Brainstorming

I looked a lot like this picture yesterday. I sat and stared at my computer, then stared at the calendar on the wall, then stared at the cats who stared back at me.

My goal for yesterday was to finish figuring out the major points of my novel. I struggled with it all day, and no amount of chocolate helped. (I limited myself, though!). I fought the problems all morning and afternoon until about 3:30 when my husband declared we needed to get out of the house. We headed to Target because it was too darn cold to take a walk.

I wandered around the store, picked up Ocean's Twelve for $6 because I love the Ocean's 11 movies, ignored all the delectable desserts in the bakery section, and vowed to boycott low-waisted jeans. But I was no closer to figuring out my plot than before.

I hit the computer again when we got home, but I still struggled. I have seven pages of notes - yes, seven - of aimless thoughts, of questions I'm posing to myself, of half-formed ideas and concepts.

And wouldn't you know it - the one thing that opened the flood gates was something that not only is good for the mind, but excellent for the body - exercise. I plugged in the treadmill, popped a big band CD in, and got to walking. After a few minutes of working out (and I ask you, how can you not move when you're listening to swing music?), the gears started churning. The solution suddenly presented itself, and as I kept on walking/jogging/and doing sit-ups (darn low-waisted jeans made me realize I needed to really target that area!), I kept going over the angles. Everything fell into place.

So. There you have it. When you're stuck, exercise. Move. Stretch. Allow your mind to wander. You'll feel better physically and emotionally when you're done. I'm sure this isn't new to many of you, but it's definitely worth repeating!

Have I Been Writing?

I know - two posts in one day. What's up with that?

Maybe it's the compulsive need to share what's going on in my writing life.

Well, here's the scoop.

I've been:

Freelancing
Writing copy at work
Researching

But the last time I sat down to write a story was...um...months ago.

Why?

In this case, a simple answer won't suffice. A bit of detail is needed.

A few months ago, I had just finished completely outlining my next novel - it was a contemporary mainstream novel set in Italy. My character sketches were complete. The plot lines worked out. In fact, everything was done that needed to be for me to start the book. And start it I did. I wrote the first few pages. Then I promptly stopped.

It just didn't feel right.

This novel is not meant to be told - not right now. I'm not sure why. It's a terrific story and I love my characters - but, and this is a major but, I fell completely out of love with it. Whenever I think of writing my novels, a wave of excitement cascades through me. I can't wait to jump into it and see what my characters are doing. But there was a level of reluctance and - dare I say it? - actual dread at writing this novel.

My instincts screamed at me to stop, and stop now, before I damaged my psyche any further.

Maybe it was because I'm not ready to write the story, haven't experienced enough in life to do it justice. Maybe it's because I'm not being true to what I really love to write - World War II.

So to answer the question, "Have I been writing?" the question is, yes and no. I've been writing at work and on a freelance basis, but I haven't started Chapter One on the next novel. But, I have been researching the next novel, jotting down character notes and figuring out the plot. I anticipate that I'll be ready to write Chapter One by January.

This whole experience has taught me a very powerful thing: listen to your instincts.

I could have spent months on this novel, struggling to write each word, and feeling lousy the entire time. Eventually, I would have figured it out and abandoned it, but not after I lost lots of time.

The next time you're struggling with a project and you just don't feel "right" about it, listen to that voice. It may be trying to tell you something.

Snowmen and Santa and Reindeer, Oh My!

My daughter was sick yesterday, so I decided to tackle one of my painting projects. I'd already completed the snowman with the Christmas tree above a few weeks ago, but Monday night my daughter and I went to Hobby Lobby and picked out a few more decorations to paint. She wanted to do Santa with his reindeer and I picked out the door hanging with the snowmen, penguin, reindeer, and Santa.

After sleeping from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., (yup, she definitely didn't feel good!) she woke up, said she felt a little better, and asked me if she could paint. I thought it would be a nice, relaxing activity for her, one that wouldn't involve any running or jumping as she is wont to do after she's slept for so long!

I think they turned out pretty darn cute.

Do you have any Christmas crafts you're planning to do this year?

The Choices We Make

In my younger years - oh, say age five to around age 18 - I was quite a crafty person. I loved to dabble with my grandmother's craft stuff. I drew, painted, sewed, glued, latch-hooked, colored...you name it, I did it.

When I hit 6th grade and started to really focus on my writing, I didn't leave my crafting love behind and continued to do just as much as before. But during college, marriage, and a career, I abandoned it. I got into rubber stamping for awhile after I got married, but I haven't done much of anything with it for a long, long time.

The other day, my daughter and I went to Hobby Lobby again where they had pre-made wooden Christmas decorations on sale. So I selected a few a few, bought some acrylic paint and brushes, and headed home. Wednesday night I decided to not worry about the writing or the housework, and I just sat down to paint.

It was so much fun. I didn't have to worry about a character's motivation or if this particular plot point made sense, I just painted. All I had to worry about was what color I wanted to paint my snowman's scarf!

This led me to wonder at why I chose to pursue writing above my other creative endeavors. Why didn't I pursue art instead? I loved to draw in elementary and high school, but I haven't picked up a pencil to sketch in years. Drawing wasn't the easiest for me, but when I look back, I think it was a lot easier than trying to write a novel.

I guess there's only one answer for this - I had the passion for writing. Sure, I loved to draw and paint and hot glue, but it wasn't a consuming need. I did it because it was fun to do and I enjoyed it. It was a hobby, not a passion.

Writing is my passion. But I've also recognized that I need to take time to just sit and paint and let my mind be creative without being mentally exhausted afterwards. That is what triggered my burn-out. I was focusing on the work and not the fun. And let's not kid ourselves - writing is a lot of work. But it's also a lot of fun. When you lose the fun part, well, it's just a miserable existence.

What about you? Do you do any other creative activities besides write?

Happy Friday!

When You Think Too Much

Over the weekend, I tried to iron out some specific plot details for the Italy novel. By Sunday evening, I was depressed because I just couldn't figure it out. Why, I thought, do I make things so difficult?

There's a few reasons. One, I don't want to do every other idea that's out there. I want to be original. And in so doing, I can't use the first thing that pops into my mind. The problem is, by blocking those thoughts, I'm also blocking the entire creative process. I'm not allowing my brain to cast aside the junk to get to the gold.

The two sides of my brain are at war - the analytical side and the creative side. This makes for some darn frustrating moments where I just want to abandon the entire idea and move on to something else. I'm just thinkking too darn much.

There's a book called Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath, a new and upgraded edition of the online test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths. This book helps you discover your strengths. After taking an extensive online questionnaire, my results came back and honestly, I wasn't too surprised by them. Number one on my list? Intellection. And the definition boils down to, "You like to think."

But there's a danger in thinking too much - on everything. My brain needs a break sometimes!

Last night, before I went to sleep, I started to look through my novel notes with nothing more in mind than to see what I'd already come up with. Before I knew it, ideas began to spark and suddenly, everything fell into place. I tried not to scrutinize those ideas, but to just let them come. When I was finished writing everything down, I knew I'd made it to the top of my mental mountain.

I went to bed with peace in my heart. And now, I can't wait to get started writing!