Slacking Off

I haven't written a blog post in almost a month. I also have not written much in the Christmas novella I'm currently writing. If you think that this mean that I've been slacking off - well, you'd be right. I can make excuses: I've been busy, my aunt was in town, I needed to clean my house - and they're all true, but the reality was that, for the first time, I just really didn't want to write anything.

It wasn't writer's block either. I knew where I wanted my story to go and how I was going to get it there. I just had no desire to sit down and do it. When I did try to write, I'd generally do it when there was a lot going on around me and use being unable to focus as an excuse to put the computer away.

There are two things that I think have been part of this. The first is that I'm writing a Christmas novella right now, which means that it technically doesn't need to be done until the end of the year. The second book of the Holliday Hotel series isn't coming out until next February giving me plenty of time (or so I think) to slack off and still get it done. It's a dangerous thing to have due dates that are so far away.

The second is that since I'm self published I don't have anyone setting deadlines or checking in on me. In some ways, that's really nice, but when I'm sort of struggling, I don't have any outside motivation to get it done. It all has to come from within. Not always very easy.

Yesterday I think I had a break through. I had about 45 minutes, and I decided that I needed to just sit down and write. So I did. Turns out that once I got back in a rhythm of writing, it starting flowing pretty easily, and once that time was up, I actually wanted to write more. Today, I sat down and wrote again. Thankfully, it was just as easy as yesterday, and I feel like maybe I'm getting back into the swing of things. Now I still had to tell myself not to pick up the craft that I'm working on and pick up my computer instead, but once I got into it, I was thankful that I had made the decision that I had.

I saw a quote by Anne Tyler that said, "If I waited till I felt like writing, I'd never write at all." I think I need to post that on my wall, my desk and my computer. Writing isn't always done because I feel like it. Sometimes it can be a chore and sometimes it can feel like work (gasp!) but I still  need to do it. It hasn't been a great writing month, but I think I've learned from it. Hopefully, that will help me develop further in my journey.