Every time I take a break from writing and social media, it seems I come back with a little more perspective. I guess I’m the kind of person that has to feel both extremes before I can find a happy middle ground.
The past couple of months have been completely devoted to my family–having a baby and moving. We’re finally getting settled in our new home and new life so I’m getting back to my regular routines, which, of course, include writing and reconnecting with my writing friends (it’s so reassuring to know that no matter how many breaks I take, they’ll always welcome me back graciously). This time, like previous times, I’m a little hesitant.
I love social media. I think for writers it’s especially important. It isn’t easy to find our kind in our natural habitats. But social media takes time, which is something I find less and less of as my familial responsibilities grow. And, oh yeah, that pesky dream of being a novelist. It’s an hourly struggle to keep my priorities in order. But no matter how tough my day, I always know this to be true:
- Family
- Me (read: novel)
- Everybody Else
Family takes up about 90% of my time, which leaves little time for other things but when I moved and left my day job behind, I made a commitment to myself to give writing a real shot…to make it happen for myself. I’m so excited about this!
In order to do this, I’m making some vows to myself. The obvious one–cutting back on social media. I find I connect best with my writing friends on Facebook so my Twitter and Google + profiles will lie dormant for a while until I find value in picking them up again. Second, I’ll have to minimize my projects, which means I may or may not start up my fictional blogs in the near future. Right now, I want to focus my fictional writing attention on my novel.
Here’s what I will be doing–writing. Connecting with my story. Putting myself in the middle of my inspiration and following it to wherever it leads me. And, as always, I’ll continue to blog about it and on Hugs & Chocolate, in a more personal way.
With all that said, I’m contemplating doing Camp NaNoWriMo in August. I honestly don’t know whether I can manage it or not but it would be a great way to get a jump start on my rewrites. Maybe even do the “past” half of the book in August and the “present” half in November. Thoughts? Is anyone else doing NaNoWriMo in August who would help keep me motivated?
Also, I jumped on the bandwagon after all and created a Pinterest account. I’m keeping it in check by only using it to collect specific things to inspire me to write my characters and my setting and my story. My characters have become completely different people than I originally envisioned them so I had to start fresh and this has been the perfect way to do it. Have any of you used Pinterest this way?
Okay, time to get back to the writing but here’s one last question. What inspired you to write today?
Find me on Facebook at http://facebook.com/jamieraintree.
First, you’ve done an amazing job staying connected during all your changes. Second, we all need to step back once in a while, and everyone understands that perfectly. I’m the same, connect better with those I care about in the writerly world via fb, so my Twitter has been left fallow for a time. I’m not a NaNo type person, so take my advice with the necessary salt grain, but I wouldn’t add a layer of pressure on myself just yet. Your focus seems spot on, to me. Keep up the great work, when you can, Mama! 🙂 Don’t hurry through–life’s about the journey, not the destination. Peace!
Vaughn, you always know how to make me smile. 🙂
I think you’re probably right about NaNo. I just really want to make some progress and it’s slow going. I’m motivated by progress, so the more I write, the more I write. I would love NaNo to get me going but it might be too much pressure right now. Either that, or maybe I can set my own personal goal instead of the 50k.
Wow. You have done a lot in the last few months. I really enjoy the Hugs and Chocolate posts. Do you need another blog, if you write for this one? I thought that was the beauty of the collective blog. Good luck with whatever you decided to do. You’ve done the NaNo stuff before, so the camp might be useful. I’ve only had NaNo disasters so far, so I just have to set my own schedule and do it.
Stacy,
I like to have my blog here so I can write more random, personal posts, if I like. Also, I think it’s good to keep my website active for my future bestsellerdom. 😉
What made your previous NaNos disasters?
Your POST inspired me to write TODAY! 🙂
I’m going to look you up on Pinterest! 🙂
Keep writing! You’re good at it. 🙂
Thank you so much, Alexis! It means a lot to me to hear that. 🙂