Join Alex J. Cavanaugh and a multitude of writer's in this monthly hop to help support one another!
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Alex's awesome co-hosts are Nancy Gideon, Tamara Narayan, Liesbet @ Roaming About, Michelle Wallace, and Feather Stone!
Two weeks ago I buckled down and started to add words to my WIP, which has been sitting dormant for a long time. It was all good~ for 3 whole days, writing in spurts. Then I lost concentration and my train of thoughts...
I know what I have to do, but for some reason I keep putting off my dedication of sitting my butt in a chair to write. For me, Social Media is a terrible procrastination. Every time I get stumped, which is a lot, I head over to Facebook and Twitter. I need to stop this lunacy!
Do you have any good suggestions for me?
May 3 Question: What is the weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for your story?
The coolest things I ever had to research was for my story Incense and Peppermints. I liked learning the basic history of the Vietnam War, the years, and the peace demonstrations...etc. Also I researched the draft and the drinking age for the various states. What was fun, was hitting the popular music charts of the sixties, and then You Tubing the songs. That took up much of my time because if I loved the songs I had to listen to them all the way through.
New Release: Hero Lost Anthology
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Hero-Lost-Mysteries-Death-Life-ebook/dp/B01NC0JNHI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493580773&sr=8-1&keywords=hero+lost+anthology
I know where you're coming from. Maybe it's the moon. I've been suffering from the same lack of passion and dedication. It's like I'm suddenly terrified of the blank page, when it used to fascinate me and challenge me. #sigh The only solution I've recently come up with is that I need an accountability partner and some seriously dedicated CPs. I have wonderful CPs now, but we're all stages of publishing and have gotten so busy. Best of luck with keeping your butt in the chair. Feel free to message me, anytime.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteThat sounds like fun research! Such an interesting time period filled with awesome music.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had some advice but I think when the time is right you will find your butt back in that chair. :)
It was.
DeleteYou know, the brain does sometimes need a reset, but when I'm tempted to wander, often I'll put out a scene that happens later in the book, one I'm dying to write, and start drafting. Then I'm totally motivated to connect the dots.
ReplyDeleteThank you Crystal
DeleteTurn off your computer?
ReplyDeleteBig congratulations to the IWSG anthology authors!
I'm sure for most states the legal drinking age was much lower back then.
It went down to 18.
DeleteIncense and Peppermints! Such a great title! I love researching. :)
ReplyDeleteSocial media is the huge downfall of my productivity. Sometimes I have to tell myself I can check Facebook, but only after I edit this page or write so many words. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.
ReplyDeleteMusic on a time period can be fun to research. :)
These days you can stream sixties music all day through the internet. Hey, it's research, right?
ReplyDeleteLove those songs
DeleteThis morning I turned off my wifi for an hour so I could concentrate on writing. I caught myself still trying to open up a tab for "research" and then had to force myself to go back to my word screen. It's tough to ignore the distractions - I say this after my cat just jumped on the dining room table and shouted at me three times in a row (I took her down three times and that wasn't the attention she wanted).
ReplyDeleteTurning of the wifi is a good idea.
DeleteBy the way - thanks for the shout out!
ReplyDeleteYour Welcome
DeleteResearching songs sounds like great fun, though it would probably gobble up much of my time. For my latest novel, a romance involving seduction in a jazz club, I've been writing to Brazilian jazz. My mind now switches to romance-writer mode as soon as I hear the bossa nova.
ReplyDeleteOoooo...love that jazz.
DeleteI've been doing the same, so I'll take any suggestions too.
ReplyDeleteI liked the idea of turning off the wifi
DeleteThat's fun research. :)
ReplyDeleteHere's my advice - step AWAY from the Internet! In June I'm going to enforce a minimum of 90-minutes of Internet-free writing every day (for myself), and I know I'm going to whine and squirm a LOT during the first few days, but if past experience holds true, by the end of week 1, I'll be focused and passionate for the writing again. Maybe something like that could work for you, too.
Good idea. When I stay away from the internet and just write, i do so much better.
DeleteTurn off the internet! Unplug the modem, bring your laptop to some place without wifi, whatever. Sometimes you need to force yourself to disconnect. If that still doesn't work, maybe you need more time away from your WIP to recharge your batteries.
ReplyDeleteIWSG May
Love those ideas! Thank you.
DeleteI log out of everything and try not to log back in until a set time has passed.
ReplyDeleteLove the Neil Gaiman quote!
Sounds like a plan.
DeleteMy "problem" is traveling. I find it hard to stick to any writing routine while traveling, and this week has been maddening because of trouble with my computer and getting access to go on-line. I was a teenager during the Sixties. It was quite a decade. I'm always grateful that I got to be part of it. Good luck writing this month!
ReplyDeleteThanks Fundy.
DeleteThe easy access to distractions via the computer is why I usually hand write my first drafts.
ReplyDeleteGood idea.
DeleteNow that sounds like fun research! And I love your groovy background. :) I get distracted by social media too. I try to limit my time on it, but I feel guilty if I miss anything.
ReplyDeleteMe too. I have to scroll through it to make sure I didn't miss any big news... :(
DeleteThat does sound like a pleasant way to do research.
ReplyDeleteOkay, here's my suggestion. You don't have to be in your chair to be writing. Take a walk. Let your mind roam over scenes you'd like to write and/or your character's background. Take notes as you stroll or write everything down when you get back. If the weather sucks, do some light house-cleaning while you explore your story in your mind. Some of my best scenes came about away from my chair while I was doing other things.
I have an old-fashioned (fairly large) glass sand timer. It measures exactly thirty minutes. I turn off my browser and write/revise until the sand runs out. Then I set a kitchen timer for five minutes (I need the bell) and when it goes off (scaring me half to death), the browser is closed again and the hourglass turned over.
ReplyDeleteIt's not perfect, but it helps. Writing in company also helps.
I have found that if I section my work in 30 min blocks and do the fb thing inbetween, then go back to another 30 mins stint.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons I try to avoid working on projects needing research is for the amount of time it requires. And, I get sucked in easily as well, being on a whole new track of needing to find out more and more (kind of like you and the songs). Research seems like fun, if we all would have plenty of extra hours in the day!
ReplyDeleteAs for social media distraction, I wouldn't mind if the whole thing would disappear one day. Well, sometimes, I think that. I try to ignore it during workday hours and see it as a hobby when I have time for such things, early morning or in the evening. Easier said than done, of course... Having a bad internet connection or expensive data plan helps as well. :-) Liesbet @ Roaming About – A Life Less Ordinary
Neil Gaiman's advice is spot on. Write every day, just a little bit. Don't worry about how many words or whether they even make sense. It's the habit you need to develop. You know the saying, fake it 'til you make it. Try it. You might find the fun of writing.
ReplyDeleteHitting the popular music charts of the sixties, and then You Tubing the songs sounds like a fabulous way to spend time.
ReplyDeleteIt's research AND therapy...a win-win!!