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Monday, March 18, 2024

Writing Seasons, an open book blog hop post

   


Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.

Is there a specific time of year when your ideas flow better and you find you're writing more? What do you think contributes to that? 

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When I was still teaching for a living, my writing life was very cyclical--in direct opposition to my teaching life. During school holidays, I wrote a lot; the rest of the time I struggled to hold onto enough energy to be able to write even a little. In some ways it was nice to be able to compartmentalize like that and focus more on my writing during the off-seasons for work. 

Now that I have more of a traditional 9 to 5 work schedule, without things like Spring Break, Winter Holiday Break, or summers without classes, I've really had to adjust how I do things. 

On the up-side, the new work is less emotionally and physically exhausting and much more flexible for getting a little time off during business hours from time to time. On the down-side, I don't get long stretches of being temporarily full-time in my writing anymore. 

Now, if we mean something more like Mother Nature's seasons, I get more done on my writing when the weather is unpleasant. If it's raining, or bleak, or too cold and I'm not really all that tempted to go outside, it's easier to hole up in my cozy little office with a cup of tea and my imaginary friends. 

My cozy little office, now with new rug!

The ebb and flow of my writing life currently doesn't seem to be influenced by the calendar or the weather patterns though as much as by how demanding all the other aspects of my life are being at the moment. 

Big deadline at work? 
Kid sick? 
Home project going on? 
Travel happening? 
Someone I love needing extra support?

Any of these things will slow my word count, but no matter what I'm still an every day writer. My chain of writing days is over a decade long now, and I don't go to bed without writing something, even if it's a struggle. 

How about you? Does your creative flow come in seasons? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

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6 comments:

  1. I've found my writing goes better and creates less stress overall if I write a minimum 30 minutes daily. It's not at the same time of day and often I'm really not in the mood, but soon I get into it and go longer than the minimum.

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    1. I'm also an every day writer. It keeps the story work happening in my brain if I at least touch the project every day.

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  2. I tend to write more if the weather is bad. It's nice sitting in the warmth and writing while the rain lashes against the windows.

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    1. Puts me in that outside observer kind of feeling, too, which can be useful depending on what I'm writing.

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  3. I like your writing space. The plants in the windows are a nice touch.

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    1. Thanks! They make me feel happy and calm, two good things to feel in my writing space.

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