What Happens When . . .
. . . you go for a while without writing? Are you like a caffiene addict going through withdrawals? Do you start getting bitchy? Insane? Do tell.
I had Christmas interfere with writing. Four children to shop for and get Santa-tized, two parents staying with me for a couple of months . . . a significant other who neither shops nor writes out any Christmas cards nor wraps. It was generally insane for me. Then Baby Girl got double pneumonia. After going 30 hours without sleeping (either of us) because of her breathing and coughing issues, a trip to get x-rays, and assorted other chaos . . . plus me sleeping in her bed again last night to make sure she was okay . . . writing? What writing?
So I notice something.
Go without writing for too long and my characters start butting into real life. They talk incessantly. Lines flood my head when I should be concentrating on other things like . . . I don't know . . . the road when I am driving. They start butting into my dream life. I will be having a perfectly normal dream when the raven from my new Magickeepers books with make a completely bizarre-o appearance. I imagine my characters at my window. In other words, they are looking for an outlet and I better find some time to write. Soon!
How about you? What happens when you can't indulge the Muse?
24 comments:
I get nuttier than I am normally (maybe not the best word choice there). I get antsy, restless, I think about my characters even more than usual, and I start getting compulsive about writing.
Caffein addiction? Something stronger than that, I think.
I'm glad Baby Girl is better. (Otherwise I don't think you'd be blogging.) I hope you caught up on your sleep.
Holiday visiting, my husband home for two weeks and a half weeks, and getting ready for my sister and bil's visit is cutting down my writing time. I'm not getting words so much as anticipation. I'm eager to get back into the writing routine. Wednesday, after my sister and bil leave, I'm going to dive back into my ms.
Two days without writing and I am fatally cranky.
Happy New Year!
I hope BG is feeling better. If I don't write for awhile I start to miss my characters. When I started my second novel, I really wanted to go back and hang out with the MC from the first.
Erica, I'm glad you mentioned dreams last night because I dreamt you were my choir director. You were offering a chance to get a free writing critique, but we had to perform two talents to the class. I chose singing & salsa dancing, lol. Unfortunately I woke up before you declared a winner.
Wooo, you've been knee deep in chaos, eh? Yikes. Pneumonia is no joke. Hope everything is getting better for you and yours.
Yes, those EXACT same things happen to me...characters, stories unfolding, all while I'm performing oddities that require me NOT to be on auto-pilot zombified mode, but I am anyway. But hey!! Some of thee best ideas come out of that wack, ya??
Happy Holidays, I've missed your morning blogs. :)
Well, I wrote 3400 words Christmas morning, but I haven't written for two days, or three days before that. Been in bed sick for most of them. I imagine INCESSANTLY. If we're driving down the road, and Glenn commits the horrid sin of talking, I'll snap in exasperation, "Can't you see I'm working?" Which will, of course and by all rights, get me a look that says maybe I should be in the loony bin.
Erica, so true...all of it! Instead of the characters whacking me upside the head, though, I get this wierdness inside like I need to do something. It's very annoying, when your body wants rest but there's this push going on inside. I guess I'll surrender, and dive back in soon. LOL
And so glad Baby Girl is better! Take care of you too. Did DB enjoy Christmas?
My wife has a party to go to today and I will have some writing time after mom's 9-day visit and 3 days of concentrated time with my wife where my bitchiness has been duly noted. Could be part PMS, though. And part tired of being cold - we lost our heat Xmas morning and are waiting to see if they can even get the part we need.
Typing with cold fingers is difficult and sitting on the couch under blankets for hours at a time is just not my cup of tea. I think I will cut the fingertips off this cheap pair of gloves today. My fingerless gloves that my wonderful wife knit for me are at work.
What has happened before when there weren't so many of these types of factors? My whole being screamed for a creative outlet. That's why there's a quilt painted on my living room wall. I think I'll have to do a blog post on that one and put up a picture.
Mark:
Yes. Maybe that was my point. Nuttier than usual. :-)
E
Hi Edie:
She is a bit better . . . two days on antibiotics and nebulizers and so on.
My workload is still recovering. And I've had some sleep and actually have showered and now pass for a human being. :-)
E
Tena:
Yes, cranky. I am anxious to open my files and get to work. :-)
E
Melanie:
LOL!!!! Oh, I would choose YOU of course. :-)
E
realm:
I agree. Wack-days sometimes provide the most surreal days.
E
LaDonna:
Christmas was hysterical. Demon Baby opened four gifts, decided that was enough and played for hours. At 10:30, he returned and decided to open the rest. His favorite, I think, was a Ben 10 Alien Force Humongasaur that was the score of the century (Ben 10 Alien Force toys are not common! Santa must have been watching out for me!!!). Anyway, the next day, he wanted Christmas again. Then last night, he asked me to WRITE to Santa and ask him to drop off some more chocolate.
E
Sarah:
I would LOVE to see your quilt. I tried quilting . . . I don't stitch neatly enough.
E
I do hope BG is on the mend. I had pneumonia once. No fun. The Z-pack was amazing for helping with that.
Hugs to you and BG!
That's hysterical that he stopped opening presents for a couple hours. I've never heard of a child doing that before!
I've always wanted to make a quilt and now Sarah has reopened that yearning. Maybe that will be my project for the new year.
I go to the doctor tomorrow to find out if my problem is pneumonia. No, my characters have done nothing so remarkable to me. They just remind me they need an arc to grow on and I go back to the thought Mom is in my kitchen cleaning and everyone is at my sister's house playing cards and having fun and I'm so sick I can't get out of bed. All my guests left this morning. I just sat down to write out the little details that effectively define characters such as my sister-in-law shoving my collection of wine glasses around telling her mother, "She doesn't have any red-wine glasses." As if the glass changed the flavor of the wine. It's just too juicy a detail to forget for that snobby character in my novel.
Melanie:
You could have knocked me over. There was no mad ripping of paper. He just quietly opened things, and when he found something he liked, ran off to play. But I have noticed that compared to most kids his age, he NEVER (and I mean never) says, "This is MINE!" He will share his favorite candy, chocolates, drink, food, toy . . . just isn't like that, I guess.
E
Richmond:
My wine glasses are all from the Dollar Store so that way I don't care if they get broken. :-)
E
P.S. FEEL BETTER!!!!
"'She doesn't have any red-wine glasses.' As if the glass changed the flavor of the wine." It really does, with good wine. Red wine glasses have more room for the wine to breathe. Of course, maybe I am a wine snob too. ;-)
Fake Frenchie:
Yes, it has to breathe (and I am a wine snob!) . . . but would you EVER bring it up as a guest in someone's home? Oh, the joys of guests!!!! My mother-in-law used to be pure torture . . . "Oh, thank GOD, you changed your hair, you look SO much better than you did back in THIS picture! Why does he even keep this picture in his wallet?!?!?!"
"Oh, thank you SO much!"
:-)
E
Oh, I missed that part.
My wife has one word for me when I am not writing - insufferable.
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