My favorite season? Fall. Maybe it's because I live in California, where we get only a few colored leaves and just a touch of crisp air, but we don't have to get stressed about forthcoming blizzards and ice storms. I spent two falls in Virginia and loved them, even with the idea of winter on its way.
And spring? Well, I like it. I mean, it's okay. I do like that the sky gets lighter earlier in the morning, so I don't have to get up and actually function in the dark. I like seeing if we get a new bird or two on our deck--we had Orioles for the first time this year. And, lately, I do seem to be feeling the cold of winter more (I know, I sound ancient...), so the warmth that is hitting mid-day feels good.
But...spring also means summer, which means hot. Not Virginia hot, or New York hot, but warm enough for me and our non-air-conditioned house. And summer means unstructured time, which is always tricky for me.
I could worry about it, I guess, and a small part of me is. I have lots of writing I want to do in the next few months--a first draft I want to get rolling on, a revision I just stepped into and am getting excited about, a freelance article or two, and some other...possibilities. I'm setting some new running objectives, too, trying to up my strength and increase my speed--just enough so I feel like I'm not forgetting about this part of my life. What it all means, though, is that as my writing goals grow, my writing hours for any one project are definitely shrinking.
What am I going to do about it all? Well, I'm working very hard on NOT stressing. I'm going to pull out my calendar and get things scheduled out, because that usually makes a big difference for me. I am going to keep up the running, because if I let that go too long, I get more tired and cranky and unproductive. (Don't ask me when I became THAT kind of person!)
And the bottom line is that I'm going to write. Something every day, and maybe a bit of more than one project on any given day. I've played a bit with the idea of
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
susanwrites' letters to & from her characters, and I may go a bit more in that direction. Maybe revise in the morning, and play with story and hero ideas in the evening? Juggling multiple, BIG projects looks pretty intimidating if I let it stare me right in the face, but if I step back and take some deep breaths, I'm pretty sure I can make some progress. I'm thinking that's what it's all about.
How do you keep multiple projects moving forward? Are you able to work on more than one "thing" during a day? During a week? Or do you have to break your time into bigger chunks? How do you keep the stress levels down?
- Mood:
hopeful
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Comments
The heat kills me. We pay outrageous power bills but I have to run the AC A LOT in order to survive the summer.
Summers haven't been nearly as hot recently as they were when we first moved up here. I'm hoping for another not-too-bad one this year. :) See you in a few hours!
Anyway, multiple projects are a good thing. I just try to do something different on different days. IN my online life, Mondays, Weds and Fridays, I blog and visit blogs. On Tuesdays, I critique others, and on Thursday I post articles. Saturday and Sunday I fill in the places I missed. Also, this is during the day, because at night, I write.
Now mind you I don't do this all EVERY DAY and EVERY WEEK. It does change, and I do not beat myself up over missed stuff. You only have so much time. I work a full-time job, and own a home-based business also, so all I can say is thank God my kids are away at college, or I would get none of this done.
Just depends on what you have going on around you sometimes.
Eek, long post, sorry!
I'm not saying I looove summer heat, but I do sometimes find slogging puts me in a dreamy creative state. Not that my mind moves fast, but it can good for dreaming up new angles.
Your post makes me realize I've got to write madly for the next month and a half until the kids get out of school. Summer means the kids need to be entertained and I'll need to carve out writing time at the library. BTW, I thought I was the only one without air-conditioning in the house. Glad to know I'm in good company.