Sunday, August 24, 2014

A writer who doesn't write

What do you call a writer that doesn't write? Frustrated? Unhappy? Bored? Lacking a voice?

Between my blogs and my fiction, I've hit a bit of a dry spell. Not so much for lack of ideas, more so for trying to figure out time to write between everything else. Even my lunch at work has morphed into student loan bills and car payments. At least some of my lunches I have spent walking. In addition to wanting to write more I also want to be more physically active.

Cell Phone Step Chart
I even did particularly well this past week with my step count. Only one day was I below 5,000 steps. At least according to my phone. Some days it is pretty close to my pedometer, other day short by about a thousand steps or so. While that margin of error is pretty big, I figure that this give me a ball park of my activity without having to write down my step count every day.

I do think about my writing while I walk. Some walks this is thoughts and stories that might be good for mommy blogging. Other times it is my characters for specific works of fiction. Or even those plot bunny muse bite of "what if that did...." types of ideas.

Thinking about things in enjoyable. And depending on the stage of a project it is helpful for me to let things peculate a bit while I ponder how to start a scene or a relationship between characters. But thinking alone for months and months isn't fun. I need to get the words down, and add them to a growing body of work. To see them take shape. To change them as the idea further develops.

Same thing with the blog. Though with blogging, I like to see what others are writing. To me blogging is social, and only updating my own blog is like talking without listening.

So I'm going to try and do some actual writing each week. It may come down to assigning a specific week day where my lunch is a writing lunch. That way I can still walk, and pay bills, and have time to enjoy various other activities.

Any other thoughts on what to call not writing? How do others get back into the swing of things?