It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means it's time to convene another meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group! Our leader Alex J. Cavanaugh has rounded up another wonderful group of co-hosts: Olga Godim, Chemist Ken, Renee Scattergood, and Tamara Narayan.
Be sure to check out the IWSG website!
I'm happy to report that I met my writing goal for the month of March, though just barely. My goal was to hit 80K in my WIP. I surpassed that by about 300 words. Going into the month, I was well ahead of the curve, but I got derailed for a little while. Luckily I was able to get back on track before the month was out.
Now it's time to answer the question of the month.
When your writing life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to dig down and keep on writing?
Given the struggles I had with my writing last month, this is a timely question. There are a lot of factors that can lead to a lack of writing progress. Lack of inspiration, stress, issues in our every day lives, and a lack of self-confidence can all take their toll. The way I try to pull myself out of a slump depends on the cause that lies behind it.
When lack of inspiration is to blame, I try to listen to music or look art. Sometimes taking a walk and seeing some new sights can help. If you're not feeling inspired, try to do something that you find invigorating.
I find that setting small daily goals can help when life is hectic or my self-confidence is lagging. Accomplishing a small goal may not seem impressive to others, but it can be just the boost you need to get back into the swing of things.
How do you keep writing when all seems gloomy?
Cool you hit your writing goal!
ReplyDeleteRunning is a good way to invigorate oneself. If that doesn't get your heart going, I don't know what will. Well, I know one other thing...
Daily goals give us a small sense of accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on hitting that goal!
ReplyDeleteSmall daily goals is definitely a good way to cope with the overwhelming task of writing a novel. One step at a time: all any of us can do.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on surpassing your writing goal. I use the same tactics to get my muse going. What I did learn from your post was - set a writing goal and it can't just be blog hops and yeah write and moaning about the stuck WIP. Self evident you say, but I never thought of it except in NaNoWriMo.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kalpanaawrites.com
The question you ask was.
ReplyDeleteHow do you keep writing when all seems gloomy?
I think about what is gloomy
and try and write about that.
Not all my inspiration come
from being happy or sad.
Yet if I put my gloomy feelings on paper
it seems to drag it out of me.