OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
In the last 2 months, real life has totally disrupted my writing progress on Prophecy, my next thriller novel. In this video, I give you an update on my move from Brisbane, Australia to London, England.
In the video, I explain:
So everyone has phases when “real life” gets in the way of writing – for me this has been my move from Brisbane, Australia to London, England in the last 2 months. I left Australia on May 20th but the month prior to that was sorting everything out that end and since we’ve been here it’s been sorting out at this end. It’s amazing how much paperwork and bureaucracy there is when moving countries. I also started a new day job (I’m an IT consultant) and it is seriously time consuming right now. I’m still working 4 days a week but I’m on the phone to Australia every morning for a couple of hours which is when I used to do a lot of interviews for The Creative Penn. Then I got sick, a real British cold, so basically in the last 2 months, I haven’t written anything. I’ve been feeling a real guilt and frustration at not writing but just haven’t had the head space.
However, one of the main reasons to move back was for the inspiration of Europe travel and culture to feed my creative soul and writing habit. Last weekend we went to Paris and in the catacombs I took a lot of notes and had ideas about scenes for Prophecy. We’ve also been to a classical concert at St Martin’s in the Fields and to see David Tennant (Dr Who) in Much Ado About Nothing. I’ve booked to see China Mieville at the British Library and Ralph Fiennes in The Tempest and I’m seriously going to make the most of being in London! I’ve been writing down ideas and plot points. I have daydreamed about scenes and built them in my head, I’ve had good ideas for back story so the creative well is indeed filling up and when I have space to write, I have a lot more to write about.
But what about the actual writing?
The pressure is building, it’s becoming a desperate sense but I need to get my little corner of the world sorted out so I can actually be mentally ready to write. May and June have been write-offs but in July I will get going again. I need to clear my To Do list in order to be creative again. I need to clear the decks, I need peace. I also need to readjust my schedule and learn how to manage the new time differences and juggle a new life, for example, when I will do my interviews for The Creative Penn.
So how do we cope with this time when life gets in the way of writing?
We need to allow the time and space to get real life sorted, but set a time limit and do little things in the meantime. I have been reading in between bouts of exhaustion and now I read with a different mind. I note language and read more as a writer. I’ve also taken a lot of notes while traveling and at the various places and cultural events attended. I have a lot of material for the next bout of writing.
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1 2 Next »between the full time job and a family that includes a 19th month old son, "real life" gets in the way pretty much every day.
one of my ways of dealing with it is to make more of an effort to treat real life as a source of inspiration and for ideas of future writing. i took for granted how difficult that actually is without having the right habits in place. for me, that means having a mindset focused on observing the world happening around me, finding inspiration while still participating in what is happening, always having a journal handy, and taking notes.
it's tricky teetering between two extremes, though; being so consumed with real life that i don't take notes, or being so focused on taking notes that i miss out on the experience, itself. i struggle in the same way with my photography, trying to remember to put down the camera once in awhile instead of experiencing everything through a viewfinder. it's especially important for me to find the right balance when being with my son.
most of my current writings are blog posts, though, so i'd imagine that's much easier to work in to the "real life" happenings compared to trying to stay focused on a novel. but i hope to be able to test out that theory some day!
thank you for taking the time to put up the video and post during your transition!
Glad to hear that someone else finds life getting in the way of writing. In my case it's work and life. As a freelance copywriter and web designer/webmaster I have to respond to the 'phone and emails pretty instantly to keep my clients happy. Which means that my good intentions about getting the next chapter of my novel written go straight out the window. But there's always tomorrow...
@David, far left of keyboard, second button up, 'Shift' ;o)
weird, mine is missing the "f" and i certainly didn't want to hit THAT key...
Oh, I so needed to read this today! We just finished a cross town move, but it's the third in two and a half years... before that, we moved from California to Washington State. We've been getting used to the area, finding out where we want to settle, and I hope we've gotten to that point. But all this moving, plus my writing, running a writing blog, being a publicist, and a work-at-home Mom with a 4 y.o. means I've been exhausted. I love this: "We need to allow the time and space to get real life sorted, but set a time limit and do little things in the meantime." Thanks for a great post!
Wow, moving to a different country - that would be a huge disruption! You've got a legit reason to be taking a writing break so shouldn't feel guilty (even though I can totally relate and would feel guilty too!). But I think you're right to take in your experiences and allow them to refill your inspiration reservoir.
Even without a major life change, it seems there are a million and one things that interfere with our writing time. Sometimes I get into the "I have to be working on the book" and without a chunk of time to spend on the WIP that there's no point. BUT, I think that's false thinking. I did a workshop with Sheila Bender this Spring and we did several 15 minute exercises. It taught me that I can produce a heck of a lot of words in just 15 minutes and that if I can produce 2 pages in 15 minutes, then at the end of a week I'd have about 15 pages written in 15 min. increments. That adds up!
It also showed that even if I'm not working on the WIP but doing exercises, it's still writing and it still keeps my writing muscles in shape.
I'm not saying I consistently do this! But when I do follow the at least 15 minutes a day rule, pages happen, ideas flow and life is good!
Hi Natalie - you are so right about the smaller chunks. I am a real fan of Write or Die, a software program that keeps you writing. If you set that for 1000 words or 20 mins, you can get a lot done!
I know what it's like when life gets in the way of writing. It happens to me quite a bit, but I have to always try to make room for it. Taking a walk helps me sort out my head and get the creative juices flowing.
I enjoyed this video--as always, Joanna.
I usually do write, but I don't always work on my writing project. What I do when I need--for what ever reason--to play hooky?
First, I try to let go of any guilt.
Second, I grab hold the belief that where ever I am (meaning physically or mentally) is the right place for me.
Dancing with my muse is a gentle sway--sometimes I need to take a break, sometimes she needs to. It is all a matter of balance.
And I believe, like you pointed out, that the experiences we have outside our writing feed our creativity.
As a teen I tried only living in my writing--believe me I never want to do that again.
I hope you continue to enjoy your move.
All the best.
Ahhh, you speak so well about my own life. April and May both my kids were in school and that gave me at least three hours a day to write. I wrote a childrens book I had never had the chance to write, two poems, and two short stories. Now the kids are on summer break, and I'm too tired and depressed to do anything. Not even to blog. I can't find my time and space for me let Alone to write. Stories are sitting in my head growing impatient, and I'm too stuck to get them out. Waiting for September when I will have that freedom again.
It sounds like it's all moving the right direction and that you really getting things sorted out, Joanna. I'm happy to see that smile when you mention being in London now. My 6 yr and 2 yr old grandaughters will be moving in with my husband and I for about 6 months, beginning July 4th. Disruption is putting it mildly! We are retired and are not used to a lot of distraction in our own home. I'm feeling excited witha dose of trepidation. But, I have made a schedule, albeit a flexible one, that illustrates for my own sanity exactly when I can carve out time to write my book, blog and work on social media, research, etc. It certainly won't be the amount of time I'm used to having, but at least there is a beginning and an end to the disruption...July through December...then back to normal. I have the sweetest grandaughters and that's my consolation, having so much time to enjoy them.
We can all relate to life getting in the way. Whether it's through grief and illness, or just the little things.
Moving continents is a massive overhaul, I've been there so big kudos to you, it sounds like you're well organised and getting there. I'm sure you'll soon catch up with your writing, or that your writing will catch up with you :)
Interestingly I have nearly made Australia my home too. I lived for a while, but I needed and missed that injection of culture. Australia is a wonderful and friendly place, but I knew I would always miss the excitment you get from going to all the cultural places we have on our doorstep. I love the catacombs BTW
I am lucky, I've never had a proper job :) Writing novels and homeschooling is what keeps me busy.
Grief, so far, has been the only factor causing me to stop for a while. Then writing caught up with me, in its most powerful way. I cried as I wrote, and a weight lifted.
All the best,
Elle
Great vid Joanna and topic! Thank you and thanks to everyone who left their comments - you've all explained it rather nicely for me too.
Suffering from a bit of manic depression peppers my guilt about not writing. And then there's the "body of work" fear or rather, the fear that I won't accomplish the full body of work of which I'm capable.
I remember reading about Leonardo Da Vinci's '10 lost years.' Years that he devoted to the mundane tasks of land ownership and other 'business of life' issues. Were they important and necessary?
Perhaps.
Obviously to Leonardo they were, but it makes one wonder what more he could have accomplished ... what more he could have created if he had only spent less time in administration offices and more in front of a canvas or piece of marble or in his lab.
Leonardo's last words haunt me. It's said that the last words of the maestro were, "... but there's so much more left to do!"
I know we all have to take care of our 'life stuff.' I just pray that our last words will not be the same as Da Vinci's. c",)
Thanks Gerard, I think I will always feel there is more to do - I hope I feel like that when I die as well because there will never be an end to the exploring - both inner and outer. I am happy to be a permanent restless soul. London certainly soothes my "itchy foot" much more than Australia did!