Another Busy Week Is Ruining My Writing Schedule

So this week was supposed to be fairly quiet. It's suddenly gotten quite busy.

My hubby had a doctor's appointment, my daughter had a small accident on her motorcycle, and I've been working on getting a term break from school.

All that said I've gotten almost nothing accomplished. I have until next Tuesday to get the examinations of my story ideas done. Fortunately, I have a call with my school tomorrow so I should be free for the rest of the week. Hopefully. We'll see.

Re-Examining Stories

So, I've decided to take 3 months off school. Both because I am seriously burned out and I need to raise money to go back.

That said, I'm going to start writing again. Or at least I plan to.

So this week I'm going back through all my stories. I'm looking at the series, I'm looking to see if I have an outline, I'm looking to see if I have a character sheet. I'm getting a headache.

Next week I think I'll work on character sheets and outlines. I'm hoping to start writing at the first of February.

I'll let you know how the prep work goes.

Writing with Distractions

One of the most difficult things I've ever done was to write with distractions around me.

In a perfect world I have an office. It's white, it's feminine, it's welcoming. Everything I need is right there near me. Reference books, a coffee maker, small fridge with healthy snacks.

I don't live in a perfect world. I have a daughter in her twenties, a stepfather who retired last year, a husband with a bad knees. There are three cats and a dog running around our tiny three bedroom mobile home.

That's a lot of people and animals in a small space. In addition, I'm in college, working on a bachelor's degree and my husband is working on a second Master's degree.

Distractions are a given in my house. So how do I work around them?

I am not a good person to ask that today. I haven't written in weeks and I'm having trouble studying. What I do know is when you have a schedule it seems to help. I'm going to get back on my schedule and hopefully will have had more success next week.

Writer's Block

Despite an article I read not long ago, I think most writers suffer from writer's block from time to time.

So what causes writer's block and how do you get out of it?

For me, I think writer's block comes when I'm not as into a story as I was when I started it.

Either I didn't do a good job of planning the story, or the story shifted enough that the notes and outline I had don't fit it anymore.

The second of those possibilities is my problem with Zack and Cassie's story right now. I love the idea and the premise of the story. But it has strayed so far from my original outline, and I like it so much better! But, it makes it really hard to write it when I'm not sure what needs to happen next.

I have a basic feeling of what happens in the next few chapters it's just getting it out that's proving to be a challenge. Mainly cause I keep getting distracted and really need my hubby's help in working on either this chapter or the next one.

So how do I get through writer's block? Well, by writing anyway. I know I'll have to rework the terrible chapters but just by writing, I get through it. Setting aside writing time everyday is the trick.

That said, I haven't written in several weeks now. The holidays, school, and just normal day to day stuff have distracted me.

So tomorrow, I'm hoping to sit down and spend at least an hour writing.