Ready for week three?
I’m not. I’m stuck back in the middle of March. Every time I see a calender, I break down in hysterical sobs. So much yet undone, so much more being piled on my plate, and I’m supposed to be writing a book in the middle of this chaos?
Do you know the feeling?
Ready… Take a look at your schedule for September – December. What weeks will be crazier than most? What can you do ahead of time to avoid extra craziness?
Set… “It’s a lack of clarity that creates chaos and frustration. Those emotions are poison to any living goal.” Steve Maraboli
Today’s prompt: The key to staying focused on your writing when you are living in the middle of a sea of swirling blender blades is to stay focused on one aspect of your story.
Make a list of 10 or so critical statements about your story, such as “The main character wants (fill in the blank, because I have no idea what your main character wants), but (fill in this blank too) keeps getting in the way.”
Or “The central image to the story is (blank) because (blank.)
Or “The most significant relationship in the book is (blank) because (blank)>”
If you know you’re going to have one of those days, consult your list, pick a statement and refer to it all day. Tape it to the dashboard. Record it on your phone and turn it into a ringtone. Sing it while stuck in traffic. Turn it into a mantra so that your subconscious can work on uncovering ways to further this aspect of your story and will have them all lined up and ready when you sit down to write.
Scribble… Scribble… Scribble…