Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Still Thrashing

Thrashing indeed!

I'm STILL struggling to get caught up, but I have made progress. (Google Reader is now only at 215!)

It feels like more of a struggle than usual, because what's really going on is I'm trying to get everything else taken care of so I can focus on what I really want to be doing - finishing my second novel.

I've finally gotten the house cleaned up, and I revised and sent back a short story, did a review (my last for a while until I get the book done), and done the whole family/job/life-aside-from-writing thing.

Part of the reason I'm doing everything BUT...is that I'm at a tough spot with the novel. I had the main plot completely outlined AGES ago, but as I've merrily written along, it's become clear that this is going to get me nowhere NEAR word count. So I needed to craft a subplot that worked with the main story, and wasn't just an add on. I've done that, and have been working on weaving the subplot into the manuscript before I continue forward.

It's slow going. And to make matters worse, I'm under a HUGE amount of self-imposed pressure on this one. I SHOULD have had this finished and submitted months ago, but one look at the state of this blog and you can guess my summer plans went awry.

Getting back on the horse isn't easy, especially when you're pressed for time.

How do you keep your focus and get your writing done when you know the clock is ticking?

3 comments:

Val said...

"Google Reader is now only at 215!"

Oh, man! I think I would delete them all unread and just start with a clean slate, ha, ha!

I hear you about how hard it can be to get your writing done. I heard that Annie Dillard let all her houseplants die while she was writing Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, and then she went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for it!

The only thing I've found that helps is to get the writing done early in the morning before the inevitable complications of life start to hit the fan later on in the day. That way at least it gets done! Good luck with it.

Elle Parker said...

Let's just say I've been doing a LOT of fast scrolling, and there are some blogs I just deleted wholesale, but some I can't pass up.

I have no houseplants, and the pets are looking a little worried *g*

There are many times when I wish I didn't have the dreaded day job and this is one of them...however, I do get up early 3 mornings a week to get the kids to school (Hubby does the other two), and I could easily fit some writing time in there too. I've never tried it because I just assume I'm too groggy to be creative, but you never know.

Elle

Val said...

Oh, yes, mornings are good. Just make sure to brew a big pot of coffee!