I haven't even touched my book. For the past two weeks I've been focused on trying my hardest to be as lazy as possible, doing as little studying as possible. That's not good, I know, but I'm mentally exhausted. Nevermind, that's a blatant lie. I'm just lazy.
Why shouldn't I be? I've written a book (unpublished, I know), I've got a hellish school schedule: MWF 9-6 with a Tues. and Thurs. no better, and I've got three different organizations depending on me for work to be done. I deserve rest!
No, not really. My book is unpublished, I had the same kind of schedule last quarter, and the three org's aren't asking much. Ugh, it's hard to find motivation for things you're not into. I'm not into writing letters to people thousands of miles away, who'll probably pass me up like week-old cheese. I'm definitely not passionate about physics, and life science reading is tedious.
I read somewhere that writing a novel is only part passion. The rest of it is hating your work until it's perfect. I think I'm paraphrasing egregiously, but it sounds good doesn't it? I'm really trying to get a handle on that last part. I've become prone to writing in bouts of passion, furiously finishing ten pages and then being lazy for the next week or so. It gets me great writing, but it's slow progress. It took me five years to get 310 pages worth of my thoughts on paper. That's too long.
So what should my solution be? An updated To Do List everyday? Just slap myself into action more often? What do you do to get yourself into the mood to do work? Until next time then.
Haha. To do lists are good, but don't make them too fancy or they become more fun writing than doing. That's my problem. Anyways, I once StumbleUponed this quote. It keeps me motivated.
ReplyDelete"Until you find that work you enjoy, enjoy that work you find."
ill slap you into action ;p
ReplyDeletebut seriously a too do list works pretty well just cuz everytime you cross something out it feels like a major accomplishment. Something that works for me is set in your mind something that you want to do....like idk mario kart or guitar hero....then work until you get enough work done to play....or even work a little, then play a little, then work more!
are you sure you're not overworking yourself with the three organizations you work for? Do you still enjoy them?
@Sheba, I actually really love that quote. Thanks for it.
ReplyDelete@roger, setting small goals seems like a pretty good idea. thanks man.
First, I think this is normal for authors. I’m having this problem now that I’m on the last quarter or so of my third draft. I’m having such a hard time actually just sitting down and doing it, and my other writer friends have taken WAY longer than you to get into gear with their work. My best friend is in the middle of a novella and a novel, neither of which she’s worked on in an entire YEAR. Can you imagine?
ReplyDeleteSecond, I think a To Do List is a great idea. I have one of those school-provided planners and I actually started using it last year some time and it actually somehow helped me get more stuff done. There’s just something gratifying about checking things off. How I do it in regards to writing is break the process down into bits and do a part each day… it seems to work pretty well for me. But you’ll find your own system that helps you. BUT what really helps me, and this is going to be really silly (but I also found this on StumbleUpon, like one of the previous comments) is this page… http://phylab.mtu.edu/%7Enckelley/Focus/
Third, I think this is one of the best descriptions of passion I’ve ever come across. I’ve had it nearby since I very first got started writing my novel, because it so adeptly described how I felt. “Passion is something that follows you around, wherever you are, whatever you do, your passion finds its way into everyday life, nagging at you until you do something about it.”