Drawing from the Well
Queries Sent: 0
Total Queries: 41
Rejections: 26
Scenes Mapped: 0
Total Scenes: 416
Yep. Big fat goose egg. It’s been two weeks since I posted a blog (which I’ll get into down in the discussion topic) and I have nothing to show for it on the writing front. That is in large part to allowing myself to lose focus and drive and allow distractions to pull me away from my creative love. Tonight’s post and the subsequent newsletter (that’s right!) are the first steps in changing that. Summer’s almost over and it’s time to get back into my good habits. To quote Rafiki, “It is time!”
Filling the Well
Panacea: 170/383
Bloodwitch: 55%
The Unbound: 44%
The Bible: 65%
The Archived: 100% (#ProjectBookworm2019 Book 26)
The Archived was incredible. The premise is outstanding and the way it extends into the sequel, The Unbound, is enthralling. I’m absolutely loving it. Now, the amount of time I’ve taken to read…that’s not good. That’s gotta change.
Polishing the Well
It’s out. It’s my favorite Disney movie of all time. I was probably too critical of it when I saw it (not to mention the things I never considered once I started watching reviews), but I still loved it. I laughed and cried and loved it. I can’t wait to get it on video and watch it. To death.
Well Chat
Getting Pulled Away from What You Love
Like I said above, I’ve let myself get pulled away from creation. I’ve had a very busy couple of weeks. It’s summer. I’ve needed breaks.
Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.
Even now, as I write this blog, my attention feels greatly divided. My job’s demands have increased significantly. I’ve been devoted to it, to my team. I’m finding a lot of fulfillment in that especially as I find success. It’s a lot. I’m busier than I’ve ever been in my professional career. This has left me drained most evenings which leaves me without much motivation to write.
Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.
The kids are still on summer break. We’ve done a lot of fun stuff this summer, but the regimented morning schedule I had up through May has been destroyed. Granted, August starts the day after tomorrow. School will be back in session soon. I can get back to the routine I had established. But a bigger concern is retaining that routine when it is no longer imposed on me. My son is starting his senior year of high school. My daughter is nearly finished with middle school. Things WILL change. I have to keep those changed things from changing me. If I can’t protect my writing time, no one else will.
And then there’s the phone games. I’m big on city builders and found one I enjoy…and it’s sucking up my time. It’s fun and it feeds the Achiever in me with it’s well-tuned gameplay loop.
And it’s meaningless.
I still watch/listen to YouTube videos while I’m coding but that’s nothing new. It’s eating into my audiobook time a bit, but it’s all good there. I’m starting to get some discernment so I’m not adding so many videos that I lack interest in. That’ll make it easier to burn through them and get back to listening to audiobooks. Success is coming.
Here’s the big picture: the Devil uses every weapon in his arsenal to take your joy, to steal your dream. Distractions. Frustrations. Limitations. Excuses. Life does its best to get in your way. So do the only thing you can:
Fight. Back.
Protect your time. Resist the excuses. Write like it’s the last day of your life.
May the tide carry you to safer shores.
BSG