Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month.
The question for April is: When your writing life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to dig down and keep on writing?
I went through a lot of cloudy days with my writing (also in other areas of my life) in 2017. I had a few better months from December to February, but the momentum has been fading again. What has worked for me before is signing up for something fun or challenging (or both) with a deadline or specific post date. I’ve done blog hops, the A to Z Challenge, the IWSG Anthology Contest, and most recently, the W.E.P. Challenge. I have enjoyed every single one of those writing experiences, and I hope to continue participating in more contests, blog hops, and challenges. As you can see, I’m skipping the A to Z again this year. As fun as it is, it is very difficult to keep up with my fellow bloggers throughout the challenge. I do hope to utilize some of my A to Z ideas at some point in the future, but this was not the year for me.
Anyway, looking back at my answer to the IWSG question, deadlines usually help me actually do things. As funny as that sounds, it has been true for me most of my adult life. I am not very good at sticking to my goals unless there is an outside force that holds me accountable. I have started a number of email and video courses (i.e. Reedsy or The Great Courses) and I have not finished one of them, but when I took college classes, I finished my work because I was held accountable by my professors and grades. For better or worse, I also tend to thrive as a procrastinator. I have probably written more words the week before something was due than I have at any other time in my life.
A problem I have with this method of writing motivation is getting myself to sign up in the first place. I am still working on balancing out my schedule and energy levels, and sometimes I have to take shelter from the rain and storms for a while. Sometimes, I do have force some writing out of myself, whether I feel like it or not. That is part of the reason I participate in the monthly IWSG posts. It is a great way to hold myself accountable, reflect on my writing, and check on how the balancing act is going each month.
