In relation to Peter M. Ball’s Sunday Circle, found here.
What I’m working on this week: I had a very relaxing (yet unexpectedly productive) week, largely thanks to experimenting with letting go of deadlines/goals for the time being. I went to a great panel on writing while parenting at ReaderCon and just hearing the stories of the other (very successful) author/parents helped me gain some perspective on this particular period of life and its specific productivity challenges.
Last week, I didn’t guilt-obsess on days when I couldn’t fit writing in, but still made certain to write when I could. Somehow, I still managed to hammer out a brand new 3.5k short story in one day, and I’m actually rather delighted by how much fun it was. I think I’ve always tried to perform to the write-everyday mantra, but after the delight of last week’s rush, I’m wondering if maybe I write better (and enjoy it more) when I give myself time to hoard-up creative energy.
It’s only been a week, so no conclusive decisions there, but I’m curious to explore it. So this week, I’m hoping to continue the trend, and just go with the flow, recognizing that productivity is going to be variable for a while, and that’s ok. I’ve got several short projects bouncing around in my head, and the novel outline needs some attention, so que sera, sera.
What’s inspiring me: Coffee and Tour de France! I finally sprung for a little five-cup coffee maker, and something about having a nice cup of coffee and watching a hundred cyclists in a peloton try not to run over each others’ back tires is just a delightful change of pace.
Playmobile. My son is finally getting to the age where tiny things aren’t imminently going in the mouth, and after an adorable session of “tea” with a couple of tiny porcelain cups we found at my parents’ house, I thought I might see if he was interested in the pounds and pounds of Playmobile my sister and I accumulated over the years. Even just digging through all the stuff, picking out people and gathering some of the house stuff, I had this crazy surge of nostalgia for those long summer days when playing massive Tolstoy-esque dramas all day long was the best thing I could think of. And it’s interesting coming back as an adult and engaging in creative play that has nothing to do with producing anything tangible. And he’s finally old enough to enjoy the very beginnings of that make-believe play, too, which is so much fun to watch develop.
What am I avoiding?: Nothing specifically, but I do need to get a critique back to a friend. Otherwise, I’m trying to not plan more than simply getting a lot of reading in and writing whenever I can scrape a few minutes together, and just seeing if a more relaxed system is something I can work with (at least until I get better control over my own time), or if I really need the structured time to produce steadily.