I’m my own worst critic when it comes to writing, and especially when it involves failure to keep to a writing schedule. I made a joke of it late last year by calling it “Best Laid Plans”…mainly for the reason that whenever I went online to excitedly reveal what I’m currently working on, those plans would crash and burn spectacularly. More to the point though, I’m constantly putting guilt on myself when I’m not writing. I get that nagging itch that feels very much like Sunday night at 8pm, when I’ve realized I’ve left three classes’ worth of major homework undone until that point. I yell at myself for being an idiot for not doing it earlier. I gripe and moan and do half-assed work because I’m rushing it at the last minute. And worst of all, there’s that one tiny voice in there, almost inaudible, that says you know, if you keep this up, you ain’t gonna get shit-all published in your lifetime. Gods how I LOATHE that one voice…because it speaks a very bitter truth.
So after I get over the guilt and the shame and the irritation, I shut myself up and get back on the horse.
I haven’t exactly been lazy this past week, when it comes to writing. One of my coworkers was out the latter half of the week and ended up with double-duty for those three days, so I realized I probably would not be running on full power. I decided to let myself slack on the daily words, as they weren’t time-sensitive or the main project, and skipped on a few whiteboard points as well. This left me with just enough brainpower to kick out some new words for Walk in Silence as well as decide how I was going to integrate them into the manuscript. All told, I averaged about 500 words daily, and I’m happy with that result.
So now that everything’s back to normal, what am I going to do now? Get back on the horse, of course of course. I’m already doing so now by writing this entry, and starting tomorrow I’ll be hitting the daily words again. I’ll even be able to hit the whiteboard points again. Yes, I know, Best Laid Plans…but I’ll take it a day at a time, get done what needs being done, and be happy that I’d made forward progress. Sometimes that’s the only thing you can do.
Now, if only I’d been this proactive with my homework back in high school…
Welcome to Bridgetown 