tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post4095177789868421993..comments2024-03-18T17:05:21.126+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: Don’t Get It Right, Get It Written! - Tess Berry-HartUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-60321329155490081962014-12-17T11:13:56.493+00:002014-12-17T11:13:56.493+00:00Thanks so much for the comments, everyone, and apo...Thanks so much for the comments, everyone, and apologies for the late reply - had some techhie issues (now sorted)! Yes I agree that with two small children a break is really necessary now and again! But I get very down in the dumps when I don't have a writing project "on the go" because having something to focus on that isn't all about cleaning up some mess or other is essential to me. I also find that my creativity comes in ebbs and flows - I've just come down from a month-long surge of writing frantically every spare minute - it was exhausting but also very exhilarating! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15664007848875130573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-55772609869116960042014-11-17T14:16:07.208+00:002014-11-17T14:16:07.208+00:00Yes, it might be what keeps you sane, I agree! Als...Yes, it might be what keeps you sane, I agree! Also, you might have a commission and a deadline. I should have mentioned that for a year with a new baby I regularly got up at some ungodly hour (I am naturally a night owl) and finished a novel - but in the end my publishers rejected it. So I did have some reason to take a break! Ann Turnbullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06484265041343702129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-44182411188478180972014-11-17T14:00:54.657+00:002014-11-17T14:00:54.657+00:00'It didn't MATTER if it was absolute rubbi...'It didn't MATTER if it was absolute rubbish. It didn't MATTER if it veered off topic or was inconsistent or had typos or was badly formatted.'<br /><br />This is the essence of it, isn't it. <br /><br />So many times a story can veer off into the wide blue yonder or seem to be getting lost up a blind alley and the temptation is to try and worry it into submission - to direct it where your conscious mind tells you it should be going. <br />I find The trick is to keep going - to follow the trail of breadcrumbs and ignore the warning bells ringing in your head. <br /><br />I also try to leave the story halfway through a sentence, in the middle of a fight or argument, at a crucial exciting point so that when I come back to it I am immediately back into the story. <br /><br />The 5 minute (I prefer 10 min) rule can really work. It is easy to find 10 minutes, rather than saying you will wait until you have a free hour or more. Even if you do only have that 10 minutes, the challenge is to throw yourself into it and write something, anything. <br /><br />I have found that some of the best ideas spring from these short urgent minutes, squeezed into a busy day. It often leaves me keen to get back to it and dip into the story again.<br /><br />The time for pushing and pulling it into shape is at the editing stage, the first draft is to get something that you can work with. Both equally exciting parts of writing and equally important!<br /><br />Saying that, I also agree with Ann that with small children you need to cut yourself some slack, but perhaps this is what keeps you sane!Linda Strachanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04354324158228109351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-18420680430259103162014-11-16T21:50:05.046+00:002014-11-16T21:50:05.046+00:00Yes, all those strategies are good - and necessary...Yes, all those strategies are good - and necessary! However, I do think, Tess, that with two children under three you should cut yourself some slack! I remember struggling to write when mine were both under three. I'd had two books published and felt I was on the brink of my writing career - but in the end I decided to stop writing for the time being and just enjoy the children. It was several years before I began writing again, but I've never regretted the break.Ann Turnbullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06484265041343702129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-57386349599672617332014-11-16T18:11:53.478+00:002014-11-16T18:11:53.478+00:00Tess, I totally identify with this!Tess, I totally identify with this!Emma Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02718171070716804800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-88574377047419020682014-11-16T13:17:01.364+00:002014-11-16T13:17:01.364+00:00I've just been nodding till my head almost fel...I've just been nodding till my head almost fell off - I recognise so much of this. "procrastination is a constant; you might beat it once, but it will always be there at your elbow". Oh yes! And just because you beat it last time, it doesn't seem to make it any easier to do it again either.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-46205596675423835192014-11-16T08:59:27.353+00:002014-11-16T08:59:27.353+00:00I'm sharing your post with a few other suffere...I'm sharing your post with a few other sufferers!Joan Lennonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15763862159032836768noreply@blogger.com