Celebrations Give Your Writing Energy

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!

<balloons> <cheering> <confetti>

Today marks the 2-year anniversary of Routines for Writers! Yay! Sometimes it seems like we’ve been doing this forever, while other times it seems we’ve barely begun to figure out who we are and what we’re really about.

That’s how it is with writing and lots of other creative pursuits. You play around a lot. You make goals and try to make them happen. You run into obstacles and you ask yourself, “why am I doing this?” Then you renew your commitment to your goals or you tweak them to work better. You encounter more obstacles, get ahead, fall behind, start again.

I just described Goal-Motivation-Conflict (see Debra Dixon’s web site and her GMC book). We create our pretend people and give them goals; we figure out how and why they would be motivated to pursue those goals; we throw all kinds of obstacles in their way. At the end of the story, they are supposed to come out better people.

It’s the same for us real people. If obstacles to writing come your way, don’t despair. Fighting through the conflicts – all kinds of conflicts in your life – is a constant opportunity to become a better person. And in our case, better writers. Every day is a new beginning, a new chance to start over, try again. Rejoice in the gift of a new day!

Summer is pretty much over in the U.S. Kids are going back to school, parents are getting back into “normal” routines, even the childless are getting out of the vacation mindset. It’s time to get back to our writing routines as well.

Here in Sydney, today is the first day of spring! Another analogy for renewal, restarting, new life. What can you do today to breathe new life into your writing? Is there a tried and true routine you got out of during the last few months? Do you need to look at trying something different? Every day brings you closer to achieving your goals – so celebrate! Celebrating your achievements – even if the achievement is that you haven’t given up – will give new life to your writing. Remember the joy you have in creating.

I’ve noticed that with every year that goes by, if I spent time thinking about why I write, I get better at expressing the stories I’m telling. I heard Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy and Firefly) speak last weekend at the Sydney Opera House. He told us that when he sat down and tried to vocalize why he writes what he does, the whole picture made more sense to him. I decided to sit down with my journal and vocalize why I choose the stories I do. That way, I’ll be better able to focus on telling the stories only I can tell in the way only I can tell them. I’m excited to see what I find out about myself!

On the flip side, I spent two years slaving after an unchanging goal. I never considered changing it. I didn’t think about why I wasn’t achieving it. I never tried to analyze why I wanted it. And the pursuit didn’t bring me joy anymore. Since entering my master’s program in creative writing, I’ve found myself getting closer to voicing the deepest why in my writing. Perhaps that is how breakout novels are written.

Am I making any sense or am I rambling? Is this line of thinking the by-product of too much cold medicine in my system?    I think – for me, at least – I’ve found another rung in the ladder, something to get me a little closer to my goal of publishing novel-length fiction. John and I make our new year resolutions on our anniversary instead of in January. The date is more significant for us. I feel that way about our Routines for Writers web site. Today is a good day to think about why I’m here. Am I really helping you? Am I becoming a better person and a better writer? Does a web presence really have any effect on your career before you’re published? Is wanting to share the journey with others enough?

I think it is. 

So go write something! Sit down with your journal and ask yourself why you’re writing specifically what you’re writing. Does it represent the real you? Is it something that could entertain, encourage, uplift other people? Today is a new day! Rejoice and be glad in it! And bring that joy into your writing!

Notes: Here is another great post on getting back into your routines at Write It Sideways. Also, I’ll be teaching an online class on goal setting and time management for the writer in January. I’ll let you know when and where you can sign up. Remember we’ll have guests every Tuesday this month – librarians and booksellers encouraging you to keep writing because there are people out there waiting to read your book! And check out Shonna’s blog on Friday telling you about our first ever contest – the winner will receive a critique from each of us on a piece of their work!