Thursday, February 16, 2012

Bumps in the Road & February Goal Progress

I've written previously about writing sometimes being frustrating. I've also written about what to do when you feel like you're just going to lose it in general.

I think I need to sit down and read each of those posts a dozen or so times.

Things -- on a whole variety of fronts -- have been really frustrating/rough recently. Nothing has been colossally bad. Probably the worst has been the ongoing difficulty with my right arm. I've started physical therapy for it but so far I haven't seen any real relief from the pain in it.

In general, though, I've just been feeling down and it's been harder than usual to keep things moving forward. I'm grateful for my Seinfeld Chain because it's been a major factor in keeping me from giving in to laziness and skipping writing altogether one or more days.

Most people end up going through these bumps in the road. To some extent, I've been through them before since I started writing actively again the middle of last year, though I can't recall any which felt quite this bumpy...


On to a slightly-happier note: Fortunately, looking at the progress I've made on my goals for this month is actually a relatively positive thing despite the frustrations I'm feeling. Below is a rundown of where I stand. There's really no good reason for me to not hit five of the six of these.





1) Spend time in the first half of the month analyzing my first draft of "Adrift" and time in the second half of the month planning the second draft. - I've made some progress on this, which is an improvement over last month. It's been slow progress, though, so I doubt I'll complete both halves of this task in February. Still, I'm happy that I am finally getting a bit of traction here.

2) Write 5,000 words of new fiction including at least one new short story. - I'm basically on track for the word count here and I've already completed one flash fiction, so I'm in good shape for the second part of this goal. Even though I haven't written a ton of words of fiction, I have made a good amount of progress on the non-fiction project I'd been considering.

3) Keep all my writing routines -- Seinfeld Chain, revised blogging schedule, etc. -No issues with this.

4) On 2/29, have one non-time-sensitive blog post written and ready for future use on a day when I'm not able to post something "new." - I used the one I had on hand as of 1/31, so I need to replace it.

5) Submit one or more short stories for the first time this month. - Done. Submitted "An Unsuitable Job for a Human" earlier this month.

6) Look more seriously at scheduling to attend Marcon in early April. - This is a local science fiction convention. I haven't really done much more thinking about this since late-January. I'll try to get out by their website and check admission costs, programming schedules, here soon.

14 comments:

  1. Yesterday I felt like I was a hamster on a never ending wheel of editing going nowhere.

    So I hear you!

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    1. Ooooh... The Hamster Wheel of Editing. I like it! ;)

      Thanks for stopping by.

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  2. Oh. Poor you :(

    What's up with your arm?

    I've got tennis elbow, probably because of all the tennis I've never played. The doc just gave me ibuprofen. I've taken so much I rattle. And it doesn't stop it hurting.

    I hope we both get better soon.

    Good luck with the writing! At least you've finished one this month, that's more than I've managed, so far.

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    1. The non-tennis tennis elbow, just like you. With an added dose of thumb and shoulder pain. I've been to the doctor several times for this over the years, though the shoulder pain is new.

      Thanks, and I hope that you get better soon and have good luck with your writing!

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  3. Sorry to hear things aren't getting better a little faster with your arm, but it's very inspiring to see that, in spite of the discomfort and the bumpy road, you've progressed wonderfully thus far.

    Keep up with the writing. :-)

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    1. Thanks, Angela! I'm hanging in there -- it's just been a rough week. I'm hoping that things look brighter soon.

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  4. Ack, I'm sorry about your arm. I hope it gets better. Writing while in pain is even worse :(
    Could you use a dictation program (I know I can't, but maybe it'd help with the discomfort)? I know Amazon sometimes has Dragon Naturally Speaking on sale...

    Keep it up, you'll get there. Sometimes the bumps are just really jolting.

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    1. Thanks, KT. That's an interesting thought about the dictation program, but I think it would drive the other people in my household nuts. ;)

      Yeah, it's just been a really rough week -- honestly, more of a rough *year* so far -- and I'd just sort of run out of "deal with it" ability recently.

      The good news is that I'm feeling a bit better mentally this morning, so hopefully that will continue! :)

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  5. Hang in there. I agree the whole process can be frustrating sometimes, and then when there are additional factors like health and family and work and other obligations ... it compounds everything. But think of writing as the CURE to all of the other problems ... that helps me ... usually!!

    Great goals! The list makes me want to work harder on my writing!

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    1. Thanks, Margo! I've had a rather low-key weekend, which has been nice. It hasn't gotten me much closer to my goals, but I've enjoyed having a little quasi-down time.

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  6. Hi fellow Writers Platform Building Campaigner. I stopped by to tell you that you have been tagged in a game of eleven questions. http://www.awritersmuses.blogspot.com/

    Also, thanks for listing your goals. It makes me want to be realistic and write mine out!

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    1. Thank you for stopping by! I haven't gotten a chance to look at the questions yet, but I'll stop by to do so soon!

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  7. Ditto on the high level of frustration so far this year. You're right, though, I find that it helps to go back and really think about what drew me to writing in the first place. Hope things look up soon!

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    1. Thanks, Nicole! Sorry to hear that the year has gotten off to a rough start for you, too. I've gotten the impression that it has for a bunch of people!

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