, tweeting, or checking Facebook until after I have worked. Oh, God, I think I feel the withdrawal hitting already. But the truth is, it is SO easy to get sucked into answering an e-mail because I know it will only take a few minutes or jotting a blog entry, when I really need to be writing instead when I am fresh and motivated. I think I fell into the habit of checking the other media because I worry something tremendously important might be happening that I should know about. Well, I just took four days off and for two of them I never even turned on a computer and guess what? The world was still there. Everybody who REALLY needs me has my phone number.
I am also shutting down the laptop as of suppertime. No after-dinner web-surfing for me. I will go online to buy a book or check my library account or my e-mail and when I look up, two hours have passed. No more! I am reclaiming my evenings.
So, what excellent tricks do YOU have for keeping yourself in balance?
And a side note to a reader who might never see it--last week it was brought to my attention that a reader named Mary recommended my books in the comments section of the Pop Watch column of Entertainment Weekly's website. Word of mouth is tremendously important to writers, and it is MUCH appreciated!
Anyway, as I was saying, sometimes a change in your physical environment is helpful in supporting creativity. I have also taken all the tiny notes I had posted all over the wall next to my desk and typed them up into a single sheet of paper titled "Miscellanea". It's just an odd little jumble of mundane facts, snippets of lines I dreamed and want to use in a book someday, names for future characters, etc. Nothing earth-shaking, but nothing I wanted to lose. So I gathered it up in one spot and freed up rather a lot of real estate next to my desk.
I am also supporting my creativity with changes to my writing schedule. Just for now--GULP--I am not answering e-mail, blogging, tweeting, or checking Facebook until after I have worked. Oh, God, I think I feel the withdrawal hitting already. But the truth is, it is SO easy to get sucked into answering an e-mail because I know it will only take a few minutes or jotting a blog entry, when I really need to be writing instead when I am fresh and motivated. I think I fell into the habit of checking the other media because I worry something tremendously important might be happening that I should know about. Well, I just took four days off and for two of them I never even turned on a computer and guess what? The world was still there. Everybody who REALLY needs me has my phone number.
I am also shutting down the laptop as of suppertime. No after-dinner web-surfing for me. I will go online to buy a book or check my library account or my e-mail and when I look up, two hours have passed. No more! I am reclaiming my evenings.
So, what excellent tricks do YOU have for keeping yourself in balance?
And a side note to a reader who might never see it--last week it was brought to my attention that a reader named Mary recommended my books in the comments section of the Pop Watch column of Entertainment Weekly's website. Word of mouth is tremendously important to writers, and it is MUCH appreciated!
Labels: creativity, general musing, readers
posted by deanna at
6:24 AM
2 Comments:
I agree with your comment about it being far to easy getting sucked in...I do it all the time. One moment I'm saying to myself 'I just check really quickly' and the next thing I know I've been sitting there wasting time.
=)
Consolidate your "miscellanea". Heck, Lady Deanna, you gave me that idea many months ago when you talked about assembling a book of positive thoughts for women and using some kind of decorative stickers for it. I had a multitude of post-its with quotes from authors, including yourself, as well as my own thoughts. I bought a binder that holds 4" x 6" pages and rewrote all the stuff, each one decorated with the approiate sticker(s). "Words and Stuff" only has 17 pages so far, but each one is a treasure. Thanks to you.
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