Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Writing Excuses

In my last blog post, I mentioned I’d had surgery. I’m now in the midst of recovering. The doctor had warned me the recovery would take six weeks. I nodded my head. After the surgery, I discovered he was really serious. (Yeah, go figure. Maybe some hubris in my thinking beforehand.)

Writing Excuses
Writing Excuses logo
I spend a lot of my day, laying on the couch. Doing nothing. Or rather, healing. And for the first two weeks, the hours drifted by. Ah, it’s three o’clock. I thought it was just one.

But now, though the flesh is weak, my spirit wants to do something. I decided to work on my new novel. And discovered exhaustion sucks creativity completely dry.

Thankfully, a few months ago, a friend (thank you, Joanne Wasdin) had recommended a podcast. And I’d listened to several episodes even before the surgery—I’d stream them from my phone while I worked in the yard.

The podcast is called Writing Excuses. Their “logline” is “fifteen minutes long, because you’re in a hurry, and we’re not that smart.” J (Brandon Sanderson of Mistborn fame is one of the contributors.) Even though I don’t write fantasy/sci fi (I’ve been writing Southern noir), their discussions have been profoundly inspiring. Because fiction writing is fiction writing whether you’re describing an alien world or the buzz of cicadas in late summer.

After listening to the podcasts, I found some of my mojo. Granted, writing is still hard—but when has it ever been easy? And I’m 12,000 words into a new novel, which is much better than watching reruns of Downton Abbey or watching the clock tick the seconds.

So if you’re facing writer’s block or post-surgery-creativity-empty-tank syndrome, give Writing Excuses a shot. Because they've been doing this for ten seasons, there's something for everyone. And if you’re struggling with rejection, listen to "Perseverence"—hearing Sherrilyn Kenyon’s story choked me up.

14 comments:

  1. Hope you're healing well! It's definitely work :)

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  2. Writing Excuses is awesome. I also like using their prompts when I feel the need to kick off my creativity.

    Hope you're doing well. :-)

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    1. WE is great. I can't believe it took so long for me to find it.

      Thanks for the well wishes!

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  3. No writing excuses here, although I could have them if I wanted. The car accident has made it hard to sit, but whatever. It can be done. This book isn't going to write itself.

    I hope your recovery is filled with prolific and beautiful words.

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    1. I hope your recovery from the car accident is going well and that the pain in your back diminishes soon!

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    2. As I hope your pain is rapidly diminishing!

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  4. Sending healing thoughts your way. And it's definitely a good sign that you're feeling the need to be creative again, because pain and exhaustion aren't so great for one's writing mojo.

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  5. I can be the queen of procrastination at times, so I'll have to check out that podcast. (Just in case I need some new excuses... HA!)

    Good to hear your creative juices are flowing again, but don't try to rush the healing process. Give your body the time it needs. It took me far longer to heal that it should have following some extensive surgery, because I tried to ignore the pain and exhaustion "tough it out." NOT a good idea!

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    1. Thanks for the reminder to be patient with the healing! It's harder to be patient than I thought--my hubris I guess.

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  6. Thank you for sharing the podcasts - I think I need a good boost and 15 minutes sounds about right. I don't check out the super long podcasts because I'm not good at listening to anything but music.

    And prayers and thoughts for your healing. I hope you get the right kind of rest for a full, speedy and complete recovery!!!

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    1. I feel exactly the same way about the length--I have too many other demands, including writing. But fifteen minutes is perfect, and it keeps things short and to the point.

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  7. . . . Or you could just finish the books I lent you. . . Just a thought.

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