Day 2 since my 2-month escapade into the world of challenge writing ended... day 2 without a specific deadline hanging over my head----- annnnnnnnnd, now??? hello?? anybody??
*sigh*
Suddenly I realize why I was so desperate to jump into the Story A Day challenge right after the A-Z challenge ended--- I needed the challenge to focus my energies. I needed the guillotine hanging over my head.
Now I have all the energy (manic at times) but, none of the focus. So, I sit here.... drumming my fingers across my laptop, fingernails bitten down to the quicks, struggling to create the kind of funnel for my energies that these challenges provided for me.
The beauty of these challenges was that they only lasted a month (long enough for results, not long for me to get discouraged) and they were completely different from anything I'd ever done before--- (novelty does wonders for relieving boredom.)
Now I'm back to where I was before the beginning of the April A-Z Challenge--- A million ideas whirring in a million different directions and one frantic mind trying to hold onto to all of them at once....
*sigh*
Suddenly I realize why I was so desperate to jump into the Story A Day challenge right after the A-Z challenge ended--- I needed the challenge to focus my energies. I needed the guillotine hanging over my head.
Now I have all the energy (manic at times) but, none of the focus. So, I sit here.... drumming my fingers across my laptop, fingernails bitten down to the quicks, struggling to create the kind of funnel for my energies that these challenges provided for me.
The beauty of these challenges was that they only lasted a month (long enough for results, not long for me to get discouraged) and they were completely different from anything I'd ever done before--- (novelty does wonders for relieving boredom.)
Now I'm back to where I was before the beginning of the April A-Z Challenge--- A million ideas whirring in a million different directions and one frantic mind trying to hold onto to all of them at once....
I've plunged into editing, but it just feels different than before the challenge. It's hard to explain, but I guess I don't feel like I'm wasting my time editing (and not writing new stories) because I have so many "in the bank" now.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I haven't gotten to the prime editing stage, yet.... I think I'm still whirring from all the writing that we did. Something in the back of my mind, or in the twitch of my fingers wants me to keep writing, though there's no challenge at the moment...
ReplyDeleteYou're right, though, it is hard to explain--- definitely feels different.
Maybe I can make myself 'edit' tomorrow....
You should make your own 30 day challenge. Take out a calendar and fill each day with a story idea you must complete that is on the same track that your original story is about. Don't waste the juices if you have them. You have a great imagination and I know that you can come up with some great stuff. Even if you just take a piece of paper and write out a list a few words or a sentence of all the things that you want to write about (if you do this do not limit your self to just 30 items, keep writing out all those bits and pieces until you have a large list of items you want to delve further into). Make sure you do it away from your computer or anywhere else that you may get distracted. Once you have your list compiled start to organize each idea into groups. That way you will have a large organized list of ideas that you can easily add to. Keep it up!
ReplyDelete:o)
I know.... I've thought of creating my own challenge, but I don't want to give up mid-way through because I'm the only one doing it. There's something about the accountability of these challenges that kept me going. A sort of, I can't let the rest of the group write without me, kind of mentality. *sigh* I know, I'm mental :-)
ReplyDelete