How was your holiday weekend everyone? Great? So glad. Mine was...well, terrible. Included: ER visit, worry over what the heck was going on with my body, headaches, abdominal pain...and a pseudo-diagnosis about to be confirmed by my GYN: that I have uteran fibroids. That may or may not need to be removed. I'm also now anemic because of the blood loss and even now at 10 AM I'm zonked. Wiped. No energy. How will this all play out? Personally, I'm hoping for the non-removal because I don't like surgeries...I'm all for the least invasive measures. And I'm drinking tons of water, tomato juice and taking an iron-rich multi-vitamin.
Back to the point of this post - and I swear it's not to get a lot of sympathy! Although I got no writing done over the weekend (and I had high hopes), I did make a little progress. As I was vegging, I had a couple of plot ideas for the wip (written down in the WIP notebook) and had an idea for two new stories, one which may or may not work (also dutifully written down in a notebook).
Best of all, I've not guilted myself into moving too fast. In the past I would have. I would've beaten myself up over not writing, not doing enough. Not making a six-course meal on our 'official' 4th celebration - that happened on the 5th, once the worst of the mess was over. I'm also not just randomly not writing. I'm making the progress I can without putting myself back into the ER - soooo not a place I want to revisit!! First, George Clooney definitely doesn't work in our ER and Second, there are scary people there.
Do I still feel pressure to keep up with my fiction and non-fiction deadlines? Most definitely. But the pressure isn't breaking me - making me nuts, sure but breaking me? No.
Back to the point of this post - and I swear it's not to get a lot of sympathy! Although I got no writing done over the weekend (and I had high hopes), I did make a little progress. As I was vegging, I had a couple of plot ideas for the wip (written down in the WIP notebook) and had an idea for two new stories, one which may or may not work (also dutifully written down in a notebook).
Best of all, I've not guilted myself into moving too fast. In the past I would have. I would've beaten myself up over not writing, not doing enough. Not making a six-course meal on our 'official' 4th celebration - that happened on the 5th, once the worst of the mess was over. I'm also not just randomly not writing. I'm making the progress I can without putting myself back into the ER - soooo not a place I want to revisit!! First, George Clooney definitely doesn't work in our ER and Second, there are scary people there.
Do I still feel pressure to keep up with my fiction and non-fiction deadlines? Most definitely. But the pressure isn't breaking me - making me nuts, sure but breaking me? No.
First of all, feel better.
ReplyDeleteSecond of all, you can't write at all if you get so down that you're in the hospital, or needing that surgery. There is absolutely no reason you can't take some time off and still get the mss done. Non-fic is a different thing.
I have been off work for two weeks, and all I could think was, Yay! I can write, a lot! But you know what? I just didn't feel much like it. It wasn't mental, it was physical. My body was at the end of it's rope, and I needed some rest, and that included some time off from writing, too.
The end result?
Ihave two new chapters I'm really happy with, and I'm feeling much better.
Take it easy, doll.
The writing will be there when you feel better.
You sound as though you're feeling good mentally, which is at least half the battle. You're so right NOT to beat yourself up over not being able to maintain a tough work schedule when you're down. Like D'Ann says, feel better first; the work will still be there, and better than ever because of the extra thought you've given it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, D'Ann and Liz! I'm feeling much better today (thursday) than I have since the drama started last weekend. Have my upcoming doc appointments scheduled...and am not nearly as tired which (I hope) means my body is getting back to normal.
ReplyDeleteD'Ann, congrats on the new chapters, too!
This is the most balanced and healthy approach...and prevents burnout. Way to be a professional writer!
ReplyDeleteLate chimiing in here. Glad you're feeling better, though. I bet your unconcious mind has been churning away on your plot as your body recovers and you won't be ablo to type fast enough when you finally get a chance ;) Take care of you.
ReplyDeleteKristi...glad to hear you are feeling better! I agree with the non-invasive...if you can avoid it, do so! If not, jump in there, get it over with and you'll feel better in no time. Either way, feeling better is the main goal!
ReplyDelete=)
and i'm sure you're after the same goal...lol