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Unless kids, cats, dogs, pizza, or a new hip arrives |
But, oh, the ongoing recovery from surgery! I feel as if I’m an 8-cylinder Jag operating on a lawn mower engine. Where's my energy? Worse, where's my mind? I didn’t realize I’d have anesthesia fog, or meds fog ... or whatever the heck it is.
Then last night I had a revelation. I was curled on my side, my forehead pushed against my husband’s shoulder for comfort. As I lay in a semi-haze, images started appearing in my mind. The faces of strangers. Houses. Mountain landscapes. A cargo ship. As I watched the cavalcade I realized I was witnessing my imagination at work. I’ve always been visual, and I create from that. Hallelujah! Does this mean I’ll be able to write fiction again soon?
Tell me, dear Rogue sisters ... how do you get your groove back!
S. Lee Manning: When I'm in the zone and writing every day, I hyper focus. The writing is all I think about — even when I'm not writing — and I'm probably more than a little boring to be around. It's part of the curse and maybe the blessing of ADHD. So, when I get out of the groove for any number of reasons — illness, travel, family emergencies, stuff on the news that has me transfixed like a deer in the headlights — I find myself floating in a sea of anxiety and self doubt, asking — how could I think I had the ability to be a writer? No one's going to read this garbage, and what did I think I was doing, writing books? Concurrently, I damn myself for being lazy, for not writing as much as other writers, or for lacking ability to focus. Yada yada.
So, here's my five-step plan ...
1. Forgive myself for lapsing. It's how I operate. It's how I've always operated — and I get things done — eventually. Stop calling myself names. Chant it like a mantra. I am not lazy, and I am not a screw-up.
2. Ask someone close to read what I think is garbage — because usually, even if there are flaws, it's not garbage. And if it is, my kids or my husband isn't going to tell me.
3. Turn off the TV. The TV has always been my refuge when depressed or anxious — and I have wasted too much time, curled in its warmth.
4. Write something short. A post for Rogue Women Writers. A comment on someone else's post. Anything that forces me to use words and form coherent thoughts.
5. Go back, revisit, edit whatever I was doing when I was in the zone, until I get into the mindset that I can go forward.
Sometimes the entire process takes a few days, sometimes a few weeks, but in the end, so far, this has worked for me.
Gayle: What terrific suggestions, S. Lee. It's a Five Step Program for those of us who've fallen off the writing wagon. Ah-hem. That's me. In my mind, I'm leaping for the first rung on the ladder.
Karna Small Bodman: Interesting question, Gayle (first, so glad you're getting back on track). Now I figure with your imagination, combining mountains and a cargo ship, perhaps a great setting for your next thriller could either be Rio de Janeiro or Hong Kong — two exotic places where nearby mountains cascade down to the sea.
Gayle: You're giving me chills, Karna. I wrote about mountains and a cargo ship in The Last Spymaster. I can actually remember writing. So that's where my dreamy sequence must've come from. Wahoo!
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Russian Embassy, Washington: Look for spies! |
Karna Small Bodman: You're on your way! For me, getting back in the groove after an hiatus is sometimes through a setting, too. For example, we spend spring and fall in Washington, DC and I recall being invited to an event at the Russian Embassy. As soon as I had a chance, I grabbed a piece of scratch paper from my evening bag and jotted down descriptions of their unsmiling security guards, the foyer where ID's were checked and double checked, then the grand ballroom where vodka was liberally poured for all ... and imagined my hero having an encounter over in the corner with a Russian spy he was trying to "turn."
It's all about keeping your eyes — and mind — open at ALL times. Now, sit down, Gayle, and conjure up a great plot — can't WAIT to read your next one.
Gayle: You're so right that that's what I need to do, Karna. Spasibo!
Chris Goff: Isn't it amazing when you start moving better? I didn't have a hip done, but I had a knee done, and it was like getting a new lease on life.
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Chris knit this fab McKinlay Tartan Sweater. Wow! |
I knit a sweater. I have a thing for knitting baby or kid sweaters. It feels like such an accomplishment, and it's a lot faster than knitting a sweater for an adult. This is a sweater I made for my niece. She and I are both McKinlays, and this is the McKinlay tartan — or the closest I could come with yarns from the Lamb Shoppe. It took me a while to figure out the pattern, and there was a bit of tearing out involved, but I love the end product.
Gayle: I'm not gonna write. I'm not gonna write! I'm not gonna write??? Oh, no! I want to!
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Jamie - runner, author! |
Gayle: Ah-ha, movement. You're right, Jamie — and I have fond memories of my running days. As soon as I get out of physical therapy, I'm gonna hit the pool for my new fave — deep water aerobics!
Lisa Black: Love the Easter eggs! I have a very regimented approach to writing, I think, and that is both a blessing and a curse. I don't start until I have a solid plan in mind (which is, somehow, never solid enough and halfway through the first draft I'll be berating myself for starting before I was ready), but once I start I have myself on a strict word count requirement for each day. That is suspended only for vacations, major holidays, and if Cape Coral happens to have a homicide that week.
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Lisa, forensic scientist, author! |
I agree with the forgiveness aspect; this is where I cut myself some slack and let myself take a day or two or three to think through something that isn't working. Eventually an idea will surface. And if I'm really lucky, it will be something that doesn't require a lot of rewriting!
Gayle. You are where I want to be right now, Lisa. I love second drafts and revisions. Can we trade???

KJ Howe. Research fuels my writing passion. Meeting experts in the international kidnap and ransom field provide excellent fodder for what can and does happen across the globe today, and then I get to write about it!
Gayle. Thank you, KJ, for taking time out from your whirlwind book tour for your new Thea Paris thriller, SKYJACK. And you're right — research fuels me, too. But first, I can't wait to read SKYJACK!
Robin, clearly not in her chair working! |
Gayle. My heart speeds up at the thought of 15-hour work days, Robin. You're inspiring me! Those were some of my happiest writing times, but then I also ended up with back surgery and now hip surgery because of Bum Glue. But I regret not a moment of it....
We'd love to hear your tips and tricks! So, Rogue Readers, have you ever lost your groove? And if so, what did you do to get it back?
Am sort of where you are, Gayle - getting used to meds when I've never taken meds at all. It does fog the mind. I've begun making quiet time before sleep and taking walks (in my mind) with my character. Sometimes there are words but sometimes the experience is only tactile. And it's working; I'm finding my way back to her.
ReplyDeleteI impose an expiration date for my small break between bouts. You make your own deadline after you re-charge. AND don't feel guilty for the Re-charge Time! Ya need both!
ReplyDeleteLaura H.
Glad to hear you're both recovering, Gayle and Chris! The 5-step plan is a good one. I asked some friends a similar question recently, and advice from one of them might help you, in particular, Gayle. In addition to forgiving yourself and doing something every day to stay connected to the work, like research or a blog post, she said 'Remember that you've been a productive committed writer for years now, and you still are. The words WILL come again."
ReplyDeleteBest wishes!
I really like that 5-step plan, too, Leslie. I might have to print that up and put it on my desktop!
DeleteYes, please Gayle--take this thing over for me!! I'll even throw in some cupcakes.
ReplyDeleteHey, how do I get in on this cupcake thing?
DeleteTake this mess of a manuscript and make it as good as the stuff you write!! I’ll even make my specialty—caramel chocolate walnut with homemade frosting!
ReplyDeleteHold the walnuts and I'll be the first one in line!
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