Light, Temporary Struggles

Every writer faces a time when writing doesn't come easy. Perhaps you've noticed my blog has been silent. (In all honestly, probably not, as I only have a handful of dedicated readers...whom I love!) My pages have been equally as silent. And I think I've discovered how to overcome it.

I'm not willing to say this is writer's block. I have plenty of things to write. Ideas are popping up all the time. I even can find some time to write now and then. It's just been this hang up I've had. A friend of mine recently told me, "You can't write when you're stressed." And I believe that's been my biggest roadblock.

What am I stressed about? As you well know, I'm a mom and a wife. I work full-time and volunteer with a local writers' group. I recently had some events occur that have thrown my world for a loop--a child's broken bone, a theft, and a minor house flood. None of these things have me freaked out, but yes, I will admit there is some stress there. To deal with it, I find it far easier to zone out in front of the television and fret my worries away into a crochet project.

When I know I should use that angst in my words.

Which creates guilt. Which creates more stress.

See where I'm going?

Now that I've noticed this established pattern, I've determined to overcome it. I've had a particular scene in Book Three that I just couldn't work out. I couldn't figure out the motivation and the circumstances surrounding it. So I used that as an excuse to step away from the keyboard. And you know, that's probably been the best thing I could have done. Because I was writing junk. My heart wasn't in it, and it was going nowhere. The time away has helped me analyze the problem and figure out some solutions.

So last evening, I sat down and outlined my story. I haven't outlined in a long time. I'm not a big fan of the process, as I prefer to wing it and see where things go. But the story needed it. I needed it. I've got the details down, which is a good start. I will probably do some more fleshing out before I tackle crafting the scenes.

In the bigger picture, I now have a handle on something that was spinning chaos in my world. I've regained control of something I actually have control over. And it feels good.

The rest of the stuff, I will leave to God.