Monday, October 4, 2010

Back to life again!

Ladies and gents, I feel awesome!

Despite having felt like a wrung out sponge yesterday, I felt like I needed to drag my carcass to church. So I did and experience one of the BEST church services I have EVER attended. So today I feel energized and ready for everything.

I'm still struggling with the awards page, but I'll try to have it figured out by tomorrow evening.

Also, I want to welcome all of the new followers and thanks for following. I hope you all enjoy it here. :-)

I'm going to have to keep this post short and sweet, since I have to get to class. Very sorry if this feels a little rushed, but there's nothing I can do about that. I can't blog later, since I have to get back to my studies.

So... my experiences this weekend got me thinking about writing. I loved this weekend, but it was so incredibly tiring. My energy and emotions felt so drained that I couldn't even think about touching a text book. Let alone studying.

I find that the same happens with my writing. I absolutely positively love getting into the zone, and when I get there, I see unrivaled productivity in my writing. When I'm there, I can write a quarter of a book in a single sitting.

But after that, I can't write at all. I feel tired and drained and as if my words have vanished. I sometimes feel as if I can't even blog properly after I got out of the zone. I don't even feel like writing.

So I just don't. Then before I know it, my muse will beckon me again and I will start writing little bits at a time until I'm back to writing torrents of words again.

Have any of you experienced this? How do you write? Do you ever get into a zone? Do you also get after-effects?

18 comments:

  1. The best is writing when you're in that zone. I can be super productive like you. I find sometimes that even when I don't feel like writing, if I just sit down and do it, I'll get in the zone.

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  2. You're lucky! If I don't feel like writing, I could sit for hours and not write a thing....

    :-)

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  3. I often zone-in and zone-out. Sometimes if I read an inspirational book (inspirational meaning well-written), play some music that fits the mood of the next scene I'm trying to write, or just edit, I can get back into the zone. I know I was in the zone yesterday; I churned out a whole lot more than I usually do.

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  4. This happens to me, especially on days after I've had a really productive writing day. Then I'll feel burnt out for a day or two (or longer) afterward. I think I need to learn to just push past the lack of inspiration and write anyway. If I wait for my Muse to take over, sometimes months go by without a single new word written... *sigh*

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  5. Golden that's awesome! I'm always glad to hear if someone gets into the zone. You also gave some very good tips on getting out of the post-zone doldrums. Thanks! :-)

    Faith I know all about waiting for a long time for my Muse to get back to me. It's incredibly frustrating. Especially if she wants me to write in a hectically busy week... sigh... Thanks for dropping by! :-)

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  6. Used to happen to me all the time, because I was essentially writing about things that were emotionally cathartic to me, so as my emotions came and went my writing zone came and went. Now that I'm writing projects with a bit more intentionality and design, I find it's less important and that I can write pretty much every day with at least some effectiveness.

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  7. I'm not in the zone very often, but when I am, I try to be as productive as I can -- and rejuvenate when I am very much out of zone. :)

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  8. Nevets I think that's exactly why zoning is so draining to me. My writing also tends to be my catharsis, and so I put as much raw emotion into it as possible. When I'm zoning, that could be a lot of emotion and energy...

    Sandy, that sounds like a way to do it, but how do you rejuvenate?

    Thank you both for commenting :-)

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  9. I write in fits-n-starts like you. I'll write 10kw in one week, 0kw the next.

    I think if I wrote full time, I'd write start-to-finish. It's the distractions of day-job combined with evening family functions that kills my time.

    So, mainly it's not about inspiration so much as when I can find some sleep and enough time to write!

    - Eric

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  10. Misha,

    That's a fine way to write, too. Some of my best short stories came from the period when I was writing like that. But, you're right, it can be incredibly draining!

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  11. Eric I wish I could say that it was only time that interrupted my writing, but some of the longest blocks I have ever had lasted right through my summer holidays. I had nothing to do but write, but write I could not do. I'm still trying to figure out why this is so. Perhaps I have a short attention span. :-)Thanks for commenting!

    Nevets I have no other way to write, but maybe one day I'll also learn how to put a bit more distance between me and my writing and that will help me to write more consistently. Thank you for replying. :-)

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  12. My creative juices definitely come in bursts. I try to work short fiction and poetry into my writing schedule, to keep that energy high.

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  13. That's a great idea Nicole! I'll try that too. Thanks lots :-)

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  14. ...it's as if one's life-force is being drained...like SuperMan being served a plate of cryptonite. The zone is fantastic, and for me can last as long as an entire evening...but departs in the morning as nothing more than an aging carcass in dire need of a shave:) Wife takes one look at me and says, "Oh. Okay, so you're in a groove. Well, don't forget to get a shower when it wears off."

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  15. Haha Elliot well put. My longest time in the zone was ten hours and seven thousand words. I'm still recovering. :-)

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  16. Yes, yes, and yes! I go through spurts of productivity followed by spurts of procrastination. :-)

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  17. writing can be extremely draining because we tap into so many emotions. But I love when the muse takes over. It's awesome.

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  18. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one, Shannon :-)

    Lynda I completely agree with you. It is the second greatest rush I get without taking part in extreme sports. I love that feeling, but I'm glad I don't zone every day. That might just be the death of me. ;-)

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