Wednesday 5 June 2013

IWSG

I remember my March IWSG (not ISWG (;) where I boldly announced I'd get my edits finished before the A-Z challenge in April. 

HA! 

Jokes on me because it's almost mid-June and guess what? I'm still doing edits. For the whole month of April and May I didn't touch my wip. I know, how scandalous of me. Bad, bad writer! By the end of May, I found the more I ignored my wip, the easier it was to ignore, make up excuses, procrastinate, and feel even more insecure about it--until last weekend. 

A good friend of mine is an artist. She paints using different kinds of medium and it's amazing how talented she is. Anyway, she was leaving town with her family for the weekend and she offered her house up to me as my very own writer's cave for a whole day. That meant a whole day of uninterrupted writing, no distractions, no telephone, no internet, no little people, no big people, no pets, no gardening, no laundry, no cooking, no housework--just hours and hours of writing. I scrambled to get myself organized on the home front then packed my stuff up that morning, and spent the day at her house. It turned out to be an amazing day and one of the best gifts I've received in a long time.  But what's even better is that I made real progress with my wip and edits. Don't get me wrong, I'm still suffering through them, but I can see the finish line and guess what? I fell in love with the story all over again. Having that amount of alone time with my wip rekindled a spark that I hadn't felt in a while. 

So my point with today's post is this: sometimes, all it takes is a change of scenery and a few uninterrupted hours with your wip to have a breakthrough that'll bring you closer to the finish line. 


48 comments:

  1. Elise, glad you got that day! A time for nothing but your writing - that is so rare.

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  2. No distractions, what a wonderful opportunity and a real treat. You have a lovely friend.

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  3. What a wonderful treat! I'm glad you had that experience, and I'm glad the love for the WIP is still there.

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  4. A change of scenery and lack of distractions can do wonders for your production level! As for me, I'm waiting for the school year to conclude so I can devote full days to writing.

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  5. That was a terrific present! So glad you could enjoy it so much :)

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  6. That time off helped too. You gave the book the distance it needed. :D

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  7. I SO agree, Elise! Awesome post, and honestly inspirational. I often take my laptop with me and find a new quiet place, diner or coffee shop to "re-charge" the old batteries. Sitting on the lounge with all of the daily distractions can be quite unproductive. Wise words, friend :D

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  8. Getting away from it all can sure help. Great gift indeed

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  9. I'm totally envious. Good for you! :)

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  10. good news, sister, it's not the mid June but the fifth of June :) so you still have time :)

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  11. Almost everyone I know is in edit town at the moment, must be a June thing, weddings and manuscripts!

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  12. What a great gift - and friend! :) Good for you for making the most of the opportunity.

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  13. A whole day? Sounds like bliss.

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  14. Best line in your post:

    "It turned out to be an amazing day and one of the best gifts I've received in a long time."

    Amen, sister Elise, amen :)

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  15. So true! My schedule and routine have been different lately and I've had a hard time finding my groove. I think I just need a completely quiet day. But no complaints-- love having my kiddos around. I wish I knew someone by me. We'll be gone for almost two weeks and I could offer up my mountain home to someone who needed a change of scenery!

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  16. I could use a day like that. When I'm at home there is always something to distract me.

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  17. Edits take time. More than I ever plan.

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  18. You just described my dream day! I so need to do this!! Even if I just go to a coffee shop for half the day.

    Glad you're back to work. ^_^

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  19. Congrats on your progress! That writer's cave sounds like heaven. :)

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  20. I feel your pain and would love to go with u next time

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  21. That sounds like a great time, Elise. I can't wait to read what resulted from your change in scenery.

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  22. I've never done that anywhere else but home, but it's intriguing to think about what I could accomplish if I hid myself away for a day and just did some editing.

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  23. I think edits are the best part. Call me crazy, but when else do you get to intimately analyze and beautify the details? I'm jealous though. I could totally use a day away with nothing but writing. Anyone want to borrow my kids for a day? ;)

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  24. I couldn't agree more. Sometimes we flog ourselves to do something when really what we need to do is gain a little perspective.

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  25. I'm glad you had a day to write, write, and write! Sometimes I dream about a week in a motel with nobody bugging me. I think I could write and entire novel, lol. That would be my idea of a 5 star vacation! I hope you get lots more days to yourself. Happy writing! :)

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  26. That sounds like an absolutely lovely day! Glad you're back at it :) Makes me want to escape here for a while now too!

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  27. Yes, yes, YES. Awesome, Elise. <3

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  28. It's always getting into the writing that I have trouble with. Once I'm in I get a lot done.

    mood
    Moody Writing

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  29. Well, if you didn't waste all that time basking in the Florida sun, you might have finished your edits :P

    Seriously, though, a change of scenery can make all the difference in the world when it comes to churning out some solid writing.

    Maybe drop some hints to your artsy friend and you can hole up there more often? :)

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  30. That's awesome Elise! Really happy for you! Good job on regrouping and taking that opportunity.

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  31. Changes in scenery and surroundings can really make a difference.

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  32. So glad you got your 'spark' back!!! Way to go, lady. I told my hub that I plan to take a weekend trip to an undisclosed hotel and spend the whole weekend holed away working on my WIP. He told me to do whatever I need to...I love this man!

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  33. And you shall paint wondrous colours or colors, sorry spell check, with your words. Just a change from the norm and getting out of an uncomfortable comfort zone works for me :)

    Nice one, Elise.

    Gary :)

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  34. Hi Elise! Sorry I've been out of touch. I'm so glad you were able to spend that uninterrupted day writing. What a gift!

    Best of luck on your WIP!
    Jen

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  35. I need to change my perspective, too. If only I had a getaway house to write in. You're so lucky! Glad things are better now.

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  36. Yay for you! Great advice too. Thanks, Elsie.

    xoRobyn

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  37. As hard as the first draft is, revisions are 10 times harder. They can really grind you down and sometimes you just have to step away for a while. I'm so glad you took a break and then rediscovered the ms-love! :-)

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  38. So glad things came together for you. You never know what's going to help you along on those revisions.

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  39. It's so great that you fell in love with your story all over again! Yay!

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  40. Yay! But you finally did it. Sometimes it does take a little something extra!

    Nas

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  41. When you said, "I know, how scandalous of me. Bad, bad writer!", I was thinking NO, that's a great thing! We're supposed to spend time away from our manuscripts before we do the whole editing thing, and for some of us it's difficult because we're so eager to just get the whole thing done. So I think it's good you had space from your story, and GREAT that you're in love with it again now!

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  42. It's really nice to have a change of scenery to concentrate more fully on writing and editing. One of the reasons I'm hoping to buy back the first two computers my family had (152K Mac and the '93 Mac) was because I had no Internet distractions with them. Even when we got Internet on the '93 Mac, it was limited and not as prominent as in modern times. It's nice to be able to unplug and just write, knowing your computer screen isn't big enough to do multiple things at once or offer distractions.

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  43. It WOULD be nice to have a whole day to just write.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

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  44. Sounds like the perfect gift. I find I need some long uninterrupted hours to do edits. My mind is focused solely on what's in front of my face. Glad you got it!

    Sia McKye OVER COFFEE

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  45. Hey Elise,

    I can completely relate to the challange of getting through edits. I'm working on edits right now, and it seems like everytime I've planned to work on them this week, something came up. It always works out for the best though. Those little breaks allow more time for the sparks of genius to flare in our brains and then translate into edits :) wishing you lots of luck on your editing :)

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  46. I so resemble this procrastinate-y business, Elise. Your post has inspired me to seek a writing cave as well...need to wrap up edits, dang it!!!
    Some Dark Romantic

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  47. Yes, a time away, alone, no commitments like laundry and dishes to stare back at you...no one to say "Whatcha writing?" - though I would miss him terribly if he didn't. I have a few things going, nothing big yet. But I'd like them to get to the "big" stage. And I can only do writing when no one is whistling or about to enter the room with a potential question or comment. The world I am in shatters and can not easily be pieced together many times. I need a cave or a big sign over me....oooh, the cone of silence...yes! Where do you get those?

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