Wednesday 3 September 2014

IWSG in September

It's the September meeting Insecure Writer's Support Group... Check out the sign up/visiting list here!

You know what that means? It means I survived the summer holidays for another year. It also means both my kids are in the last year of their respective schools. I means my sun tan is going to fade soon. And it means I really ought to knuckle down and get some work done.

I spent the summer messing around with some small projects, giving up, starting something else, giving up... I've had a lot of distractions since April, and I'm still in that I've just finished a major project stage, even though that major project was finished in February!

I used to be happy with my work rate, but there are so many writer friends who are working on several books at once, or releasing something every four months, or telling me their plans to release two new books before the end of the year, that I'm starting to think I'm a bit slow. I ought to be doing more.

I have a novel and a novella currently under submission, but nothing else remotely ready. I'm going to get to a point soon where I have absolutely no writing projects at all... It's probably time for some chocolate!


PS...
That Sadie Thing on Kindle is 99 cents (77p) until Friday, and then $1.99 for another couple of days after that. Check out this link. [edit. 12.20pm BST, 3 Sept... Not yet, but soon hopefully!!]


27 comments:

  1. Hi Annalisa .. family come first ... but you have plans and are working towards your goals - it's not possible or sensible to do everything .. and summer in Cornwall is bliss!! Here's to a good Autumn .. cheers Hilary

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  2. Don't be too hard on yourself, Annalisa, we all need some time away from major projects. I'm sure that when you get back to your usual routines the words and ideas will flow once more. I compare myself and my progress with others all the time, though it is probably not the best idea! Someone once said to me, 'it's not a race,' and they're right, but I would sure like to reach that finish line soon and feel I have achieved something!

    I am feeling the reverse in as much as I am worried that my productiveness will fall now I am back to the day job tomorrow!

    Let's hope for a happy, productive writing time for us all this autumn.

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  3. I'm also in that "I ought to be doing more frame-of-mind..."
    Then I remind myself that we all work at our own pace...
    You do have a novel and novella currently under submission, so that definitely counts for something...
    Happy IWSG Day!

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  4. I hear you! I often panic when I hear how many projects other people have going on at once. My head can only hold so much, and I'm a slow writer. I'm learning to live with it and do my own thing, at my own pace. :)

    Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption

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  5. I went without a project for a long time. You'll get back into it.

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  6. It's always time for chocolate.

    As much as I like summer, this season following is the one I love most. Fall. Love it love it.

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  7. This is me right now, too. How do some of these people do it?! I guess I need to stop comparing myself to others. (Although it is nice to know I'm not the only 'slow' one.) ;-)

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  8. Okay, Huntress said the same thing that I was going to: It's always time for chocolate. ALSO, go the pace you need to. Don't compare yourself to others. Just keep working; you'll get there!

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  9. I'm slow too, by so many people's standards. Your books are smart and so very well written, you just keep taking your time. Quality over quantity. (Not to say that other people don't write quality...just saying, you do what you need to do to make me happy as a reader, hehe.)

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  10. Don't worry - I'm still chugging along at my same slow pace of one book every other year...

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  11. family, fun, music, and chocolate (throw in some wine too). You claim lacking in productivity, but you wrote 25 flashes - I have no doubt many are well done and ready now. Others - sure a little spit polish. I guess the key - are you having fun, sleeping well at night, and the kids are being fed. Then you are ahead of the game. I think productivity will go up on rainy fall days.

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  12. I feel slow, too! I am often shocked out how fast other writers can finish books, and how many books they publish each year. I'm actually glad I'm not that fast because I'd be bald from pulling out my hair from stress!

    Do things at your own pace, but don't procrastinate! haha ;)

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  13. Have some chocolate. Then get back to work. :)

    IWSG #179 until Alex culls the list again.

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  14. Don't pay any attention to those writers who seem more productive than you. It'll kill you. I'm finally okay with the knowledge that I'll always be a slower writer than most everyone else. It's my style and there's nothing to be done about it. Just enjoy the time you do spend writing.

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  15. I don't want to sound too judgmental, but in my opinion, writers who put out a bunch of books really fast are not working very hard on quality. I have written books that were ok in the second draft, but none of them became really good or great until many, many rounds of revision had occurred.

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  16. I've been exactly the same this summer, starting a project then giving up straight away. I'm determined to do better this month, though!

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  17. Everyone goes at their own pace, you're not doing anything wrong. It's about producing work you're happy with rather than turning out x amount of words a week. I'm not the quickest either... that goes for other things including reading... I just have to come to terms with it!

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  18. I feel the same way sometimes when I see people putting out 4 books a year or sometimes even more. It took me forever to get my upcoming sequel done. I know we all work at our own pace but sometimes it's hard not to feel like I am too much of a tortoise!

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  19. Take your time. You don't want to rush something that's not ready. And when things look stressful, chocolate definitely helps.

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  20. I share parts of your lament. At least you are making some progress. And life itself is too important to neglect.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  21. Wow, you have a novel and novella under submission! That's great news. Good Luck. I don't understand how people can write so fast, I'm slow as molasses, and then the editing takes me like....forever....

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  22. Everyone has their own pace. I'm in a writer's group with an author who writes a 100K novel every month. He's amazing but I know I can't come even close to that.

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  23. If you're trying to lose weight everyone else will be slim. If you've cooked egg and chips for tea the woman next door will have made lasagne. It's just an attitude thing - your pace suit your life at that moment and at least you're writing!

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  24. I know what you mean. When I see other authors producing several books a year, I think "How are they doing this?" Writing the first draft is easy, but making it 'good' takes ages, at least in my case.

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  25. My head nods in agreement! Other people's prolific natures always makes me feel like a lazy bum, but we all have to go at our own pace. I just read your short for the anthology and see the effort you put into each piece. Work towards quality not quantity. One day, maybe we can do both :)

    shahwharton.com

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  26. Thank you so much for all the replies, guys. I'm going to cheat and write one comment to you all, because basically you all said the same thing. I shouldn't care what everyone else is doing, I should concentrate on my own writing. You're write - you're all so write. Sometimes I just feel like I'm falling behind - but that just daft.

    I promise next month to only post about real insecurities :-)

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  27. I started the summer out notebook in hand, contributing fifteen minutes a day and then it just sort of fizzled. Gone is the excitement and just in time. We are getting ready to start a major home project. I am hoping that afterwards to get back to the smaller things I'll be neglecting.

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