Yesterday I had a fabulous coffee date with friends and authors Nancy Warren and Mary J. Forbes. There's something so inspiring about talking writing and the writing biz with people who just get it. One of the things we talked about was hitting a stride. Those days when all the stars seem to be aligned so that the ideas are flowing and translating into pages on the computer screen. I complained that when those days come I feel like I'm desperately trying to hang onto a fist full of sand. I don't want to lose the moment but I can feel it slipping away. My friends said they felt the same way and wisely pointed out that the sand slipping through my fingers was a signal to refill that inspirational well.
What do you do when you want to keep going but the ideas are slipping away? Do you break and recharge, or do you push on?
5 comments:
Take a break: go outside; go to a bookstore or coffeeshop for an hour; wander around a shop picking up and putting down without really seeing anything; or rereading an inspirational paragraph or two from a favourite author, whether they be contemporary or vintage. :-D In other words, do something completely different from what you're doing for an hour. Play a couple of games of solitaire on the computer. It all changes our brain chemicals for a little while, and when we come back to the page or the computer screen with a fresh mind. My grandma would call it 'clearing out the cobwebs'. :-D
I've read your Remains of the Dead a couple of times now, and am currently dipping into it while writing a review of it for my book review blog, Muse du Jour. Lady, you have talent! I've waded my way through thousands of books over my lifetime, and most times I could see the pattern of what was to come, but I surely got a sock in the chest when you delivered the punchline at the end of Remains'. Whoa. I went back and read those pages three times. Damn, you're good. :-D
Anyway, it's nice to have found another writer's blog to visit now and then. Keep up the great work. Seriously looking forward to the sequel to Remains'. Sadie is such a great character: lots of great issues to explore while she gets herself into and out of the 'proverbial'.
Cheers,
Marianne
PS: Take a notebook EVERYWHERE you go. :-D
Marianne,thanks so much for your kind words and for writing a review on your blog!
Everyone please note that I have not paid Marianne for her comments although I certainly owe her a drink or two!
You're welcome, Wendy. :-D However, if you get to Bouchercon this year, I believe that myself, Patty Smiley, Cornelia Read and Jacqueline Winspear, among others, have a date to meet in the bar for a natter. Join us if you can. :-D
Cheers,
Marianne
I will be at Bouchercon so count me in!
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