writing process

Moving forward by going backward

/ Tracy Abell / 10 Comments

   

I haven’t been running as much as usual.
I’ve developed some weirdness about running.
I feel intimidated,
psyched out,
less-than-enthusiastic
when contemplating a run.

But today I decided to run my little neighborhood loop
in reverse.
And instead of feeling the pressure to get my Best Time Ever,
I just ran.
And enjoyed myself.

So here’s what I can take from this:
Remove the expectations
and experience the activity for what it is.
In this case, a difficult, mostly uphill slog that I’m proud to have completed.
That is all.

I’d like to keep this in mind with my writing, too.
When I’m feeling pressured and intimidated,
I hope to remember to write in whatever manner gets me writing again.

Even if it means writing in reverse.
           

Endurance

/ Tracy Abell / 25 Comments

Today I continued with my final pages. 
I worked and worked. 
Took a break to eat and then worked some more.

I’m getting my writing muscles back.
I don’t get out of breath so easily.
My thinking remains lucid for longer periods.

Today I didn’t feel quite like a marathoner
but a half-marathoner
maybe.

              

Getting Closer – Clarification

/ Tracy Abell / 9 Comments

I appreciate the congrats on the progress I’m making but feel I must clarify my word count goal.  Not because I’m neurotic (well, I am, but not in this instance) but because if I read about another writer churning out 1k words/day, every day, I might feel a bit intimidated if I was already in a shaky place.

Now, I know plenty of you out there produce many words every single day, but I’m not one of those writers.  I’ve learned that if I write too many words in a session, I’ll often get off track and then have to spend lots of time just getting back to where the story is solid again.  I prefer the slow, steady route.  When I had the great fortune to study with Marilynne Robinson for three weeks, she advised me to write two pages a day.  Two good pages.

For me, two good pages are often much more difficult than ten or fifteen marginal pages.

But back to my clarification: I’m working on about the fourth draft of this book and while I had to trash a bunch of stuff that ended up serving as placeholder words (hat tip to the wise[info]idaho_laurie for the perfect term/concept) and write all new stuff, the closer I got to the ending the more I was able to utilize from the previous draft.  So in that context you can see I haven’t cranked out anywhere near 22k words.  However, I’ve moved 22k words closer to the end of this much more solid version of my story.  And that makes me very happy.

                    

Hooping Again

/ Tracy Abell / 14 Comments

I’m so happy because I’ve felt well enough to hoop the past two mornings.  Yesterday I was a bit tentative because I didn’t feel 100% but this morning I had such a grin on my face when I started dancing and twirling to the music.  (I’d like to bottle that feeling and take a whiff or two throughout the day so as to remember not to get stressed about the small stuff).

I’ve gotten much more coordinated than when I started but I’m still somewhat stiff and sometimes feel a bit like Frankenstein as I move about my living room.  But as I alternate between fluid movement and heavy clomping, I’m slowly internalizing one of life’s basic truths: whatever it is I’m trying to do, I’m always much more successful when I relax into it.  Which, of course, makes me think of the writing process (because don’t all roads lead there?!)   So here it is:

MY SUPER-SECRET NUMBER ONE ABSOLUTE MUST-HAVE HOOPING REVELATION:

       

        Don’t fight the hoop, don’t fight the words
Just move with it, groove with it,
And you’ll end up where you need to be.